Rugby: Fierce battle of top two expected

Kamo's Corey Malcolm in action against Hikurangi in Round 2 of the Southern Districts Premier competition. Photo / Michael Cunningham

This weekend's round of Bayleys Southern Districts rugby will feature one of the biggest clashes of the season.

Wellsford's unbeaten premier team will venture to Hukerenui tomorrow to take on fierce rivals Mid Northern, in what will be a clash of the two most dominant sides in this year's competition.

Wellsford have enjoyed eight wins from eight so far, all of which have been won comfortably - bar one.

The last time Wellsford and Mid Northern met was a hotly contested 21-19 round two nail-biter which saw Wellsford narrowly walk away with the win.

Wellsford coach Ross Neal said his side were not approaching tomorrow's match lightly.

"They were pretty strong at the breakdown last time," he said. "Our set piece this year has been one of the rocks of our game - we're focusing on a win.

"I would imagine it's going to be another tough one."

Despite the threat presented by Mid Northern, Neal said it would be "business as usual" for the Wellsford premier and reserve teams.

"It's getting to the business end of the season [but] we're pretty happy with how we're tracking."

In other games, Hikurangi host Old Boys Marist and Mid Western travel to Hora Hora in a bid to maintain their top three place.

Kamo are still chasing their first win of the season and face the travelling Waipu side, who are carrying plenty of momentum forward from their win over Otamatea last weekend. Otamatea will be hoping home advantage can help keep them in sight of a play-off berth when they host the Western Sharks at Kaiwaka.