Ethan Robinson delivering the goods as Steelform Whanganui beat Horowhenua Kapiti. Photo / Lewis Gardner
Victors in Saturday's clash of regional trophy champions Whanganui and unbeaten South Canterbury will greatly enhance their chances of winning the Meads Cup this season.
The southern side, holders of the Hanan Shield, will start the pre-match favourites with a home field top ranking (maximum 25 points) after five of eight qualifying rounds in the Bunnings Warehouse competition, scoring the most points (248), most tries (38) and with a plus 179 points differential.
Third-positioned Steelform Whanganui, the Bruce Steel Memorial Cup holders, may be five points adrift and with fewer match points (192), tries (27) and points differential (110), but possess a much-better winning record (10) of a dozen Heartland fixtures against South Canterbury.
On top of that, the Butcher Boys hold the best title-winning record of the dozen Heartland teams with six Meads and the 2014 Lochore Cup, compared with the Timaru union's two Lochore Cups and twice finishing runners-up in the Meads Cup.
Whanganui have three times eliminated South Canterbury in cut-throat championship games in Timaru, winning an NPC Div 3 semifinal 17-14 in 2003, the Meads Cup final 28-11 in 2015, and a Meads Cup semi 29-24 in 2017.
The 2015 Heartland final gave Whanganui tremendous TV exposure with winger Samu Kubunavanua's multi-player try, which started behind his own goal-line, voted the NZRU's TV viewers' highlight of the year, which took in all grades of rugby that season.
To round off a most successful season that year, Whanganui halfback Lindsay Horrocks was named NZ Heartland Player of the Year.
Horrocks (now 78 caps) is still a key member of the Whanganui squad and returns to Timaru this weekend along with front-rowers Roman Tutauha (77 caps) and Viki Tofa (50 games) who also played in the final six years ago, plus loose forward Kieran Hussey (seven caps) who also repped in 2015.
This campaign South Canterbury has scored home wins over 10th-placed Wairarapa-Bush 61-17 and bottom-of-the-table King Country 77-0 and away against second-to-bottom Buller 48-13, eighth-slotted East Coast 34-12 and a comeback 33-27 win over seventh-placed defending Meads Cup champions North Otago.
Whanganui have managed home victories against fifth-positioned Poverty Bay 65-8, Wairarapa-Bush 22-18 and fourth-placed Horowhenua-Kapiti 40-15 last Saturday, beaten King Country 48-13 in Taupo and been beaten 24-17 right on time by sixth-placed Mid Canterbury in Ashburton.
The 2021 South Canterbury squad includes former NZ Heartland reps William Wright (halfback), skipper and flanker Nick Strachan and front-row prop Matt Fetu.
Goalkicker Wright has played 56 games and scored 367 points for the union and Strachan has 95 games and 82 points.
Theo Davidson, a halfback, has 50 rep caps and 53 points, winger Sireli Buliruarua has scored 151 pts and inside back Zac Saunders has 65 points.
South Canterbury have strong links with Tonga, with winger Kalavini Leatigaga (five) and forwards Siu Kakala (five) and hooker Junior Faavae (four) the top try-scorers this season.
Goalkicking first-five Sam Briggs is averaging 10 points an outing with 51 points from two tries, three penalties and 21 conversions.
For Whanganui this year, centre Kameli Kuruyabaki (five), No, 8 Semi Vodesese and winger Alekesio Vakarorogo (three each) head the 15 try-scorers, while goalkickers Dane Whale (34) and Ethan Robinson (27) head the points.
Whanganui clinched a third trophy last weekend, the buildup for the trio of real toughies – South Canterbury, Thames Valley and North Otago.
An acceptable 40-15 come-from-behind victory over previously unbeaten Horowhenua-Kapiti on Cook Gardens last Saturday wrapped up the Bruce Steel Memorial Cup for the season.
Steelform Whanganui recovered from a 15-0 deficit into the wind in the first spell to take control, outscoring the visitors six tries to two and swapping positions on the Heartland points table, climbing to third place.
Now comes the tougher assignment – back-to-back away weekend clashes in Timaru and Te Aroha against the two remaining undefeated sides, and then a visit from defending Meads Cup holders North Otago to round off two months of qualifying fixtures.
Whanganui have impressed with their positive attacking brand of rugby in all their five outings so far, but have had a tendency to allow opposing teams to dictate periods of play before regaining control.
This could prove fatal away from home against the likes of South Canterbury and the 2018 champions Swamp Foxes (Thames Valley) while the Oamaru union has twice deprived us of the Meads Cup.
North Otago, who rather surprisingly lost 25-17 to H-K in Levin and threatened South Canterbury before going down by seven points, may be seventh on the points tally but can be a tough opponent with a fair sprinkling of Pacific islands players.
Other matches this weekend are second-slotted Thames Valley (24) away to No. 4 Horowhenua-Kapiti (18), equal-placed Mid Canterbury and Poverty Bay (16 pts each) meet in Ashburton), North Otago (15) against second to bottom Buller (1) in Westport, East Coast (8) away to West Coast (7) and King Country (1) hosting Wairarapa-Bush (5) in Te Kuiti.
Despite the current positions on the points table, Whanganui have been a real pain in the bottom for South Canterbury since national competitions started in 1987, dropping only four of 18 matches.
South Canterbury have won two of 12 Heartland games, both in Timaru – 31-18 in 2014 (the year the Butcher Boys beat North Otago 14-12 in the Lochore Cup final) and 21-17 in 2017 (the Butcher Boys avenging the loss 29-24 in the Meads semifinals a month later at the same venue).
Whanganui have won 25 times and drawn twice in 40 fixtures since a 9-0 home win in 1994 when the Kaierau pair of centre A Jackson (try and penalty) and halfback H A Kiernan (penalty) scored all the points.
The average score during those 27 years is 17-15 to Whanganui, but in the dozen Heartland encounters the average score is 25-17.
The highest Whanganui win is 54-19 in a 2009 home Heartland match with South Canterbury's top score 41-9 at Timaru in 1960.
South Canterbury won the inaugural 1986 NPC Div 3 round-robin title (East Coast runners-up) and the same title again in 1991, beating North Otago 20-16 in the final.
The Timaru union has twice won the Heartland Lochore final – 17-10 v Buller in 2013 and West Coast 23-19 in 2019 – and finished runners-up in 2007 (35-38 v Poverty Bay), 2011 (22-49 v PB) and 2012 (28-31 v Buller).
In the Meads Cup, South Canterbury were beaten in home finals in 2015 (11-28 v Whanganui) and 2018 (12-17 v Thames Valley), finished third in 2010-16-17) and fourth in 2009.
When Sam Cane took the field for King Country in Taupo recently, he became the only All Blacks captain to play against Whanganui in the history of Heartland rugby that started in 2006.
Other All Blacks have played against the Butcher Boys in Heartland fixtures but only one has been in a winning team – 2002 Waikato midfield back Regan King who helped Mid Canterbury pip Whanganui 40-39 at Ashburton in 2017.
Whanganui, however, went on to beat Horowhenua-Kapiti 30-14 in the Meads Cup final with Mid Canterbury downing West Coast 47-15 in the Lochore Cup final that year.
Other All Blacks who have opposed Whanganui in Heartland fixtures include Wellington 76-cap NZ rep (2004-12) halfback Piri Weepu for Wairarapa-Bush, Wellington five-cap NZ rep (2008-10) halfback Alby Mathewson for King Country, 10-cap Hawke's Bay midfield back Zac Guildford (2009-12) for Wairarapa-Bush and East Coast), 20-cap North Harbour-Tasman-Canterbury (2004-07) utility back Rico Gear for Poverty Bay and 17-cap Southland-Canterbury (2003-11) NZ hooker Corey Flynn (2003-11) for West Coast
All Blacks skippers who were members of provincial unions that played Whanganui during the old NPC era, and the number of times they captained NZ, included Graeme Mourie (Taranaki – 19, 1977-82), Brian Lochore (Wairarapa – 18, 1966-70), David Kirk (Auckland – 17, 1983-87), Ian Kirkpatrick (Poverty Bay – 9, 1972-73), Dave Loveridge (Taranaki – 3, 1978), Frank Oliver (Manawatu – 3, 1978) and Stu Wilson (Wellington – 2, 1983.
The incidents occurred at the same commercial premises on Broadway, Marton.