Wanganui may have missed out on a Ranfurly Shield challenge this season but five of the current successful Shield players are in the Hawke's Bay Saracens Development squad to play at Cooks Gardens on Saturday.
The Bay has defended the Shield three times this year against Heartland unions - 58-7 v
Wairarapa-Bush, 50-16 v Horowhenua-Kapiti and 57-12 v Meads Cup champions Mid Canterbury - and five of the expanded 2015 Magpies squad used for those challenges are coming to Wanganui.
The game is not a first-class fixture but is the final dress rehearsal for Steelform Wanganui before the Butcher Boys take on Horowhenua-Kapiti at Levin on Saturday week, August 22, in the opening round of the 2015 Pink Batts Heartland championship qualifying competition.
Although the Magpies eventually retained the "Log" comfortably in the trio of challenges from the Heartland unions this season, a feature of all three games was the spirited early opposition from the challengers as the half-time scores clearly indicate - 17-7, 17-9 and 11-6.
As has been customary with early season challenges in recent years the ITM Cup shield holders have used wider-based squads and Hawke's Bay has followed that trend.
Prop Mason Lean (MAC), lock Everard Reid (MAC), hookers Jorian Tangaere (Hastings) and Mikey Sosene-Feagai (Taradale) and centre Ted Walters (Tech), from the Saracens Development Squad,were given Shield games this season along with former Magpie winger Mikey Vuicabau (Havelock North), ex-NZ Under-20 reps centre Star Timu (Hastings) and winger Penikolo Latu (MAC) and ITM Cup wider squad halfback Jono Ruru (Pirates) - all in the Saracens Development Squad.
The Saracens are playing Wanganui, Manawatu and Wellington squads in preparation for Hurricanes Regional Development competition games against Manawatu, Wellington Samoans and Wellington.
Saturday's match is important for Wanganui because last weekend's scheduled game against the King Country Rams, at Ohakune, was wiped out at the last minute because of road closures.
As a result the Wanganui and King Country Heartland training squads played against their own Development squads in practice games in Turangi and Ohakune.
It was a very testing time for the Pacific Islanders in the Wanganui squads because of snow on Ohakune's Rochfort Park.
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Wanganui will be without two of the king-pins of the champion Integrity Motors Pirates side for the Heartland campaign with both first five Denning Tyrell and No 8 Lasa Ulukuta not available.
Tyrell, who has played 89 games for Wanganui between 1997 and 2011, has withdrawn from the 2015 squad because of work and family commitments and Ulukuta is on the injury list.
It is a shame they are not available because they both played major roles in the success of Pirates last season and again this year - Tyrell with his astute play and accurate goal-kicking and Ulukuta with his aggressive play.
An interesting addition to the squad is 2013 New Zealand Sevens rep Trinity Spooner-Neera, a Napier Tech utility back who plays either centre or fullback.
He could not make it to the Wanganui training camp at Raetihi and Ohakune last Saturday because his car was sliding on icy roads on a trip from the Hawke's Bay.
Heavyweight prop Isaac Tupai, from Manawatu, played in the Ohakune trial but is carrying a lot of weight.
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Saturday's fixture will be the first appearance by a Hawke's Bay senior team in Wanganui since the Magpies won an NPC Div 2 championship match 54-0 at Cooks Gardens in 2004.
That season Hawke's Bay was second to Nelson Bays in the championship.
Over the years there have been 45 first-class games between the Butcher Boys and Magpies with the Bay winning 34 times, Wanganui 10 and there was a 6-all draw in Wanganui in 1927.
Wanganui hosted and won the first match 10-3 in 1901 and other home victories were 12-0 in 1905, 12-3 1910, 8-0 1931, 21-17 1933, 16-11 1937, 19-15 1986 and 29-18 in 1988. Only away wins were both in Hastings - 8-0 in 1936 and 20-19 in 1989.
There have been 15 defeats in as many matches at Napier and also losses at Waipukurau (18-22 in 1921) and Dannevirke (3-35 in 1929). Heaviest defeat was 78-22 at McLean Park in 2003.
The two unions have played twice for the Ranfurly Shield with the Magpies winning 36-3 at Hastings in 1926 and 39-16 at Napier in 1934.
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Denning Tyrell has become only the second Pirates player in the past half century to top the individual points scoring in Wanganui premier club rugby with 133 points in the 2015 Tasman Tanning championship.
The only other Pirates' player to achieve the feat during the last 50 years was former Maori All Black Matene Love with 177 pts in 1984 during a short period away from Manawatu rugby when he played 25 times for Wanganui in 1984 and 1986.
It is the second time that Tyrell has topped the Wanganui points scoring, also achieving the feat with 265 pts for the champion Kaierau side in 1997. That was a Wanganui record until Waiouru's Jody Smith, also the Manawatu club record holder and still holder of most points in a Manawatu rep season (182 in 1991), set a Wanganui club record of 271 pts, which still stands, in 1998. Smith played one game for Wanganui in 1995.
There were three points centurions in Wanganui premier club rugby this year - Tyrell 133 (7 tries, 7 penalty goals, a field goal and 37 conversions), Ruapehu's Zyon Hekenui 125 (3 tries, 19 penalty goals, a field goal and 25 conversions) and Border's Jack Lupton 111 (2 tries, 13 penalty goals and 32 conversions). Ricky Alabaster (Utiku OB) missed his century by 2 pts and Border mid field back Poasa Waqanibau, the leading try scorer with 19, finished with 95 pts.
Last year there were also three points centurions -Border's Bobu Ulukuta 190, Hekenui 111 and Taihape's Tom Wells 100 with Clive Stowers (Pirates) the top try scorer with 16.
Border had provided the No 1 points scorer for the past three years - Ulukuta with 190 last season and Mark Davis with 158 in 2012 and 155 in 2013.
Since 1965 Kaierau has provided the top points scorer 16 times, Waverley (now Border) seven times, Tech six, Marton and Marist five each, Hunterville three times, Wanganui Pirates and Ratana twice each and Wanganui HSOB, Wanganui-Counties, Bulls, Taihape Pirates, Ohakune, Waiouru and Utiku OB once each. There were dead heats in 1991 (between Robert Tohia Hunterville and Dion Maua Wanganui Counties with 197) and in 1999 (Jerome Nahona Tech and Jason Hamlin Marist on 132).
Zyon Hekenui was the top goal-kicker this year on 110 pts, nine ahead of Lupton, with Tyrell and Alabaster each missing 100 by 2 pts. Bobo Ulukuta was No 1 last season on 125, 25 ahead of Tom Wells
Final 2015 premier club stats -
Individual points - 133 Denning Tyrell (Pirates), 125 Zyon Hekenui (Ruapehu), 111 Jack Lupton (Border), 98 Ricky Alabaster (Utiku OB), 95 Poasa Waqanibau (Border), 86 Ace Malo (Kaierau), 84 Taylor Transom (Taihape), 72 Troy Brown (Ruapehu), 65 Michael Nabuliwaqa (Utiku OB), 62 Bobo Ulukuta (Border), 57 Grayson Tihema (Marist), 55 Clive Stowers (Pirates) and Malakai Volou (Utiku OB), 50 Kieran Hussey (Border).
Goal-kicking - 110 Hekenui, 101 Lupton, 98 Tyrell and Alabaster, 66 Malo, 54 Transom, 52 Tihema.
Individual tries - 19 Waqanibau, 14 Brown, 13 Nabiliwaqa, 11 Stowers and Volau, 10 Hussey, 8 Tom Symes (Border), Jaye Flaws (Taihape), S'aena Vili and Brett Turner (Pirates). 7 Bobo Ulukuta, Hoani Pahl-Long (Kaierau), George Williams (Ruapshu), Johnson Hiroa and Tremaine Gilbert (Taihape), 6 Lindsay Horrocks (Border), William Short (Ruapehu), Taylor Transom and Paora McCarthy (Taihape).
Team tries - For: 75 Border, 72 Pirates, 66 Ruapehu, 63 Taihape, 54 Utiku OB, 42 Kaierau and Marist, 33 Ratana. Conceded: 28 Border, 36 Taihape, 39 Ruapehu, 43 Pirates, 60 Ratana, 71 Utiku OB, 74 Marist, 90 Kaierau.
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Three Wanganui representative teams will be in action on Saturday, preparing for coming competitions.
The Steelform Wanganui Heartland squad is playing the Hawke's Bay Development Squad at Cooks Gardens at 2pm with the under-20's, under coach Dennis Edwards, playing the NZ Army Academy in the curtain-raiser at 12.30. There is a gold coin gate collection for Wanganui junior rugby.
The Wanganui Development Squad, under coach Ross Williams, is playing Taranaki in Hawera at 1pm.
The programme for Wanganui teams this season is -
Steelform Heartland Team
Pre-Season (Not first class) -
June 24 v Wairarapa-Bush Palmerston North Won 19-12
Aug 8 v King Country Ohakune Cancelled
Aug 15 v Hawke's Bay Dev XV Cooks Gardens
Championship (2.30) -
Aug 22 v Horowhenua-Kapiti Levin
Aug 29 v Mid Canterbury Cooks Gardens
Sept 5 v North Otago Oamaru
Sept 12 v Buller Cooks Gardens
Sept 19 v King Country Cooks Gardens
Sept 26 v Thames Valley Paeroa 2pm
Oct 3 v Poverty Bay Cooks Gardens
Oct 10 v Wairarapa-Bush Masterton
Oct 17 Meads & Lochore Cup Semi-finals
Oct 24 Meads Cup Final
Oct 25 Lochore Cup Final
Development Team
Pre-Season
Aug 8 v King Country Ohakune Cancelled
Aug 15 v Taranaki Hawera 1pm
RDO Shield
Aug 22 v Horowhenua-Kapiti Levin 12.30
Aug 29 v Centurions Cooks Gardens 12.30
Sept 12 v Wellington Maoris Petone 12.30
Sept 19 v Wairarapa-Bush Cooks Gardens 12.30
Under-20 Team
Pre-Season
Aug 15 v NZ Army Academy Cooks Gardens 12.30
HYRC Series
Aug 22 v East Coast-Poverty Bay Rugby Institute PN 1pm
Aug 29 v Horwhenua-Kapiti Rugby Institute PN 1pm
Sept 5 v Wairarapa-Bush Rugby Institute PN 1pm
Under-18 Team
Pre-Season
Aug 22 Trial Match Spriggens Park 12.30
Aug 29 v Horowhenua-Kapiti Levin 12.30
Sept 5 v Taranaki Hawera 1 pm
HYRC Cup
Sept 12 v Wellington Cooks Gardens 12.30
Sept 19 v Wellington Samoans Levin TBA
Sept 26 v Horowhenua-Kapiti Shannon 12.30