Preview: Air NZ Cup, Round Ten
More All Blacks return to their provinces as the Air New Zealand Cup reaches its cut-throat stage of the tournament this weekend.
More All Blacks return to their provinces as the Air New Zealand Cup reaches its cut-throat stage of the tournament this weekend.
And for powerhouses at risk of elimination such as Waikato, they will be hoping it's a case of better late than never as the Mooloos get the Round Ten action underway against Taranaki on Thursday.
Whoever wins the round opener at Waikato Stadium will be safe while the loser faces an anxious wait, potentially up to Sunday's final regular season match between Auckland and Northland at Eden Park.
By virtue of their eight from eight winning run, Canterbury cannot finish the competition round-robin any higher or lower than second.
Friday's opponent, Southland, lies fifth, and has a huge amount to play for on its home track.
The Ranfurly Shield may have been guaranteed a summer break in the capital and the number one spot secured in the Air New Zealand Cup, but Wellington still have plenty to play for against Otago this weekend in Dunedin.
Nothing short of a four-try bonus point win by Tasman will do against Manawatu in their clash at Palmerston North on Saturday.
The two points Taranaki gained last Thursday in losing 41-45 to Waikato leaves the Makos no option if they are to make the top eight play-offs.
Five points would draw them level on points with Taranaki (should the Amber and Blacks fail to take any points away from their trip to Hamilton) but the Makos would qualify because they won the round-robin clash between the two in Nelson.
Auckland have 22 points, four more than the Makos who would also overtake them if they failed to register a competition point against Northland at Eden Park.
Only four points cover places six to ten on the championship standings, raising the prospect of plenty of movement before the ladder settles.
Thursday, October 2
Waikato v Taranaki
Seventh-placed Taranaki visit eighth-placed Waikato on Thursday and neither side will be lacking motivation.
The formula at Waikato Stadium is a simple one – win and make the play-offs for sure, lose and sweat for the next 72 hours but run a real risk of missing out.
The last time the two provinces met was back in 2005 and on Thursday they will play each other for the first time in the Air New Zealand Cup competition.
Waikato has managed to get it right just in time this season, recovering from a dreadful start to post enough wins to haul itself up into play-off contention. How well the Mooloos performed last week must be balanced against how bad Otago were.
Taranaki did their best to lose at New Plymouth, making mistake after mistake before finally grabbing a fortuitous try on full-time to snatch a draw against Counties Manukau. Those two lost points could well return to haunt the 'Naki by Sunday evening.
In team news, Waikato has returned their four All Blacks to the starting XV – as would be expected – while skipper Liam Messam has been named to play despite a dodgy hamstring.
Waikato – the inaugural Air New Zealand Cup champions – stand to benefit from the infusion of international talent, though the Test stars' arrival does not necessarily represent a quick fix.
In recent seasons the belated introduction of All Blacks has not guaranteed domestic success.
While welcome from an experience point of view – and an obvious drawcard at the gate – All Blacks do not always make a seamless transition.
Still, at least they are making the right noises.
Richard Kahui, who has not played for Waikato since they won the first new-look final in 2006, said he was looking to “give it heaps”.
Meanwhile, Taranaki will have to make do without their star full-back Asalemo Malo, who scored a vital try against the Steelers last week. His place has been taken by Jack Cameron, who gets his first start of the season.
Other changes from the side that drew with Counties Manukau are at hooker, prop and centre.
All Black Andrew Hore makes a welcome return at hooker and he will have young prop Shane Cleaver packing down with him in the front row along with captain Tony Penn. Cleaver gets the nod ahead of Hamish Mitchell, who drops back to the bench along with regular hooker Laurence Corlett.
Welshman Jonathan Spratt returns from a back injury and will start ahead of Nathan Hohaia, who is relegated to the bench.
“Shane added value around the ground when he came on against Counties and we decided to give him a crack,” said Taranaki coach Adrian Kennedy.
“Having Andrew back is a big plus. Just seeing him at training is a boost. He's so decisive in his decision-making.”
Kennedy said Spratt had recovered from a back injury that ruled him out of the Counties Manukau match.
Not considered for the match was midfielder Corey Niwa, who has a toe injury.
Prediction: This match is set to pave the way for thrills, spills and plenty of upsets along the way as the league stage of the 2008 tournament comes to a close. Who will seal their place in the top eight? We think the Mooloo men will have too much All Black firepower for the Amber and Blacks to deal with. Waikato to win by ten points.
The teams:
Waikato: 15 Sosene Anesi, 14 Tim Mikkleson, 13 Richard Kahui, 12 Jackson Willison, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Stephen Donald, 9 David Bason; 8 Sione Lauaki, 7 Tom Harding, 6 Liam Messam (c), 5 Romana Graham, 4 Toby Lynn, 3 Aled de Malmanche, 2 Ole Avei, 1 Hikairo Forbes.
Replacements: 16 Vern Kamo/Josh Hohneck, 17 Toby Smith, 18 Kent Fife, 19 Faifili Levave, 20 Malcolm Barnes, 21 Callum Bruce, 22 Dwayne Sweeney.
Taranaki: 15 Jack Cameron, 14 Paul Perez, 13 Jonathan Spratt, 12 Jayden Hayward, 11 Shayne Austin, 10 Willie Ripia, 9 Brett Goodin; 8 Taiasina Tuifua, 7 Scott Waldrom, 6 Chris Walker, 5 Jason Eaton, 4 Craig Clarke, 3 Shane Cleaver, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Penn (c).
Replacements: 16 Laurence Corlett, 17 Hamish Mitchell, 18 Leon Power, 19 Nemia Soqeta, 20 Brendan Haami, 21 Isaia Tuifua, 22 Nathan Hohaia.
Venue: Waikato Stadium, Hamilton
Kick-off: 19:05 (07:05 GMT)
Referee: Chris Pollock
TMO: Steve Walsh
Friday, October 3
Southland v Canterbury
The Stags have left themselves the difficult assignment of beating Canterbury on Saturday to give Invercargill hope of hosting their first national provincial quarter-final in twelve years.
Canterbury are already assured of a home quarter-final, but Southland could improve from fifth into the top four if they could achieve a rare win against the Cantabs.
Saturday's must-win showdown comes after Southland slumped to a 24-22 loss to Bay of Plenty last week in a game the Stags put themselves in a position to win but failed to provide the killer blow.
Canterbury have put themselves in a very good position in the Air New Zealand Cup but, in terms of this game, there isn't a lot for them to play for.
Canterbury already have a firm grip on