Much-anticipated final week of first round matches on Saturday

The anticipation is building for a mammoth last week of first round rugby throughout the Premier Swindale Shield, Senior 1 Harper Lock Shield and Senior 2 National Mutual Cup grades.

Winners will be crowned this Saturday in each of these grades, with several other teams fighting it out down the tables in the Premier and Senior 1 competitions for promotion and relegation for the second round.

Players have felt a chill in the air at trainings this week, but the action heats up on Saturday afternoon.

In the Swindale Shield, two teams - Hutt Old Boys Marist and Marist St Pat's - can still win the title, while four teams including traditional superclub Petone are battling it out for up to two spots up for grabs to finish inside the top eight and make the Jubilee Cup round.

In the Harper Lock Shield, Marist St Pat's will be crowned first round champions after winning the Senior 1 title with a week to spare last Saturday, but up to four clubs are battling it out for up two spots also still available for the Hardham Cup.

In the Senior 2 National Mutual Cup, the Wellington Axemen just need a solitary competition point from their last match against the Wests Roosters to take the title. If not Upper Hutt can beat Old Boys University by a bonus point and snatch the silverware.

For the Hutt Old Boys Marist Eagles in the Swindale Shield, the equation appears simple: beat Wainuiomata at home and win the first round title. But doing that could be anything but straightforward in what shapes a colossal battle at the Hutt Recreation Ground.

The Eagles, who play a positive, entertaining brand of rugby would be deserving winners of the first round. But in their well drilled, hard working neighbours from over the hill Wainuiomata they face a mighty challenge. Third placed Wainuiomata are safely through to the Jubilee Cup and have nothing to lose so are sure to throw everything at the Eagles to spoil their party.

If so, Marist St. Pat's will leapfrog HOBM and thus claim the Swindale Shield - providing they beat Petone down river at the Petone Recreation Ground. But with Petone desperate to win this to avoid the drop to Hardham Cup, this is far from assured and a titanic struggle between these two traditional rivals is expected.

Petone are fighting it out with Norths, Tawa and OBU to make the top eight, and this race could come down to who beat who earlier in the round to decide who goes through and who stays up - it's that close.

To make the Jubilee Cup, sixth placed Norths (23 points) just need one solitary competition point from their match against strugglers Rimutaka at home at Porirua Park so they should be safe.

Seventh placed Tawa (21) just need two competition points from their encounter with the already relegated Wests Roosters. Should they come away empty handed against the Roosters then they will be relying on either Petone losing to MSP or eighth placed OBU (21) losing to fourth placed Upper Hutt to progress without the calculators coming out.

Likewise, OBU just need two competition points by way of a draw or a four-try loss within seven points against Upper Hutt at Maidstone Park to make the Jubilee Cup. Should they fail to do so, they will then need Petone to lose to MSP to progress.

Ninth placed Petone (18) must beat MSP first and foremost, then rely on either Norths, Tawa and OBU losing their respective matches to qualify.

But even then they could be locked out. If Petone, Tawa, OBU and/or Norths finish on the same amount of points in a circular tie then Petone could miss out that way. As it stands, the points differential of these teams is: Norths +4, Tawa +55, Petone -11 and OBU -20.

If Petone and Tawa finish in eighth equal on the same amount of points then Tawa will qualify on the basis of Tawa beating Petone 43-13 when they met two weeks ago.

On the plus side for Petone, if it came down to them and Norths being tied on 23 points in eighth equal then Petone would progress on the basis of Petone beating Norths 27-20 in round seven.

Similarly, if it came down to Petone and OBU being all square on points in eighth place it would come down to points differential as Petone and OBU drew 18-18 when they met in round eight. With a superior points for and against record than OBU at? this point, Petone would proceed on that basis.

MSP and Petone also play for the Bill Elvy Memorial Trophy, after the late Bill Elvy who was originally from Canterbury but played for Petone soon after seeing the light and arriving in Wellington. He was a Wellington representative in the late 1920s and made the North Island and New Zealand XV teams (1929). Bill's son Norm played for both the Marist and St Pat's clubs and his grandson Martin played for MSP. Petone are the current holders having won 46-14 last year, but MSP won their return Jubilee Cup clash last year 31-6 and have won six of their past nine encounters in total.

The one match this week that doesn't have any bearing on the second round qualifications is the Poneke versus Ories clash at Kilbirnie Park. With Ories already safely into the Jubilee Cup and Poneke already confirmed in the Hardham Cup this match puts pride and eastern suburbs bragging rights on the line.

Poneke and Ories also contest the interclub Jim Grbich Memorial Shield, after the former Poneke player and seven-year Wellington and three-year Maori representative who died in a car accident in 1962. Together with Moray Bevan, Grbich formed a lethal combination in the midfield for Poneke, Wellington and New Zealand Maori. Ories are the current holders having won 28-8 last year. Ories also won their return Jubilee Cup encounter in 2011 23-19.

In the Harper Lock Shield, winners Marist St. Pat's (42) and current third placed Johnsonville (33) are both confirmed Hardham Cup starters, but the remaining two spots are still to be decided.

Second placed OBU (35) have also already qualified for the Hardham Cup, but their participation is pending their top team making the Jubilee Cup.

Fourth placed Poneke (30) can stay inside the top four but they must stay down as their top team are already confirmed Hardham Cup starters.

With Poneke unable to advance and with this same fate possibly befalling OBU, this then leaves OBU, Norths (30), Petone and Wainuiomata (both 27) and at a stretch HOBM (25) all still in the hunt to join MSP and Johnsonville in the Hardham Cup.

In last round Harper Lock Shield games, Petone thus must beat Senior 1 champions MSP at 1.15pm at the Petone Rec and rely on other results including the fortunes of their top team in the game that follows.

Wainuiomata will need to beat HOBM and then sweat on other Senior 1 results when they play HOBM in the curtain-raiser at the Hutt Rec at 1.15pm. HOBM can beat Wainuiomata with a bonus point and still sneak in if other results go their way and then break out their calculators and the WRFU bylaws.

Norths just need to beat ninth placed Paremata-Plimmerton at Porirua Park at 1.15pm and then assume their top team knocks over Rimutaka in the main game that follows to progress. But this match against neighbours Paremata-Plimmerton is not one to be taken lightly. It is for the Ivan Hargreaves Trophy donated by the man who was an active club rugby administrator for the old Titahi Bay RFC and also a Porirua City Councillor for many terms. Norths are the current holders having won this match 57-0 last year.

Johnsonville will be scoping their fourth consecutive win when they meet bottom placed Tawa at Helston Park at 3.00pm. Tawa and Johnsonville play for the Carman Cup, named after Arthur Carman who was the first Patron of the Tawa RFC. He was also a member of the Johnsonville club. The trophy was first played for in 1952 and apart from one year (1994) it has been contested each year since. Johnsonville are the current holders having defeated Tawa 20-10 last year.

Elsewhere, Poneke will want to play the spoiler role when they host Ories at Kilbirinie Park at 1.15pm and OBU will be out to refine their playbook ahead of their second round in the Hardham Cup (assuming their top team makes the Jubilee Cup) when they play 10^th placed Avalon at Fraser Park in 3.00pm.

In the National Mutual Cup, Wellington will be expected to collect the solitary point they need to win the second round when they play 11^th placed Wests at Ian Galloway Park at 1.15pm.

Should they lose their first game of the season and be shut out by the Roosters then Upper Hutt will claim the first round Senior 2 title provided they beat OBU with a bonus point at Maidstone Park at 1.15pm.

With Wellington and Upper Hutt already confirmed as the two teams in this grade to be playing in the Senior 1 Ed Chaney Cup in the second round, the last round in this grade for most is all about momentum.

Joint third placed Poneke and Norths will be expected to win their games. Poneke play ninth placed Ories on Kilbirnie 2 at 1.15pm and Norths entertain 10^th placed Stokes Valley at Porirua 2 at 1.15pm.

Avalon can consolidate fifth place if they beat HOBM at the Hutt Rec 2 at 1.15pm? and eighth placed MSP play bottom placed Petone at Petone Rec 2 at 1.15pm.

The Premier women's Victoria Tavern Trophy resumes after a week off, with Norths seeking their third straight win of the second round against Stokes Valley at Porirua at 11.30am, Eketahuna and Wainuiomata squaring off in the Wairarapa at 11.30am and Ories and OBU playing at the Polo Ground at 11.30am.

Wellington College battled to their third straight Premier 1 college First XV win of the season on Wednesday against St Pat's Silverstream, with the remaining three matches of the third round on Saturday.

In other matches, St. Pat's Town will be desperate for their first win when they line up against Rongotai at Evans Bay Park in their Traditional fixture, St Bernard's can make it three from three and join Wellington College at the top if they beat HIBS at home and Scots host Aotea back in town.