Whanganui club rugby: Paul Mitchell Cup competition heats up in Premier grade
Kaierau take on Ruapehu at the Country Club on Saturday. Photo / Bevan Conley
The race to the Paul Mitchell Cup as table leader of Tasman Tanning Premier at the end of the first round remains very much up in the air heading into the penultimate games on Saturday.
In a Whanganui double-header, both Spriggens Park and the Country Club will host some banger fixtures, as Wanganui Car Centre Kaierau get their first home game against McCarthy’s Transport Ruapehu, making their first trip back to town since returning to the top grade.
Coming off the bye, Kaierau had to weather the toughest start to the season - consecutive away games against the 2022 Premier finalists - holding off Waverley Harvesting Border 18-17 to retain the Barracks Bar Challenge Shield, but then surrendering it to Byford’s Readimix Taihape 15-12 after a penalty right on fulltime.
“It’s a good, tight competition,” said coach Te Ahu Teki, who shared the job last year with Tony McBride.
“We’re just excited to be coming home.
“From our point of view, a bit of energy in the bodies for our boys; it [the bye] came at the right time for us.
“Anyone on their day, including a Ruapehu, can beat anyone.”
The team is counting the “devastating” cost of losing debuting teenage winger Josh Brunger due to a broken bone in his foot. The former Whanganui Collegiate 1st XV star played for NZ Barbarians at the U20 Super Rugby tournament in Taupō and had scored in both Premier games – a try and conversion.
“He’s just a good young player, and I think it’s an opportunity missed for guys in other clubs to play a guy who has opportunities beyond Whanganui,” said Teki.
Brunger’s injury follows the big changes at Kaierau, with around a dozen club regulars from captain Ethan Robinson on down departing this season, which has been balanced by the arrival of a similar number of players from the now-defunct Ngamatapouri team.
“The Ngamatapouri coaching staff had a similar mindset to what we wanted to do at Kaierau,” said Teki with regard to Danny Tamehana and Brook Tremayne.
“Some of their systems and their language were quite similar. It added more energy and competition in the team.
“Last year they were our foe, the only team we didn’t manage to beat.”
The other major acquisition is the return this week of 2019 Steelform Whanganui prop Raymond Salu, the explosive ball-runner who started with Black Bull Liquor Pirates and then transferred to Kaierau, before staying in Samoa in 2020 due to the pandemic.
“We’ll just have to manage him and work him in, but it’s exciting,” said Teki.
“It just really gives us four really good props, because for us, that’s great.”
As well as Tremayne, the team now has another key veteran in Doug Horrocks, the 2013 Whanganui flanker who moved to the MRU’s Te Kawau to play before heading overseas.
“We’ve got players across the board with high rugby IQs.”
Back in his preferred hooker position after playing predominately at No. 8 the last couple of seasons, Joe Edwards is a captain who will lead by example.
For Ruapehu, their return back to Premier has been a tough learning curve – losing 45-10 away to Taihape and then 43-12 to Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist at home last weekend.
Building from the side that made last year’s senior final, Ruapehu has seen the return home of incumbent Whanganui front rowers Roman Tutauha and Gabriel Hakaraia, although the other Hakaraia brother Te Uhi and incumbent representative flanker Jamie Hughes have stepped away from the game at this time.
The old firm of coach Andrew Evans, assistant Peter Rowe and manager Corey Carmichael - all linchpins of the Premier title wins in the 2010s - are therefore trying to get their squad adjusted to playing at this level.
What will help is the team’s decision to switch from Wednesday training sessions back to the Tuesday-Thursday format.
“We seem to be ticking along alright,” said Evans
“I probably think we got a few more guys that are a little bit green to Premier rugby.
“We’ve had to break it down and simplify it again.
“It’s hard when people say, ‘We understand’, but we don’t.
“For all our boys, make it easy to understand, rather than too difficult.
Other standouts are flanker Jack Kinder and halfback Kahl Elers-Green, who made the Whanganui Heartland squad last year out of the senior competition, which will make his duel with fellow incumbent Caleb Gray of Kaierau most interesting this weekend.
“Kaierau are one of the frontrunners, so we’ll have to muck in against them,” said Evans.
It is equally an important fixture at Spriggens Park, as Marist will look to take the confidence from their Ruapehu win into the clash with Taihape, smarting from the loss to Border in a game that ended early due to a suspected neck injury.
Border’s Logan Kingi has been cleared of any spinal damage, being diagnosed with mild concussion.
Premier draw (2.35pm kickoffs):
Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist vs Byford’s Readimix Taihape
Wanganui Car Centre Kaierau vs McCarthy’s Transport Ruapehu
Bye: Waverley Harvesting Border
