Rugby: Squeeze on for final berths

Bayleys Southern Districts Premier and Premier Reserve competitions this weekend play in the penultimate round, pictured is Kamo's Tyler Landsdowne looking to shovel the ball on against Old Boys Marist two weeks ago.Photo / Michael Cunningham

Just like the New Zealand conference in the Super 15, the Bayleys Southern Districts Premier Competition is so tight teams should already be thinking about playing knockout rugby.

With five teams battling for the final two play-off spots - Hora Hora and Wellsford have their home semifinals confirmed - Old Boys Marist's match against Otamatea in this weekend's penultimate round is likely to play a big part in the final make up of teams.

While Otamatea are in fourth spot, they are only one point ahead of Mid Northern, Old Boys Marist, and Waipu, making tomorrow's 2.15pm match at Kensington a must-win for both teams.

In the first round of the competition Old Boys Marist had the wood over their Kaiwaka opponents - winning 20-12.

But, Otamatea will have plenty to prove after coming off back-to-back losses - thanks largely to injury and unavailability of some players.

Meanwhile Old Boys Marist will be looking to continue their form from the last two weeks which has seen them rack up 45-21 and 33-25 wins over Wellsford and Kamo.

Also proving to be essentially a knockout match this weekend is Waipu versus Mid Northern in Hukerenui. Both teams are locked on points, with Mid Northern only fifth thanks to a superior point differential.

Earlier in the season Waipu comfortably beat the northern-most team in the competition 37-15, but recently Mid Northern has looked capable of defending their premier title.

With both teams coming off back-to-back wins, it really will come down to who wants it the most and who has best dealt with having a week off due to Harding Shield rugby.

Sitting third is the consistent Mid Western team who has a local derby against the Western Sharks, which could possibly be a banana skin team for them.

Since Mid Western beat the Sharks 20-7 in round one, the Dargaville team has upped their game and at one point looked as though they could make a real play at making the finals.

In the weekend's other matches, Wellsford and Hora Hora host Kamo and Hikurangi respectively.

Meanwhile in the premier reserve grade, Wellsford and Kamo will do battle in Wellsford with the winner likely to confirm their spot in the semifinals - depending on any other surprise results, which can happen in premier reserve rugby.

Not dissimilar to their premier counter parts, there are five teams scrapping it out for the final two play-off spots after Mid Northern and the Western Sharks have the top two spots secured.