The Ōhaupō v Pirongia rural rivalry will continue with another chapter this weekend. Photo / Arthur Uden
Top-of-the-table clashes, jostling for seedings into the second round, and play-offs in the Waitomo Group Women’s Championship headline a massive weekend of Waikato Club Rugby.
Hamilton Old Boys begin their second round following a bye in week one.
They will travel across town to face University, marking their second visit to University in 2024 – their first visit was in week two of the first round, where they narrowly lost 9-8.
University are bouncing back after a tough defeat last weekend to Hamilton Marist, where they led at halftime and early into the second half.
They will be buoyed by that opening 50 minutes last weekend and even more so by being back home in front of their home crowd.
Week one winners Hamilton Marist will travel to Island Reserve to face Ōtorohanga.
These two sides played in late May under lights, where Hamilton Marist were too strong, winning 31-13.
However, Ōtorohanga are a different prospect at home and will throw everything they have at the Marist men as they look to bounce back from an away defeat to Hautapu last weekend.
Hautapu will rest this weekend with the bye before their return next weekend when they travel to Hamilton to get their first turf experience at Marist Park.
Following their opening weekend bye, Fraser Tech enter their second round with a road trip to Te Awamutu to face Te Awamutu Sports at Albert Park.
Te Awamutu are back home after a close loss last weekend to United Matamata Sports, where the lead changed hands multiple times in the final minutes.
Te Awamutu are looking for their first victory since way back in week two – the week after they beat Fraser Tech at home to get their 2024 season under way.
Meanwhile, Fraser Tech welcome back Patrick McCurran after a long injury layoff and will look for his impact off the bench.
Back in town, last week’s two winners will battle when Melville welcome United Matamata Sports to Collins Rd.
After narrow wins last weekend, both sides will head into tomorrow’s action with plenty of confidence and keen to end the weekend top of the standings.
These sides last squared off in early May when Melville travelled to Matamata and upset the home side 27-22.
This week sees the final weekend of the regular season for the Women’s Premiership. Melville hold a slim advantage at the top of the table over the Huskies and will travel south to Ōtorohanga, while the Huskies will host University at Willoughby Park.
A win for Melville will see them maintain the top spot and host a play-off match at Collins Rd, while the Huskies hope for an upset at Island Reserve to potentially jump Melville and claim the top spot on the closing weekend.
The current leading try scorer in the Women’s Premiership, Veisinia Fakalelu, will look to add to her season tally of 14 tries when she takes the field against Ōtorohanga.
Fakalelu is seven tries clear of her nearest rival, Ana Marsters from the Huskies, largely thanks to a six-try haul back in round seven against Kihikihi.
The Division One competition is in its final week of the first round before the split into the Mooloo Shield top six and Championship with the remaining five.
While the top six sides are locked in and cannot be chased down, they are all jostling for places inside that top six – where the top three will all gain an additional home game in the second round.
Two big matchups await.
Fifth-placed Putāruru host top-of-the-table neighbours Southern United in a special game both clubs have anticipated all season.
The last time these sides met, Putāruru won 27-26 in Tokoroa, and Southern United will be looking to make amends tomorrow afternoon.
The other top-six battle sees third-place Leamington hosting second-place Hinuera.
Both sides could still qualify at the top of the table depending on the Southern United and Putāruru result, while both could also fall outside the top three depending on results. A massive matchup is on the cards between two very good sides.
A big derby game with little impact on the ladder sees Ōhaupō hosting neighbours Pirongia at Ōhaupō Memorial Park.
Pirongia are locked into the bottom half of the competition for the second round, while Ōhaupō are playing for the Mooloo Shield come round two. No matter the result, Ōhaupō will finish sixth on the ladder for the opening half of the season.
In other matches, winless Frankton host Suburbs for the Reineck Shield at Swarbrick Park while Kereone host Taupiri at Campbell Park in Morrinsville.
Semifinal weekend for the Women’s Championship will see top seed Putāruru host Taupiri at Nola Block, a massive day of footy for the home side.
Putāruru have gone throughout the season unbeaten, including a 55-5 win over Hautapu back in late April.
Putāruru’s leading point scorer, Bostyn Brown, will be looking for another top performance to guide her side through to another week and earn their spot in the Championship final.
2024 newcomers Suburbs will host the other semifinal when they host Taupiri at Flagstaff Park.
Suburbs have had an almost dream start in their opening year in the Women’s Championship with six wins and one defeat.
Suburbs also boast two of the competition’s five leading try scorers in Violet Hapi-Wise (15) and Araraina Takuira-Mita (7) and will be looking for some of that try-scoring flair to book their spot in the decider.
Taupiri, however, won’t be easy beats as they also have players featuring in the try-scoring charts.
Fullback Renee Swetman, who has amassed eight tries in 2024, with a further 32 points off the boot, sits second on the competition’s points-scoring charts.
She will look to guide her side around the field and cause a small upset in the Women’s Championship.
Two weeks remain in the Colts’ competition, and it is headlined by a top-three matchup when third-place Hamilton Old Boys welcome top-side Hautapu to Fred Jones Park.
Hautapu have been the form side in 2024 and will back themselves heading into town. However, Hamilton Old Boys have recorded six wins from their nine starts and will be keen to upset the table toppers.
Hamilton Marist, who sit one point below Hautapu, will travel down Wairere Drive to Flagstaff Park to face Suburbs.
Hamilton Marist currently boast the competition’s leading points scorer in Levi Cressy-Baggott, who will be looking to add to his season’s tally and hopefully get his side to the top of the table depending on the Hautapu result.
In other matches, University host United Matamata at the University in another big day of code there.
Leamington will host Hinuera, while Pirongia will host Fraser Tech.
In the final matchup, Thames Valley United will host Morrinsville Sports over in Waihī in what will be Morrinsville’s final away trip in the regular season before they return home next weekend.
After their big upset last weekend over top-of-the-table Fraser Tech, Morrinsville are back home again and will welcome Leamington.
While the win didn’t further increase their standings, it did ensure they stay second on the ladder just in front of Melville and Hamilton Marist after their wins last weekend.
Morrinsville Sports get back on the horse with an away trip down to Kio Kio, while Melville and Hamilton Marist face off in a three v four battle where the winner will keep track with Fraser Tech and Morrinsville, while the loser will likely finish the regular season in fourth spot.