There is always a great local derby turn-out each season when the two Taihape Memorial Park domiciled teams, PGG Wrightson/Balance Taihape and Utiku OB, play each other, and that support should continue on Saturday.
They are both merger clubs, with Taihape 1999) a combination of the old Huia (1897) and Taihape
Pirates (1909) clubs while Utiku OB, formed in 1949, comprised members of the former Utiku Rugby Club (1922) and Old Boys Club (1921).
Taihape included workers from around the township, including the railways fraternity, while the bulk of Utiku's players came from the rural community. Utiku, opened a clubrooms at Memorial Park in 1971.
The two clubs have provided some notable players over the year headed by the famous "Moke" Belliss (Moawhango Huia) who played 20 times for the All Blacks between 1920 and 1923 and was rated the world's finest wing forward when he played against Australia (captain) in 1920 and against South Africa in 1923. He played 44 times for Wanganui between 1914 and 1931.
He started a four-generation Belliss family Wanganui rep record when he scored a try in a 13-0 home win over Manawatu in his provincial debut in 1914 but he was the only family member to start his career with a victory.
His son Jack Belliss (56 games between 1939 and 1953) opened with a 9-all Queen's Birthday draw against Taranaki in 1939, Jack's multi-world lawn bowls champion son Peter Belliss (five matches in 1973 and 1977) came on a reserve in a 9-31 away loss to Otago in 1973, and "Moke's" great grandson Paul Belliss (15 games between 2009 and 2006) started with a record 88-5 trouncing at the hands of Taranaki in a 2000 Queen's Birthday Monday massacre in Hawera. All of "Moke's" descendants played for Kaierau with Paul also repping while with Ratana.
Taihape has dominated the annual derby matches with 30 wins, a 17-all draw in 2013 and five losses since 1999.
Taihape broke McCarthy Transport Ruapehu's stranglehold on the Northern Wanganui domestic championship title last winter and will start favourites this weekend.
This season Taihape is away to a flying start with away wins over Wanganui Car Centre Kaierau 40-28 and McCarthy's Ruapehu by a record 48-0 and Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist 44-8 at home last weekend.
Utiku opened with a 43-12 opening day victory over Harvey Round Motors Ratana, a 57-14 away Challenge Shield loss to Waverley Harvesting Border and 46-22 away defeat against Ruapehu last weekend.
Taihape has scored 22 tries and conceded five compared with 12-19 by Utiku.
Kaierau and Black Bull Liqour Pirates have had numerous tussles since 1891 and the maroons would dearly love a win on Saturday to help celebrate the club's 125th Jubilee over Queen's Birthday Weekend.
And it could be a close fixture, despite the runaway 74-19 triumph for the champion "Blacks" when the sides last met - at Kaierau in 2015.
Kaierau has won 25 times since the turn of the century with three of Pirates' seven victories coming in the last three encounters. Highest wins for Kaierau since 2000 were 79-0 (2010) and 62-5 (2005) at home and 66-0 away (2011) and 60-8 (2010) away.
Kaierau has picked up two scalps this year - 30-13 v Marist and 48-8 v Ratana, both away from home, and lost by 12 pts at home against Taihape - while defending champions Pirates continue to struggle despite beating Ratana 60-24, conceding record scores during the new millennium to both Marist 34-0 and Border 57-17 last Saturday.
Pirates, formed in 1879, 12 years before Kaierau, has won 14 Wanganui premier titles and three union-wide championships and Kaierau 26 Wanganui, six Wanganui-Rangitikei and six union-wide competitions.
Struggling Ruapehu has only occasionally struck real resistance from Marist since 2004 and on Saturday will be hoping to maintain a 10-match unbeaten record between the two clubs over the last five years, only a 22-all draw in Ohakune in 2011 interrupting a perfect record.
Since a six-match winning streak between 2001-2003 in home and away fixtures the only victory for the "greens" at Rochfort Park was 21-20 in 2008, followed by a 10-0 home success in the return game only to be beaten 13-10 in extra time in the final.
Ruapehu is ahead 21 victories to nine since 2001 and there have been two draws.
Ruapehu picked up a first scalp last weekend with a 24 pt home win over Utiku OB after earlier losses to both Border and Taihape, the only two unbeaten clubs.
After an impressive opening day win over Pirates, Marist has gone down to both Kaierau and Taihape.
Following matching 46-7 victories in both fixtures last winter Border should extend an overall advantage of six wins to two since 2011 over Ratana at Waverley on Saturday.
Border, the 2014 trophy holders, will be defending the Grand Hotel Challenge Shield, which Ratana has not held since a record four-year title stretch in 2000-01-02-03.
Since returning from Taranaki in 2011 Border is ahead six victories to two in clashes against Ratana who won 34-0 in 2011 and again 25-19 in 2014, both at home.
Border has scored the most points (161) and tries (24) in claiming the scalps of Ruapehu, Utiku OB and Pirates this year compared with three defeats by bottom of the table Ratana (44 pts for, 151 against, seven tries scored and 22 conceded).
Anzac Day brings back memories of the annual Wanganui away trips for April 25 matches against neighbouring Taranaki at Rugby Park in New Plymouth. They were instituted in 1967 with J J (John) Stewart, who served on both unions as a board member and selector-coach before becoming an All Black mentor, one of the main instigators.
Wanganui and Taranaki had played annual Queen's Birthday Monday morning fixtures since 1910, mainly at Spriggens Park but at New Plymouth in 1930, which Taranaki won 53-5, and they had attracted very large crowds, occasionally train loads of Ferdinand supporters.
Taranaki won 24 of the 28 Anzac Day fixtures with the 1980 match drawn 9-all when Hunterville flanker Gavin England scored a try and Utiku OB fullback Morrie Griffin kicked a penalty goal and conversion on his way to a NZ high 141 pts for the season.
Wanganui's three wins were 21-19 (Buff Milner, Tom Spry, Bob Barrell and Warren Swain tries and Rangi Paki a penalty and conversion) in 1972 and 17-3 (Marton OB fullback Bob Barrell three tries, a penalty and conversion) the following season and 9-7 (Wanganui HSOB fullback Dion Maua two penalties and a drop goal) at Hawera in 1987.
The Anzac Day matches finished at New Plymouth in 1994 with a record 68-21 Taranaki victory. Charles Osborne and Kelvin Chase scored tries for Wanganui and Guy Lennox kicked three penalties and a conversion.
The last Queen's Birthday game was at Cooks Gardens in 2001, Taranaki winning 38-15 after posting a record 88-5 score at Hawera the previous season.
The Anzac and Queen's Birthday fixtures enabled both Taranaki and Wanganui to have early season games which came in very handy once the national competitions started in 1983.
The start of professional rugby, and with Taranaki drafting in high quality players to be competitive in the top grade, resulted in an end of annual first-class fixtures against Wanganui with the amber and blacks fielding B and XV teams in eight of the matches since 2003 apart from the 2012 Ranfurly Shield game which Taranaki won 51-7.
That was the last time the two unions played each other. Steelform Wanganui is scheduled to play the Taranaki Development team at a venue to be decided, probably Waverley, on July 30th, a week before challenging Waikato for the Ranfurly Shield.
