“Uawa have a very big forward pack and so Hikurangi will need to gain parity up front if their backs are going to be a factor. The TVC backline is spearheaded by the old master, Verdon Bartlett, and so the very fit, well-drilled City eight will want to nullify that.”
Hikurangi beat Uawa 10-7 at Uawa Domain in Week 10 this season, and the age-old clash between “The River” and “The Mountain” is primed for excitement.
Both teams play with flair and with a hard edge up front.
Hikurangi fullback Kris Palmer scored a magnificent try against Waiapu last week — he is a proven performer for Ngati Porou East Coast at Heartland Championship level. He, like Roha Dalton-Reedy of Ruatoria City, has searing pace.
Uawa vice-captain Harley Phillips, a rugby warrior, will lead the visitors’ forward effort with his hard running and ability to break tackles.
“We’re feeling good — every man who’s been at training this week was there for more than himself: he was there for the club,” said Hikurangi captain Te Rangi Matanuku Parata, one who matches Phillips for ferocity.
“It’s going to come down to who wants it more — every individual has a burning desire to win.”
Competition for places in the 22-man squad has been as fierce as the weather at Thursday night training. Hikurangi beat Uawa 8-6 at Whakarua Park in the 2004 final in pouring rain on a mud-heap. The home team’s barrel-chested son Horace Lewis scored the decisive try.
In home finals, they beat Waiapu 10-3 in 2013 and Hicks’ Bay 26-11 in 2014: in Middle Earth parlance, they know how to defend their own keep.
“Our boys are in good spirits,” Uawa coach Peter Crawford said.
“I can assure you we’ll be up for the challenge.
“The game will be a battle of two good forward packs who will try to outmuscle each other.
“We know that we will have to take all our chances to win.”
Both teams — and by extension, East Coast rugby — recently lost two icons of the game in Jury Harrison, whose son Doone now coaches Hikurangi following a distinguished playing career for the club, and Norman Hauiti senior, whose son Norman junior, “Puri”, is a front-row reserve for Uawa tomorrow.
Phillips will not carry the burden up front alone. The visitors have an excellent ball-winner at the lineout in Reg Namana.
In BJ Sidney, who scored Uawa’s second try in the 10-20 loss to City at Uawa Domain last week, they have the fullback and captain to turn a game on its head.
Field position will be tremendously important in both semifinals tomorrow. Accurate, long line-kicking to turn the opposition around will be crucial.
Where the scores are low, teams seizing on vital moments put themselves in a position to take must-win games. Sidney’s great hands under the high ball, his composure and his vision could be decisive factors.
TVC beat Ruatoria City 34-22 at Whangaparaoa in Week 14 but they know that the Paddy Allen-led City are these days a different animal, with the likes of Nathaniel Fox and Roha Dalton-Reedy of the backs in superb form.
Quickness and a hyper-step make Dalton-Reedy one of the hardest men in the club competition for even the best defenders to get a clear shot at first-up. He is almost impossible to run down from behind.
“We’ve prepared physically; we’re prepared mentally,” TVC captain Moana Mato said.
“We’re up for this. Both sides have brilliant individuals yet it’ll take not just the starting 15 but the entire 22 to win this weekend.”
Mato expects a hard, physical encounter with both sets of forwards fighting hard to lay the platform for victory.
Were TVC coach Whetu Haerewa playing tomorrow, he’d be wearing long sprigs.
“I’ll be happy if we do the basics and everyone does their job — they all know what that is.”
TVC beat Ruatoria City 34-22 in Week 14 — Mato scored two tries and Bartlett, one. The home team will need to start the game well again.
Their Week 14 clash was well controlled by Bay of Plenty referee Kelvin Taikato. On that occasion, Haerewa was delighted with the way in which that game flowed, due in large part to both teams’ constructive play at the breakdown.
If Chris Wanoa and Harawira Matahiki get the same excellent attitude from all four teams this weekend, there’s no reason both games shouldn’t run as smoothly or produce the same spectacle.
