Cody Mitchell will be a key player for Whanganui in the final round robin match against Thames Valley. Photo / Kate Belsham, Ivy Digital
Brought to you by Whanganui Rugby
Of course, it had to be the Swampfoxes.
With Steelform Whanganui’s hopes of a home Bunnings Heartland Championship Meads Cup semifinal on the line, or even making the Meads Cup playoffs at all, it is only fitting that their final round robin match is against defending champions Thames Valley on Saturday.
As this will be the first time since 2017 that a Heartland season with semifinals will not see these two North Island rivals face each other in the penultimate game, Saturday’s second v fifth-place battle may as well be a Meads quarter-final.
Whanganui are hoping the two previous weekends of tough derby games to secure their regional trophies have them in good stead for this all-or-nothing fixture at Cooks Gardens.
After an early start to their season with the mandatory Ranfurly Shield challenge to Taranaki, the Swampfoxes had a very rough first half of the Heartland campaign, sitting ninth at one stage with a sole derby win over King Country offset by defeats to South Island powerhouses Mid Canterbury, South Canterbury and North Otago.
However, the controversial points deduction for West Coast’s illegal player saw Thames Valley elevated into eighth, and then big wins over also-rans Buller, Ngāti Porou East Coast and the now-totally depleted West Coast, who experienced mass defections, have rocketed the Swampfoxes up the charts to just two points behind Whanganui.
They retain the core of the team which comfortably beat Whanganui 38-15 in last year’s semifinal, then won their first home Meads Cup final over Mid Canterbury, with several of them donning the NZ Heartland XV jersey.
One is composed fullback Quinn Collard, the 2022-23 King Country player who switched provinces last year and hasn’t looked back (210 points in 18 matches), while another is strong winger Sione Etoni, 11 tries in 31 games.
Hard-charging flanker Laulea Mau has 19 tries in his 35 matches, and then there are the Swampfox legends who have been there through both Meads Cup-winning seasons, 2018 and 2024.
Second-five Sam “Guns” McCahon (62 games), lock Cameron Dromgool (57) and outside back Harry Lafituanai (55 games, 23 tries) have actually played on Cooks Gardens more times than some of the younger Whanganui players.
“They’re familiar names, and the coaches. A lot of those boys have been around for a long time as well,” said Whanganui coach Jason Hamlin.
“Effectively, it is [a quarter-final]. The boys know that, and the last month or so has been about putting ourselves in the conversation for the Meads.
“Even when we lost to West Coast and went and lost to South Canterbury, it was still about doing that.
“Where we are right now, the task is still ahead of us.”
Although lock Matt Ashworth remains on the injured list, Whanganui’s own 50-game player Ethan Robinson is in the frame to come back after missing the King Country win, as is potential reserve lock Ngapuke Patea, although Hamlin was deciding on the final pack composition after Thursday training, after the forwards held the line well in Taumarunui.
“I was very pleased with what they did and the guys that came on – it was a tough King Country pack and they stood up to it.
“The conversation has been more about what we do well with the ball – we think we can be a bit more cleaner in those areas.
“If we tidy that up we believe we can play some good footy on Saturday.
“I don’t think we’ve really clicked as a team yet, put a full game together.
“We’ve done patches and in patches we’ve looked really, really good, so if we can put a sustained effort together, I’d like our chances against anybody.”
So much will fall on halves Cody Mitchell and Te Atawhai Mason to not only lead the team around the park but keep cool heads in the pressure cooker – a couple of times last week they ran to areas where Whanganui did not have set players, but showed the composure not to panic and carry forward so the next phase could reset.
“It’s just adapting to what Heartland is – before they would have tried a knockout punch with something spectacular, when really it just comes down to holding the ball, getting continuity going, and then catching them out down the line,” said Hamlin.
“If we get our stuff right, I think the points take care of itself.”
Especially against a go-forward unit like Thames Valley, it could really come down to the tryline defence – Whanganui have scored only the fifth-most points this campaign, but their one-on-one tackling has got stronger: third-best defensively overall.
“You can’t fault their effort. It will be a big game, everybody knows that, even the boys that haven’t played it are getting that feeling around the team,” said Hamlin.
Kickoff is 2.05pm.