Norths - MSP Showdown Top Billing In Jubilee Cup

The clash of the week for the fourth round of the Jubilee Cup is at Porirua Park between Northern United and Marist St. Pat's, where home team Norths will be looking to bounce back from their shock loss to Upper Hutt against the team that extended its winning streak to 13 wins in 2008 with victory against Poneke in the third round.

MSP's come-from-behind 15-11 victory for Kilbirnie supremacy last week was a narrow win, as was their 20-15 win over against Petone in the previous round. But all that matters for their supporters is that they keep winning, increasing their hopes of achieving the Swindale Shield - Jubilee Cup double in the same season for the first time since 1999 and last achieved by Norths in 2006.

Their winning streak so far in 2008 is also the longest winning run in Premier rugby in recent seasons, surpassing the ten straight Swindale Shield games that Upper Hutt won in winning the first round in 2005, which, coincidentally, was also broken by MSP in the last round.

However MSP have got a long way to go break their previous longest winning streak of 42, which was started at the end of the 1978 season and carried on throughout all of 1979 and most of 1980, until Petone beat them 12-3 in the Jubilee Cup final on an awful day at Athletic Park.

They will first need to beat Norths away from home who will surely be stung into action after losing to Upper Hutt from the position of leading 18-0 at halftime - a loss that was remarkably similar to when MSP pipped them 25-22 on their Old Timers' Day in the first round, with Vodafone Wellington Lions No. 8 Alex Tulou scoring two tries to spark them to victory after Norths led 15-0 at the interval.

Tulou also scored the match winning try in last year's 12-10 Jubilee Cup win for MSP over Norths, while fellow loose forwards Victor Vito scored one and Serge Lilo scored two for Norths in Norths' 39-23 win over MSP in last year's Swindale Shield, the last time they met at Porirua Park.

In other round four Jubilee Cup matches, Petone and Poneke meet at the Petone Recreation Ground, Old Boys-University play Oriental-Rongotai at the Basin Reserve and Upper Hutt and Hutt Old Boys Marist meet at Maidstone Park.

Much interest will centre around the Petone - Poneke encounter, with these two sides having previously met earlier in the season in the Swindale Shield on the occasion of Poneke's 125th Jubilee celebrations. Petone prevailed 51-20 that day, but with both sides shadowing each other so far in the Jubilee Cup with two wins from three and a similar points differential this game promises to be a cracker.

Meanwhile in the Hardham Cup this week, top of the table Tawa travel to Ian Galloway Park to play the Wests Roosters, Wainuiomata host Johnsonville at William Jones Park, Avalon meet Rimutaka at Fraser Park and Norths and MSP square off at Porirua Park in the curtain raiser to the Jubilee Cup game.

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