Talking Rugby: Steelform Whanganui and South Canterbury in final

Gabriel Hakaraia gains some territory for Steelform Whanganui. Photo / Steve Carle

The stage is set for what promises to be an exciting climax to the 2023 Bunnings Warehouse Heartland Championship between Steelform Whanganui and South Canterbury at Temuka on Saturday afternoon.

For a second successive year the top rugby unions from the North Island - six-time Meads Cup winners the Butcher Boys - meet the defending title-holders from the South Island in the televised final.

There is extra interest this season with South Canterbury, unbeaten in 28 matches since 2021, focused on a victory to match Whanganui’s Meads Cup hat-trick of three successive titles in 2015-16-17.

After a dismal start to the current season, losing to Thames Valley 36-33 on opening day and the Sir Colin Meads Log 23-17 to mediocre King Country a fortnight later, Whanganui knuckled down with five bonus-point victories to qualify for a home semifinal last weekend.

The scalps included defending Lochore Cup champions Ngāti Porou East Coast (40-24), who gave South Canterbury an early fright in last Saturday’s Meads Cup semi before losing 34-17, and winning over this year’s Lochore Cup qualifiers North Otago (34-10), West Coast (36-12) and Wairarapa-Bush (36-18).

The solid training paid handsome dividends because Whanganui pipped the Swamp Foxes by a point to host a semifinal last weekend, when the Valley were demolished 38-3 in the union’s heaviest defeat in recent years, the side failing to score a try in contrast to a five-try haul at the same venue two months earlier.

It was Thames Valley’s heaviest loss against the Butcher Boys since losing 43-0 at Paeroa in 2008.

Steelform Whanganui player Dane Whale drives forward against Thames. Photo / Steve Carle

Whanganui completely dominated the first spell, opening up a 27-3 halftime lead thanks to all-round solid forward play and some thrilling backline raids.

It was in contrast to South Canterbury in the other semi, who trailed at halftime against East Coast, starting the second half behind on the scoreboard for a fifth time this season.

Although beating Whanganui 47-36 in the 2022 final, the Blues led 22-17 at the break and were ahead at three other stages.

The message this time is to keep the pressure on and not concede costly penalties because Nelson Marist-loaned first five Sam Briggs (more than 300 points in his 30-plus games since 2019) is a very accurate goalkicker who scored 32 in two games against the Butchers last year.

South Canterbury halfback William Wright, one of eight 2022 New Zealand Heartland reps, has scored more than 400 rep points since 2011 in his 80 games.

Add in lively winger Kalavini Leatigaga (250-plus tries, including a try in each of his team’s last three games against Whanganui, and 60 caps since 2016), and there is plenty of backline power to support the home forwards.

The 2.05pm final is only the second first-class rugby fixture to be played at the multi-sport Temuka Domain in the past 95 years. Thames Valley lost 23-17 there last year.

The South Canterbury home fixtures are being played around the union while the Timaru main field is being redeveloped.

Whanganui won the 2015 Meads Cup final 28-11 in Timaru as well as the 2017 (29-24) Meads and 2003 (17-14) NPC Division 3 semifinals.

Since the two unions first met on August 11, 1894 at the Wanganui Recreation Ground (later to become Spriggens Park), Whanganui have won 25 of 43 fixtures, scored 763 points and conceded 685 with an average match score of 18-16.

Kaierau players featured in the first rep game, centre A. Jackson and halfback H. Kiernan scoring tries and Jackson kicking a penalty goal in the 9-0 victory.

Whanganui lead by an average score of 24-21 in the 15 Heartland fixtures, winning 10 of 15 matches, scoring 365 points and conceding 311.

Going into the weekend final, Whanganui have scored 302 points this year (43 tries), and conceded 159 (21 tries) for an average score of 34-18, while South Canterbury are 375 points for (56 tries) and 197 against (28 tries) for an average score of 42-22.

The Lochore Cup final in Greymouth on Sunday will be played between third (West Coast) and fourth (Poverty Bay) qualifiers, after Coast beat Wairarapa-Bush 33-27 at Masterton and Bay upset North Otago 40-35 in Ōamaru.