Two weeks ago they travelled to beat King Country 46-36 and lift the Bill Osborne Taonga, and then last weekend made a thrilling 27-26 defence against the same West Coast team that towelled-up Whanganui at Cooks Gardens.
“They’re definitely getting some results on the board, and they have a very big pack,” said Whanganui coach Jason Hamlin.
“Their No 9-10 combination looks pretty solid, they’ve got some good game-breakers around it.
“The boys, they can all read the [points] table, so they don’t need to be told the importance of things.”
Veteran loose forward Samu Kubunavanua is doubtful after taking a knock when he shared the open-side duties for 40 minutes each with Jamie Hughes in Ruatōria.
“Just a sore shoulder coming out of the weekend, he didn’t train Tuesday and probably won’t be able to train tomorrow,” said Hamlin.
“You’d like to have the like of Samu available, but if he isn’t we’ve got a squad that covers it.
“Matt Ashworth is back available, and Peter-Travis [Hay-Horton], so that’s good news for us.”
Both senior locks coming back would allow Joeli Tora to offer No 8 cover so, between Hughes, skipper Doug Horrocks and Ekenasio Fiso, the flanker positions will be secure.
Senior players returning to the fold also brings experience with derby games – Whanganui having held the Bruce Steel since lifting it off Wairarapa Bush in 2020.
“That’s more of the older boys that know the value of what that is, what the Bruce Steel represents and the Pinetree log, but we’re thereabouts and everyone knows where we are on the table,” said Hamlin.
After the wide-open nature of the big win against Ngāti Porou East Coast, Hamlin also knows his team has to play stronger percentage football in these next three games.
“We got to find the balance between not putting them under instruction and just letting them play, and they’ve got to get to the right decisions within the game itself.
“Sometimes that’s by moving the ball by hand and sometimes that’s by kicking long and moving another way.”
Kickoff is 2.30pm.
Age group representatives
The Longrun Spouting Under 16 Whanganui Girls gave a fine effort at the Heartland Carnival tournament in Taupō last weekend.
Playing three matches at Owen Delany Park, Whanganui started with a rugged 10-5 win over Thames Valley on Saturday, and then had a resounding 73-0 win over Poverty Bay in their first Sunday game.
They then played hosts King Country in the afternoon, for a 34-20 loss.
“I was actually quite proud of the whole forward pack to start with, because it was their first time pushing in scrums, which was great,” said coach Sereima Vakuruivalu of her 21-player squad.
“We had some standout girls like our No 12, that was Vanessa [Ashford-Wallis], and Aaria Joseph.
“They were our players of the day for each game, and Atlas [Elers] for the first one.”
Ashford-Wallis and Elers are from Ruapehu College, while Joseph represents Whanganui High School.
The team will now move on to the Hurricanes Youth Rugby Council (HYRC) Provincial Union Development camp, with games this coming Tuesday to Thursday at Napier Boys’ High School.
The HYRC camp for Under 18 Girls teams is this Saturday to Monday, with the Rivercity Golf Whanganui Under 18 Girls taking part.
Whanganui Collegiate will host rounds 2-3 of the HYRC Under 16 Boys tournaments this Monday and Tuesday.
Division A (Don Broughton Shield) is Hawke’s Bay, Manawatū, Wellington and Wellington Māori, while Division B (Saracens Cup) is home team AGC Training Whanganui, then Poverty Bay, Wairarapa Bush and Horowhenua-Kāpiti.
Part of a strong junior programme in their union, Wairarapa Bush U16s picked up a 69-7 win over Whanganui in Masterton in Round 1 last Saturday.
The Air Chathams Whanganui Under 18 Boys will host Wellington Māori U18 in their final matchup of the Gordon Noble-Campbell Cup on Saturday at Cooks Gardens.
After an opening 46-19 win over Horowhenua-Kāpiti, Whanganui stumbled against another strong Wairarapa Bush side last weekend in Masterton, beaten 37-29 after trailing 22-10 at halftime.
Whanganui need to beat Wellington Māori with a bonus point while hoping Horowhenua-Kāpiti can upset Wairarapa in the other game.
