Hutt Old Boys Marist and Tawa on Swindale Shield collision course

Above: It was close at Fraser Park between Avalon and Johnsonville. In this Senior 1 Harper Lock Shield match Johnsonville won 17-16, while in the other Senior 2 National Mutual Cup between the sides, the visitors prevailed 27-26.

Saturday 25 May at the Hutt Recreation Ground. Pencil that date in now as the likely 2013 Swindale Shield title decider when home team the Hutt Old Boys Marist take on Tawa.

With three rounds to play, including that penultimate round clash in a fortnight, the duo sit out in front equal on 33 points and with a game in hand to their nearest challenger Oriental-Rongotai.

Both teams won well today, in testing conditions.

The wind might have biting, but the rugby was sharp at the Eagles' lair as HOBM made no race of their biggest interclub match of the year, the 79^th playing of the McBain Shield against Petone.

HOBM played breathtaking rugby in the first half in beating Petone 50-22. The Eagles ran in seven tries to dismember Petone's challenge and take the maximum competition points in some style. HOBM led 36-3 at halftime, but there was no solace for the Villagers after the break with the wind in their favour, stern defence ensuring the McBain Shield will stay at the Hutt Rec for at least another year.

Individually, wing three-quarter James Kusel scored four tries - to go with his hat-trick last week against Rimutaka - while former Upper Hutt flanker James Wall bagged a brace. Fullback Brandyn Laursen scored their other try and kicked 15 points, sailing past 159 for the season in just eight matches so far.

As expected, Tawa were made to work extremely hard for their 33-23 win over Oriental-Rongotai on their Old Timers' Day. With two early tries they raced to an 18-0 lead before Ories had fired a shot. But the visitors came back with two tries of their own to close the margin to 13-20 late in the first half.

Tawa first five-eighth Junior Togia then scored again for the home team off a lineout steal just before the break, and the 27-13 halftime eventually proved big enough against an ill-disciplined Ories who yielded a losing bonus point in the dying minutes by conceding a penalty to Tawa.

The middle of the table remains extremely tight, with just four points separating the five teams from fifth through to ninth. The top eight finishing teams at the end of the 11-match round-robin qualify for the prestigious Jubilee Cup.

Of the chasing pack, Wainuiomata were the big movers of afternoon, quashing Upper Hutt's challenge on their Old Timers' Day in difficult underfoot conditions at William Jones Park,? also retaining the Peter Jones/Dave Ritchie Cup.

Like Tawa, Wainuiomata did the damage early, scoring three unconverted tries near the sideline to take a 15-3 lead into the halftime turnaround. This included their fist try? being scored by wing Jason Love who took his tally to nine for the season.

Upper Hutt came back in the second spell scoring two tries soon after the turnaround, to trail by just two points with plenty of rugby still to be played. But the home side, who enjoyed a superiority up front throughout, pulled clear in the closing stages and closed the match out in the last stanza of play.

Poneke continued their slide down the table, losing to MSP 24-27 in a potentially significant clash for the fortunes of both teams.

The margin of victory may have been close, but it was much more comfortable for MSP after they broke open the match midway through the second half after a dour first half.

MSP, defending the Horan-Millar Trophy against their rivals Poneke in the ‘Battle of Kilbirnie', led just 3-0 at halftime. The biggest talking point of the first 50 minutes or so of the match was Poneke's ill-discipline and the three yellow cards they conceded.

Both sides scored tries early in the second spell and MSP advanced their lead to 10-7. MSP took a quick tap penalty and No. 8 Pago Haini darted to the try line to score under the bar. First five-eighth Andrew Wells converted to put them in front 17-7 and the match was as good as won at that juncture.

In another hugely important result, Northern United beat Old Boys University 43-30 at home at Porirua Park on their Old Timers' Day.

The win for Norths pushes them back into the top eight, and with minnows Rimutaka still to play, they surely will maintain their position. The loss for OBU pushes them back down to ninth and in the Hardham Cup zone.

It was tit-for-tat scoring throughout much of the contest, with OBU holding a 25-22 advantage at halftime. However Norths, with the wind, regained the lead and pulled clear after the break. The telling try of the match was a breakout from halfway by wing AJ Va'alepu which gave the Bulldogs some breathing space over the Billy Goats.

In the other Swindale Shield match of the eighth round, the Wests Roosters defeated Rimutaka 52-7 on their Old Timers' Day at Ian Galloway Park. The Roosters scored eight tries, their bonus point win taking them above Upper Hutt on the points table.

The first 30 minutes of the match was one-way traffic as Wests raced to a 33-0 lead and threatened to run riot. But, too their credit, Rimutaka fought back and drew the next half hour of play 7-7. Wests completely dominated the set-pieces, but Rimutaka fought hard in the tackle and on the ground.

It wasn't until late in the match that Wests ran away with proceedings again. Wing Aukuso Aukuso scored a hat-trick of tries.

In the Senior 1 Harper Lock Shield competition, the Wellington Axemen put down Tawa's challenge to win 22-10 at Lyndhurst Park and maintain their position at the top of the table.

Wellington lead joint second placed Johnsonville and OBU by a single point after Johnsonville pipped Avalon 17-16 in their match at Fraser Park and OBU beat Norths 32-10 at Porirua Park.

It's not guaranteed, but these three teams should have done enough now to qualify for the Premier 2 Hardham Cup in the second round. Although, OBU will be sweating on their top team making the Jubilee Cup round.

Avalon remain in fourth, picking up a bonus point in defeat to Johnsonville.

In other round 8 Senior 1 matches, Petone beat Paremata-Plimmerton 37-17, possibly ending the latter's drive for a top four finish and a place in the Hardham Cup, MSP won well over Poneke, 30-8, and Upper Hutt beat Wainuiomata 19-15.

In the Senior 2 National Mutual Cup competition, it was business as usual for HOBM's second fifteen, beating Petone 32-10 in the early game on the Hutt Rec. HOBM remain unbeaten after eight rounds.

Ories are their nearest challenger, after whipping the Wests Roosters 71-12 at Ian Galloway Park, while Avalon dropped down slightly after losing to Johnsonville 26-27 - meaning two losses for Avalon against the boys in blue in one day.

OBU are in striking distance of the top two, in fourth, after beating Norths 15-0, while Stokes Valley grabbed their second win of the season in beating Wainuiomata 15-10 and Poneke earned their first victory of the year in this grade, beating MSP 27-19.

The Northern United women's team won the first round Fleurs Trophy with next week's fifth round to space, beating nearest challenger Avalon 66-0 on their Old Timers' Day.

Elsewhere in the women's grade, Ories overwhelmed Poneke-MSP 53-5 and Wainuiomata edged out OBU 8-3.

In Paris Memorial Trophy U21 Division One, there were wins for OBU, HOBM, Ories and Wellington.

OBU beat Norths 30-7, HOBM smoked MSP 49-0, Ories pipped Petone Blue 31-22 and Wellington gave Tawa the Axe, winning 35-19.

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For full game-by-game match reports from round eight click here