Competition leaders Tokararangi (28 points) have a bye and with all seven teams — bar TVC — in Enterprise Cars Ngati Porou East Coast club rugby being awarded five points for the cancellation of Week 3, two-time defending champions Uawa (21pts) have overtaken TVC (20pts).
Hicks Bay and Waiapu both have 11 points but no matter what the results may be tomorrow, they, Tokomaru Bay United (10pts) and Hikurangi (6pts) all want to finish the round-robin on a high note.
Hikurangi cannot make the 1 v 4, 2 v 3 semifinals next weekend — Hicks Bay, Waiapu and United can.
For Uawa and TVC, well-clear of the pack, Week 7 is about securing a home semi which for TVC would mean avoiding a two-and-a-half-hour trip — the longest in Coast rugby — back down State Highway 35 next Saturday.
One of Hicks Bay, Waiapu or United will make the trip to Te Araroa to face Tokararangi in 1 v 4.
Hard-working Hicks Bay manager Graeme Summersby is a gentleman and a scholar, and should tick the box “success” next to 2020.
Coach Aaron King’s Hicks Bay team have improved hugely since their 45-5 tune-up from Tokararangi on opening day. They lost a 25-24 thriller to Waiapu on July 25 but overcame that disappointment to beat Hikurangi 21-19 on August 1 — a fantastic testament to their resilience and team spirit, as close losses are often followed by larger ones.
King and Hicks Bay have old heads in key positions, forwards captain, blindside flanker Frank Taiapa, and backline general Sean Murtagh at centre to name but two. Openside flanker Brodie Heu, a veteran, and No.8 Anton King — never an easy man to bring down — give the pack a brawny appearance.
Aaron King said: “The focus of our last training session was backplay — being accurate there — because the boys know this game against United is crucial, do-or-die if we want to make the semis.
“The youngsters have impressed me every week with their bravery, stepping up, and we’ve got things in place for next year. We’d like to thank our supporters, sponsors and the ladies out the back — hosting well is very important to all clubs on the Coast.”
United captain and tighthead prop Mike Chambers-Raroa’s team contains a member whose ironman feats have flown under the radar for two weeks. Tomorrow, lock Mike Tiopira will play his 252nd game for the club.
“(Coaches) Kuru Gray and Lisa Muller have been good for the boys,” Tiopira said.
“We’ve come together. Manager Ronnie Babbington’s sons Api Ngerengere and Liam Babbington-Ngerengere played for us earlier this season and her nephews Saul and Uzi Parata are still playing for us.”
Tiopira’s first coach at United was the late Jimmy “Bebop” Aupouri and his first captain, from No.8, was legendary Ngati Porou East Coast skipper Wirihania Raihania.
“We’ve enjoyed the season — we’ve got at least 17 Tokomaru Bay-based players plus at least eight from town . . . good numbers.”
Those are good numbers but they don’t compare to Tiopira’s 18 straight seasons, or the fact that he’s missed only seven games during that period. Whoever of Hicks Bay, United or Waiapu bow out tomorrow, and however that comes about, one thing is certain.
They’ll make them tackle — and be tackled — lustily before they do.
