Vereniki Tikoisolomone, seen here wearing Whanganui colours in 2019, is a player in big demand. Photo / Merrilyn George
Border winger Vereniki Tikoisolomone has been in scorching form in 2021 Tasman Tanning Whanganui premier club rugby this season and it comes as no surprise that other unions are seriously looking at the 22-year-old for the fast-approaching national championships.
Neighbours Taranaki, for example, have made approaches for the Fijian flier who has scored 20 tries including a record three-hat-tricks for defending champions Waverley Harvesting Border this season.
There have been other local players with multiple club hat-tricks since the turn of the century but none have recorded three in the same year.
"Tiks" has scored his try triples at Dallison Park against 2019 champions Byford's Readi-Mix Taihape, at Rochfort Park against 2017-18 champions McCarthy Transport Ruapehu and at the Devon Road Country Club against top city side Wanganui Car Centre Kaierau.
There were also try braces at home against Settlers Honey Ngamatapouri, Ruapehu and Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist and away against Marist and Ngamatapouri and one try against Kaierau at Waverley, only missing out altogether in the only loss of the year – 17-28 in a Grand Hotel Challenge Shield defeat against Taihape at Memorial Park.
In his three years with Border "Tiks" has scored 195 points from 39 tries – eight in 2019, 11 last season and 20 this campaign – which have been a major reason why the club is chasing a third successive championship final and seeking back to back titles.
The highest top try scorers during the new millennium have come during longer competition seasons – 29 tries Api Karoi (Kaierau – 2010), 27 Tupae Pati (Kaierau – 2005) and Asaeli Tikoirotuma (Marist – 2007), 23 Corey Pardoe (Ratana – 2000), 22 Johnny Muir (Marist – 2001), 21, Sunia Sevu (Marist – 2002) and Jerry Meafou (Kaierau – 2004), 20 Kaveni Dabenaise (Border – 2016).
Top try scorers in the 1980-1990 era included – 27 Stu Selby (Kaierau – 1992), 26 Asalusi Nagicu (Hunterrville – 1995), 23 John Hainsworth (Marton OB – 1988), 22 Chris Carrick (Border – 1991) and 20 Adam Kirkcaldie (Tech – 1997).
If he should be lured to play for first division Taranaki "Tiks" would have the chance of joining a handful of Butcher Boys who have progressed to much higher rugby ranks.
All Blacks loose forward Chris Masoe and winger Waisake Nahola, who both started their first-class careers in the River City, were snatched up by Taranaki before progressing to Super Rugby and then the New Zealand Sevens en-route to becoming top-class NZ international players since the turn of the century.
Samoan-born Masoe played 12 games for Wanganui in 1999-2000, 41 for Taranaki (2001-06), 19 for Wellington (2006-08), once for the Chiefs (2009) and 62 times for the Hurricanes (2003-08) before heading off to France in 2008 where he had 108 games for Castres, 78 for Toulon and 60 for Racing 92.
Masoe, the NZ 7s Player of the Year in 2002, was a NZ Junior rep in 2006 and made 20 All Black appearances (2005-07).
Overseas he was named the French Top 14 Player of the Year in 2012.
Fijian Nahola had 11 caps for Wanganui in 2009, helping win the union's first NZ Heartland title including a hat-trick of tries against Poverty Bay in the 48-13 Meads Cup semifinal on Cooks Gardens, played 35 games for Taranaki (2011-19), two Super games for the Blues (2013) and 62 for the Highlanders (2015-19 including franchise records of 13 tries in 2015 and 41 career tries). He scored 225 points for the Otago-based Super team.
Nahola, a NZ Sevens rep in 2012-14, played 27 times for the All Blacks (2015-18) before joining London Irish last year.
Red Hot Favourites
It would be a brave supporter who bet against the top two qualifying sides in each of the premier and senior grades from reaching the 2021 Tasman Tanning club championship finals at Cooks Gardens on Saturday week.
Border and Taihape, as expected, romped into the premier semifinals with each team dropping only one of 10 qualifying fixtures.
The sides have beaten each other this season – Border 39-22 in Waverley and Taihape lifted the Grand Hotel Challenge Shield 28-17 on Memorial Park – and they have beaten each other in the last two championship finals on a neutral field, Taihape winning 31-26 in 2019 and Border 22-19 last season.
In Saturday's semifinals Border will be seeking a 15th successive home victory when Marist plays its first semi in four years, thanks to winning three of the last four qualifying matches including a Top 4 decider 31-15 away against Ngamatapouri last weekend.
For a second time this campaign Marist out-scored Ngamat by five tries to three, despite nippy ex-Hawke's Bay winger Joeli Rauca snaring a hat-trick for the beaten hosts to reach nine for the year.
The statistics are firmly in favour of Border who has beaten the greens 39-10 away and 33-5 at home this season and has a 41-13 season average winning score compared with Marist average of 16-30.
Although Marist has improved greatly in the second round, it is hard to see a side that has scored 163 points and 26 tries upsetting opponents with 413 points and 64 tries headed by elusive winger Vereniki Tikoisolomone (20 touch-downs).
Taihape, who clinched the Grand Challenge Shield 24-3 at the Devon Road Country Club last weekend, start favourites to wrap up week to week Kaierau scalps, this time on a home field where the maroons were beaten 32-8 in the first round.
Injury-stricken Kaierau failed to score a single try last Saturday, for the first time in 2021, and a loss in the semis would be a fifth successive defeat this winter.
Thanks to starting the season with the scalps of the bottom three clubs of last year Kaierau has qualified third, because of bonus points despite losing to two of the 2020 Bottom 3 in return fixtures and has only managed a single success in the past seven games.
Kaierau may have restricted Taihape to a 5-3 lead for half of last weekend's fixture but could not finish off promising moves in a game where both sides rested a few key players.
Despite beating Ngamat by default, a side it beat 52-7 away on opening day, Taihape has an average winning score of 35-17 from nine games played compared with Kaierau's 18-21 10 game average going into Saturday's semi.
No 8 Ben Whale and utility back Tyler Rogers-Holden head Taihape's 49-try haul with seven tries each and Karl Pascoe (4) leads Kaierau's 25 tries. Dane Whale has 75 points for Taihape and Ethan Robinson 51 for Kaierau.
Kelso Hunterville, despite suffering a first defeat for the year (12-17 to Ali Arc Logistics-DNA Kennels Marist Celtic at Spriggens Park) last weekend, headed off champions Harvey Round Motors Ratana by five points for the top senior qualifying berth.
Hunterville, who shaded hosts Ratana 15-10 in qualifying, host Gemini Pepper Construction Kaierau, a side it beat 42-19 at Kaierau earlier this year, in Saturday's semi-finals.
With a winning average score of 32-19 compared with Kaierau's 28-19, scoring 364 pts to the visitor's 311, plus a home ground gives eight-times champions Hunterville the pre-match advantage
Ratana takes on Celtic, a team it beat 30-3 at the Pa very early in the season, in the other semi.
Although finishing with the same championship points as Kaierau, Celtic qualified third on the strength of a 19-5 win when the two teams met.
Ratana (389 pts for and 91 against - average score of 35-8 from 10 games) should beat Celtic (280-150 - average 25-14) on the strength of a home crowd and the 27 pt earlier victory.
Top marks to Speirs Food Marton who will hold the Stihl Shop Wanganui Senior Challenge Shield for the season with the eighth ranked side, comfortably retaining the trophy 27-5 at home against McCrea Scanning Counties.
Also well done Kaierau and Marist for providing semifinalists for both grades and to Taihape for winning the Weekes Trophy (champion overall club) and the Grand Hotel Premier Challenge Shield.
Talented Brothers
The Hunterville club has produced some fine players over the years including the Watt brothers – All Black first five Bruce and his brother Garry who died recently in Auckland.
Bruce, who is in a nursing home on the Wellington Gold Coast, represented New Zealand 29 times, including eight test matches, in 1962-64, while playing for Canterbury.
He was a Wanganui rep in 1957-58, playing 21 games including Ranfurly Shield challenges against Wellington (5-34) and Taranaki (9-22, kicking two penalties) and against the 1958 Wallabies (9-11).
The 1957 Wanganui reps won six of nine games including at home against Manawatu 12-8, Taranaki 14-13, Otago 19-5 and Southland 24-6 and away against Manawatu 8-6 (the last time winning the double in the same year).
Garry, also an inside back, started his club rugby with Hunterville before transferring to Whanganui and playing for Tech COB.
Ironically he was in the Tech side that lost to Hunterville in the 1962 Wanganui-Rangitikei combined premier club championship final but Tech won the title two years later.
Garry played a number of other sports, being in the Wanganui Boys' College 1st XI cricket side while a border at the school, also playing table tennis and basketball as a youngster and finally lawn bowls in his latter years
Garry, whose family once farmed in the Rangitikei, has requested that his ashes be scattered around Vinegar Hill.
In recent years he returned to Whanganui to visit friends while on his trips to see his brother Bruce.
