Teams look to steady the ship or keep a good thing going

POWER PLAY: Waikohu loose forward Adrian Wyrill barges past YMP halfback Brian Whaitiri-White on his way to scoring a try at Barry Park last Saturday. YMP won a thriller 31-26 and tomorrow will try to maintain their momentum against OBM at the Oval. Waikohu will want to get back to winning ways against Pirates at Te Karaka. Picture by Paul Rickard

It's a big weekend for premier grade rugby as teams try to steady the ship as they look forward to the business end of the competition.

Waikohu and High School Old Boys are fighting to get their campaigns back on track in Civil Project Solutions senior club rugby after upset losses last Saturday, while Ngatapa and YMP aim to build on strong wins.

Pirates and OBM are still in contention for the semifinals, but only just. A couple of bonus-point wins and they'll be back in the picture if other results go their way.

Enterprise Cars OBM are at home against East Coast Farm Vets YMP at the Oval this weekend. Last Saturday, YMP beat previously undefeated Waikohu, and OBM coach Trevor Crosby knows they'll be tough opponents.

OBM would not let their own win against HSOB last Saturday go to their heads against YMP; they would need to “meet fire with fire”.

Crosby said their key for victory this weekend would be accuracy. They wanted to keep possession of the ball and not push the 50-50 passes.

“We need another big game from the whole team to get the result we want . . . this game is huge.”

Kevin Hollis Glass Pirates have a tough assignment this weekend, away to GT Shearing Waikohu, who are eager to come back strongly after their close loss last weekend.

Pirates captain Willie Bolingford said they'd have to turn up ready for a tough game. He expected Waikohu to come out firing.

Sticking to the game plan of being tough up front so they could play their own structure would be the key to victory over a strong outfit like Waikohu.

“The boys are keen,” Bolingford said.

“Our strength is in our forwards; they'll dictate a lot of play so our backs can strike off a solid base.”

Larsawn Ngatapa host Contract Consultants HSOB at the Patutahi Domain this weekend.

HSOB coach Danny Boyle said they were expecting a tough game . . . Ngatapa were always tough opponents at home, and they were in form at the moment.

Boyle said his side were looking forward to playing their expansive style and the weather looked promising.

“We'd like to explore what we can do with our backs if the weather is nice . . . we pride ourselves on our set-piece.”

The Waikohu-Pirates game will be refereed by Damien Macpherson, the OBM-YMP game by Keelyn Smith, and the Ngatapa-HSOB game by Royce Maynard.

Waikohu are at the top of the points table, with 26. Three points back are Ngatapa. Bonus points make the difference, as both sides have a five-win/one-loss record.

YMP are third, on 21 points from four wins, with five bonus points.

HSOB are in fourth position, on 12 points, five clear of reigning champions OBM, on 7. Pirates have 6 points.

Match details —

OBM v YMP, the Oval, 2.45pm.

Waikohu v Pirates, Te Karaka, 2.45pm.

Ngatapa v HSOB, Patutahi Domain, 2.45pm.