The final round of qualifying for the Citizens Shield semifinals has an aura of predictability about it, but predictability went out the window last week and it could happen again.
At Whitestone Contracting Stadium in Oamaru, on the back ground, competition leaders Old Boys, who will be the top qualifier regardless of the result, take on Athletic Marist, which would appear to be hitting top form with a six-try-to-four demolition of second-placed Kurow last week.
But Athletic, regardless of its performance, will remain in fourth place and thus face Old Boys in the semifinals.
Kurow's form has flattened out but it should beat Valley at Weston.
Valley, albeit with a late dropped goal, knocked over third-placed Maheno last weekend and has nothing to lose against Kurow.
Maheno will meet Excelsior on the No2 ground. Excelsior was hit by injuries last week and had to default to Old Boys.
If it can field its top team, it is a chance to beat the third-placed team and finish its season on a high note.
But win, lose or draw, Maheno knows that in the semifinals it will play Kurow, as the highest-ranked team gets the home game.
This afternoon the 82nd interschool rugby match between Waitaki Boys' High School and St Kevin's College First XVs will be played at 1.30pm at Whitestone Contracting Stadium.
The girls' encounter between the Waitaki Girls' High School and St Kevin's College First XVs starts at noon.
A feature of the traditional interschool fixture is the return of past old girls and boys to the town.
This year the 1966 Waitaki Boys' First XV will celebrate its 50th jubilee.
In 1966 St Kevin's College had 14 teams, which played from the first XV in the then junior grade down to the under 6 stone 8, (43.8kg) grade.
Waitaki Boys' would have had a similar number of teams.
Fifty years later St Kevin's College, which is now co-educational, has three other teams playing competition rugby while Waitaki Boys' this season has seven.
The situation in North Otago is mirrored throughout the country where clubs are finding it increasingly difficult to get adequate numbers of players.
North Otago has six premier grade clubs.
The President's grade is hardly a stepping stone into premier rugby and apart from the women's team which plays in the Dunedin competition, all other teams come from the schools.
In primary school rugby there are nearly 40 teams in the North Otago competition so the numbers are still there.
There appears to be a big drop-off at secondary school with many giving the game away if they are not picked up for higher honours.
The North Otago Rugby Union has attempted to overcome this by selecting secondary school players into the North Otago development side which plays games against South Canterbury and Mid Canterbury.
- Terry O'Neill
