Tomorrow, a season that for local rugby fans began with high hopes will end at the Ashburton Showgrounds.
The Civil Project Solutions Poverty Bay Weka under Miah Nikora are currently in 12th place, have lost all seven of their games and have five competition points in the Bunnings Warehouse Heartland Championship.
While they came 12th with one win, six points in 2013 and 11th with one win, 10 points in 2015, no Bay team in the Heartland era, from 2006 onwards, has lost every championship match.
The Bay's best placings came in 2009 and 2010, when Grainger Heikell-coached sides were both placed third with six wins, 26 and 28 points respectively in the Meads Cup.
Poverty Bay won the third division of the former National Provincial Championship in 1987 and 2005, the Lochore Cup in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2011 but tomorrow a team whose losing margins were 9, 11, 6, 15, 8, 34, 54 points will take their last chance to taste victory this season.
Victory to the Bay, in the last game of the round-robin, would make it eight wins in 21 games versus the Mid Canterbury Hammers, who are currently placed 4th, have won 5 of 7 and have 25 points. Kick-off is 2pm at the Ashburton Showgrounds.
The Weka will start George Halley at halfback for Tione Hubbard, who is not in the game day 23.
His younger brother Rana Hubbard will go to the reserves bench with North Harbour loan player Piri Paraone, who scored a try on debut versus Buller at Westport in Week 5, returning from injury at first-five.
The Bay have bracketed their right-wing versus Thames Valley on Gisborne Oval 2 here in Week 7 - Bosca Tikicidre - with their fullback v the Valley, Matthew Proffit, to cover the left-wing: one of Proffit, Paoraian Manuel-Harman or Week 7 debutant from the reserves Cohen Loffler will be at fullback.
Iowane Filimone will move from the left wing to centre, Mitchell Purvis will move from reserve centre for Ethine Reeves to second-five in place of the injured Jacob Leaf and rugged Te Peehi Fairlie is on the right wing for Tikicidre.
Leka Palusa will partner Harawira Kahukura in the second row with Duran Smith on the bench, giant Jarryd Broughton taking Nehe Papuni's berth as one of the two reserve props.
Ngatapa No.8 Siope Piukana and OBM halfback Atunaisa Rokotuiwei are new additions to the bench, Week 7 reserves Sonny Woodmass and Kupu Lloyd will not travel.
For the Hammers, Tadeo Andriani will start at loosehead prop for Josh Dunlea, Ryan Morton makes way for Shepherd Mhembere at lock, McGregor Best is at openside flanker for Declan McCormack and Ben Innes, on the right wing for John McKeefry, is the only change in a backline which features at second-five a fearless former West Coaster who played his 50th first-class game (17 for the Coast, one for the NZ Heartland XV, 32 for Mid-Canterbury) versus Buller at Westport last Saturday: Tom Reekie.
It was he who, at the last meeting of the Weka and the Hammers, came off the bench at second-five six minutes into the second half and - in injury time, 40m on the angle to the left of the posts - landed a drop goal for 23-20 to break the Bay's hearts on Oval 2, September 2, 2023.
The hosts had come from 3 to 10 down at half-time, Scarlet fullback Ricardo Patricio having scored and converted two tries and kicked two penalty goals: cruel irony, in that Patricio had scored his second try, for 18 to 20, in the right corner in the 80th minute and converted that gargantuan effort from the sideline in front of a jubilant crowd.
Hammers head coach Matthew Winter, having taken over from John Sherratt, has his team in good nick with two wins in a row.
His side will tomorrow swap their traditional green and yellow for white in Mid-Canterbury's third Charity Round for meningitis, a cause which has raised more than $30,000 since 2022.
Winter's opposite, Miah Nikora, said: "All I'm asking for is an effort we can all be proud of."
The referee, in his 23rd first-class match, is Christchurch-based glazier Daniel Moore (Canterbury), who controlled a replay of the 2023 Lochore Cup Final - West Coast v Poverty Bay at Greymouth - in Week 1. Running touch will be Mid-Canterbury officials Nathan Forbes (AR1) and Hamish Grant (AR2).
Mid Canterbury Hammers, 1-23: Tadeo Andriani, Callum Burrell (c), Adam Williamson, Shepherd Mhembere, Ashton McArthur, Kaydis Hona, McGregor Best, Michael Hennings, Kieran McLea, Nathan McCloy, Raitube Vasurakuta, Tom Reekie, Toetu Touli, Ben Innes, Thomas Middleton; R: Gordon Hausia, Josh Dunlea, Manueli Peckham, Lote Nasiga Limadeni, Antoine Ruchaud, Josh Lennox, George Harding, Hugh Griffith.
Civil Project Solutions Poverty Bay Weka, 1-23: Nik Patumaka, Shayde Skudder (c), Sam Hudson, Leka Palusa, Harawira Kahukura, Atonio Vukicicakaudrove, Keanu Taumata (vc), Hugh Taylor, George Halley, Piri Paraone, Matthew Proffit/Bosca Tikicidre, Mitchell Purvis, Te Peehi Fairlie, Iowane Filimone, Matthew Proffit/Paoraian Manuel-Harman; R: Ngahiwi Manuel, James Higgins, Jarryd Broughton, Duran Smith, Siope Piukana, Atunaisa Rokotuiwei, Rana Hubbard, Cohen Loffler/Paoraian Manuel-Harman.
