Pirates and Ruapehu to duke it out in Wanganui Premier Rugby Championship final

Ruapehu coach Daisy Alabaster is unsure whether veteran Craig Clare will take the field for Saturday's final against Pirates. Photo / Maxine Hakaraia

They finished on the top two rungs of the ladder and tomorrowRuapehu and Pirates will try to knock each other off.

To the victor go the spoils and in this case the loot is the Tasman Tanning Premier Wanganui Rugby Championship, which McCarthy's Transport Ruapehu will look to defend at Cooks Gardens.

Earlier in the season, Pirates got one up on Ruapehu with a narrow 12-10 win, but the mountain men turned the tables in the final round-robin clash with a comprehensive 36-7 victory.

Black Bull Liquor Pirates coach Philip Morris was unconcerned about past performances.

"It's a two team competition now, past results don't account for much, excitement levels are as high as expected and preparation has been good," he said.

"We're looking forward to it, it will be a special occasion for both clubs."

Halfback Fa'alele Iosua, flanker Emile Fanene and prop Raymond Salu missed last weekend's 20-10 semifinal victory over Byford's Readimix Taihape due to visa issues and are likely to miss out again.

"They probably won't play, but sometimes adversity can work in your favour. They were influential players, but it just makes the other players step up and play for them," Morris said.

"These boys are only 19 or 20. It's a big occasion for them and if you don't know your one-percenters in finals it can come back and bite you.

"We just ask that they go out there and get the basics right like they did last week."

Morris said that defence made the difference last week and that is what got them into the final.

"Our defence last week was probably some of the best I've seen from a Pirates team for years, they really stepped up and we got three tries from our solid defence.

"Sometimes when you've got too much ball it's a hindrance, you just let the team that's got the ball attack until it's your turn and when the scraps appear, you convert.

"Defence wins finals, I'm certain of that."

Ruapehu coach Daisy Alabaster echoed those sentiments.

"We've got to be really good on defence, those guys, they certainly run at a hole and they run at pace," Alabaster said.

"Our set piece has to be good too, but with our defence, we have to stop them where we want to stop them, not on our side of the advantage line."

"If we can do that and limit our own mistakes, touch wood, we might be alright."

Ruapehu enter the final as defending champions, having beaten Border 28-26 last year and defeating Waverley Harvesting Border 29-27 last week for the chance to go back-to-back.

They are sweating on the fitness of veteran Craig Clare, who injured himself in training last week and was forced from the field in the semifinal.

The last time the two teams faced off in a final was in 2014, on that occasion the Pirates raided the loot, taking Ruapehu down by a six point margin at 23-17.

That is the largest winning margin in a final since 2010 and Alabaster said that experience helped to close out those close games.

"Look at what happened last Saturday with Border, we were very, very lucky to get out of jail there, but cool heads prevailed.

"Once you get to the finals, it comes down to who wants it the most and who makes the least mistakes on the day.

"I have no doubts about Pirates, they'll come out on the day and they'll give us everything that they've got."

Finals rugby kicks off at Spriggens Park at 11.30am when Marist Buffalo's take on Kaierau in the senior consolation final.

Following that, the Metro Colts will meet Massey White in Manawatu Colts semifinal action at 1pm.

The curtain-raiser to the premier decider at Cooks Gardens will be the senior championship final between Marist Celtic and Kelso Hunterville at 12.45pm.