Ories Out To Seal Hardham Cup Semis Berth In Round Four

Oriental-Rongotai should become the first team to qualify for the Hardham Cup semi-finals if they defeat Poneke at the Polo Ground this weekend, where victory will give them four wins from four in the second round.

With the inclusion of their last round Swindale Shield 28-24 win over Tawa, June proved a successful month for Ories, with further wins over Avalon, MSP and Wainuiomata putting them on top of the Hardham Cup standings. If they can defeat Poneke this week it will surely ease the relief of their supporters following last season's madcap second round, the pall of relegation only being lifted after the final round.

Second placed Avalon will also go a long way towards securing their top four berth with a win over Wainuiomata at William Jones Park in this week's key Hardham Cup clash. Despite losing 17-12 to Ories in week one, Avalon have earned themselves back-to-back bonus point victories over Upper Hutt and Northern United and sit three points clear of third placed Norths.

Despite their only win coming against Johnsonville two weeks ago, Wainui would not be out of the hunt if they lost to Avalon ahead of games they will be favoured to win against Marist St. Pat's, Norths and Poneke.

Like Wainui, Upper Hutt are not out of the relegation zone just yet, with just the one win so far against Wainui and a 26-20 loss to Johnsonville last week. Upper Hutt welcomed the services of Hurricanes fullback Cory Jane last week, the Heretaunga Hare joining star halfback Alby Mathewson in the lineup. But with the pair set to be lost to representative duty, the side will need to dig deep over the final month, starting with this week's encounter at Evans Bay Park against MSP.

Johnsonville's chances of making the top four and thus the Swindale Shield again in 2008 are still threadbare. However they should beat Norths at Porirua Park this week, especially if they have Chris Masoe in their ranks as hoped.

Meanwhile, the Jubilee Cup dishes up some key clashes this week, with Poneke in survival mode against Old Boys-University at the Basin Reserve and Norths out to get their season back on track against top of the table Hutt Old Boys Marist at the Hutt Recreation Ground. Elsewhere, Tawa and MSP meet at Lyndhurst Park and Petone and the Wests Roosters do battle at Ian Galloway Park.

Another factor in round four of Jubilee and Hardham Cup play will be the possible unavailability or limited role of a number of the players involved in the Wellington XV match against Waikato at Porirua Park on Friday night. This and the upcoming full Vodafone Wellington Lions squad will impact on the competition over the next month.

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