The spotlight will well and truly be on Masterton's new artificial turf field on Saturday when Wanganui and Wairarapa-Bush meet in the final qualifying round of the 2015 Pink Batts national Heartland championship.
Steelform Wanganui is already assured of a semi-final start in the Meads Cup after a 55-23 victory over
Poverty Bay at Cooks Gardens last weekend and Wairarapa-Bush has climbed into fourth equal place after beating winless East Coast 45-5 in Ruatoria.
Hosts Wairarapa need the scalp of Wanganui to be assured of a semi-final start against unbeaten Mid Canterbury because Horowhenua-Kapiti currently shares fourth place following a major upset 47-43 away win over defending champions and previously unbeaten Mid Canterbury.
At present the Meads Cup play-off contenders, with their points and last round opponents, are:
South Canterbury (1st - 30 pts) v Poverty Bay (11th - 10 pts) in Gisborne.
Mid Canterbury (2nd - 29 pts) v North Otago (6th - 18 pts) in Oamaru.
Wanganui (3rd - 28 pts) v Wairarapa-Bush (4th equal - 22 pts) in Masterton.
Horowhenua-Kapiti (4th equal - 22 pts) v Buller (7th equal - 16 pts) in Levin.
North Otago could qualify fourth with a win over Mid Canterbury and provided both Wairarapa-Bush and Horowhenua-Kapiti lose on Saturday.
To add extra interest on Saturday Wanganui is defending the Bruce Steel Memorial Cup and the game is being played on Masterton's new multi-sport all-weather artificial turf at Memorial Park.
There have been reports of players suffering infected grazings from injuries suffered on the artificial grass. Some Wairarapa and opposing players have been wearing knee protector bandages and using anti septic rubs on any skin rashes or wounds.
The new flood-lit turf, which has added a new dimension to a number of sporting codes in the Wairarapa, provides a faster playing surface and also a higher bouncing ball - factors that visiting teams need to come to grips with.
Wairarapa-Bush, after drifting down to a worst ever 11th place last season following two years of 3rd overall rankings, has experienced a mixed record this winter with four wins and three defeats with three of the fixtures producing very close results.
The Stags have beaten Thames Valley 36-9, Buller 14-13 and East Coast 45-5 away from home and Horowhenua-Kapiti 33-19 at Memorial Park. The losses have been 16-18 to North Otago and 26-35 against South Canterbury at home and 33-36 to West Coast in Greymouth.
Earlier in the year Wanganui beat Wairarapa-Bush 19-7 in a pre-season trial game in Palmerston North as a lead up to Wairarapa's Ranfurly Shield challenge which resulted in a 58-7 victory for Hawke's Bay.
New coach Josh Symes has three Auckland Grammar loan players - front rower Andrew Makalio, 130kg loose forward Sootala Fa'aso'o and mid-field back Hala Viliami plus Feilding mid-fielder Matt Daley
Wairarapa has a new goal-kicking first five, Tim Priest, who has been playing for Martinborough this season. Priest, who kicked 75 pts for West Coast last year, has 78 pts this year. He replaces Upper Hutt's Ben Aoina who scored 77 pts in 2014 and is one of five Wellington loan players missing this season.
The most experienced players in the Wairarapa squad are winger Nick Olson (70-plus games and more than 100 pts), prop Kurt Simmonds (more than 60 caps), lock Andrew McLean and second five Byron Karaitiana (each plus-50 games).
Saturday's game will be the ninth time that Wanganui and Wairarapa-Bush have contested the Bruce Steel Memorial Cup since the merger of Wairarapa and Bush in 1971 with Wanganui winning seven times and the combined side once.
Wanganui first won the trophy 3-0 off Manawatu at the PN Showgrounds in 1970 when Michael Farrell landed a long range penalty goal.
After beating Bush 14-9, Wairarapa 26-15 and Horowhenua 12-5 that season Wanganui lost the cup 20-18 to Manawatu at Spriggens Park in 1971 despite Bob Barrell kicking six penalties in a game refereed by Colin Pedley (Taihape). Wanganui next won the trophy 15-14 against Manawatu at Spriggens Park in 1976 thanks to tries by Doug Patchett and Peter Bailey with Barrell landing a penalty and two conversions. Colin Broadhead was referee.
Challenges from Horowhenua (45-4) and Wairarapa-Bush (19-13) were repelled that season followed by a 16-6 home win over Wairarapa-Bush in 1977 but Manawatu retained he Ranfurlty Shield and won the Steel Cup in a dual trophy home fixture in 1977 when Barrell scored a try and landed a penalty and Murdock McKenzie kicked a conversion
There was a nine-year gap before the Butcher Boys next won the Steel Cup , 16-9 at home against Manawatu in 1986 when John Hainsworth and Steve Gordon scored tries and Matene Love kicked two penalties and a conversion with John Rhodes refereeing.
Wanganui defended the cup 19-12 v Wairarapa-Bush and 65-0 against Horowhenua that season and 13-10 against Horowhenua in 1987 before losing 22-9 away to Manawatu, Tom Fearn (2) and Lachlan Harding landing penalties for Wanganui.
It was 1993 before Wanganui again held the trophy, beating Horowhenua 39-17 in Levin when Lachlan Harding (2), Stu Selby, Charles Osborne and Jason Caskey scored tries and Harding kicked four penalty goals and a conversion. There was just one defence - 32-25 against Wairarapa-Bush in Masterton in 1994 - before Manawatu regained the trophy 46-15, Stu Selby and Paul Mitchell scoring tries for the defenders and Guy Lennox adding a penalty and conversion.
Into the new millennium and Wairarapa-Bush lifted the cup off Manawatu 19-14 at Masterton in 2000 only to lose it 33-26 to Wanganui at Cooks Gardens the following year, Darrell Balcombe, Jason Hamlin, Bevan Ryan and Ramon Lee Mason scoring tries for the winners, Aaron Chadwick kicking two penalties, a field goal and a conversion and Hamlin a conversion. After beating Horowhenua-Kapiti 22-6 Wanganui went down 46-10 to Manawatu in Palmerston North in 2002 with Scott Donald and Te Ahu Teki scoring tries for the losers.
Manawatu held the cup until relinquishing it to Wanganui in 2012 despite winning 40-7 (Tafa Tauialoto try, Mark Davis conversions). Manawatu, playing in the ITM grade and not having regular games against the Heartland unions, agreed to temporarily withdraw from the Steel Cup competition.
Wanganui defended the trophy twice in 2012 before losing to Horowhenua-Kapiti 23-34 at Cooks Gardens last season but regained the cup 39-34 at Levin in August this year.
Saturday sees the Butcher Boys starting an eighth defence era of the trophy since first participating in the competition 49 years ago It will be the 137th Bruce Steel Cup fixture. The trophy was donated by Mr and Mrs W H Steel (Pahiatua) in 1965 in memory of their son Bruce. Wanganui came into the competition the following year, losing 15-14 (Peter Johns 2 and Terry Trotter scoring tries for Wanganui and Bob Barrell kicking a penalty goal) in the union's first challenge.
Collegiate School's first five Stephen Perofeta, although playing in only four games so far this season, is the equal top try scorer in the 2015 Heartland championship with his hat-trick against Poverty Bay last weekend lifting him to seven alongside three other players.
Wanganui winger Samu Kubunavanua is onde try of the pace along with three others.
Wanganui has scored 37 tries, just two behind top of the table South Canterbury and four ahead of titleholders Mid Canterbury. Wairarapa-Bush (15), Wanganui (18) and Buller (19) have conceded the least tries.
Horowhenua-Kapiti's loan first five Brandyn Laursen is top of points scoring with 105, well clear of Tim Priest (Wairarapa-Bush) 78 and Trinity Spooner-Neera (Wanganui) 65.
Laursen also heads the goal-kicking on 85 pts, seven clear of Priest.
LATEST HEARTLAND STATISTICS: ¦ Points scoring: 105 Brandyn Laursen (H-K), 78 Tim Priest (W-B), 65 Trinity Spooner-Neera (Wanganui), 63 Zayne Tipping (KC) and Ewen Scott (MC), 61 Nik Cumming (WC), 52 Ben Palmer (NO), 46 Hagen Schulte (Buller), 45 Jared Trevathan (SC), 42 Stephen Perofeta (Wanganui) and Jonnie Te Ruki (TV). Goal-kicking: 85 pts Laursen, 78 Priest, 65 Spooner-Neera, 58 Tipping, 52 Palmer, 48 Scott, 45 Trevathan, 41 Schulte. ¦ Individual try scoring: 7 Stephen Perofeta (Wanganui), Tegan Minkley (H-K), Iliesa Tuvayra (KC) and Leigh Bristowe (PB), 6 Samu Kubunavanua (Wanganui), Setefano Sauqaqa (Buller), Carl Riini (PB) and Erenimo Tau (SC), 5 Paul Fifita and Sione Vea (SC) and Andrew Makalio (W-B), 4 Bryn Hudson (Wanganui), Sala Halaleva (NO), Kris Palmer (EC), Brandyn Laursen (H-K), Ashton Tuck, Nete Caucau and Seta Koroitamana (MC), Rupeni Cokonasiga (SC), Nemani Talemaitoga and Tyronne Keith (TV). ¦ Team tries: For: 39 SC, 37 Wanganui, 33 MC, 31 PB, 30 H-K, 25 TV and W-B, 24 KC, 22 WC, 17 NO and Buller, 14 EC. Conceded: 15 W-B, 18 Wanganui, 19 Buller, 20 KC and SC, 23 WC, 25 MC, 27 H-K, 28 NO, 35 PB and TV, 48 EC.