Another weekend of club rugby is upon us and our Saturday afternoon plans are well and truly locked in. Further to our senior rugby competitions – junior and secondary school rugby both get their 2025 seasons underway.

This week we will preview our Men’s Premiership along with our Under 21’s and Women’s Championship competitions while giving you a sneak preview of the Division 1 and Women’s Premiership competitions and what you could expect to see in club land.

Waikato Draught Men’s Premiership

Melville v United Matamata Sports

Ninth placed Melville get back to Collins Road and will host eighth placed United Matamata Sports in what is a big game for both teams as the victor will get a bit of breathing space from that dreaded tenth position on the ladder which comes with a promotion / relegation game post season.

Both sides are coming off considerable defeats in week 5, while able to score some points on attack the big issue for these two sides is the weak defense. The winner in this fixture will be the side who are more assured on D and can shut it out for 80minutes. Potentially an intriguing watch at Collins Road Saturday afternoon.

University v Hamilton Marist

Near neighbours and building quite the rivalry over recent seasons. Hamilton Marist will make the trip down Old Farm Road to University. Currently sitting atop of the ladder Hamilton Marist have looked strong in the opening five weeks and been consistently scoring plenty of points in their victories and remain the only unbeaten team in 2025. University – currently sitting in third, with only the one loss have been impressive in 2025 and will back themselves at home to upset the top dogs, something they have done it the past when both sides are in similar positions.

This is will be an exciting game over at the University and definitely one to check out if you are in the area Saturday afternoon. Too tight to pick and could go either way.

Hautapu v Morrinsville Sports

A match between second seed Hautapu v bottom placed Morrinsville Sports. A contrasting season for these two sides in 2025 – Hautapu going well with their only blemish been a week one defeat to Hamilton Marist, while Morrinsville Sports continue to battle away and lock in that 80minute performance.

Morrinsville Sports make the trip across to Cambridge following a home defeat last weekend to the students and could potentially face a tougher test at Memorial Park Saturday afternoon. Hautapu’s last home outing saw them put away 90 points vs Melville and no doubt Will Helu’s side will be keen to put on something similar this weekend in front of their faithful supporters.

Fraser Tech v Hamilton Old Boys

Traditional foes square off in a big mid-table clash at Mill Street Saturday afternoon. Fourth placed Hamilton Old Boys will make the short trip up Seddon Road from home base and face off vs sixth placed Fraser Tech.

The year started well for the Fraser Tech men but a couple close defeats the last two weekends have seen them drop down a couple spots on the ladder. A last minute heartache in their last home match vs Te Awamutu Sports will still be hurting the Tech men and no doubt they will want to get back home and show their home fans they are a top four side in 2025.

Hamilton Old Boys – currently with three wins and two losses will be keen to get tabs on the top three sides and with a Ham Marist win over University could see the red and black men crack into top three.

This match is always a cracking viewing and no doubt will be the same again come Saturday afternoon. If your not going to the University match up this is the pick of the weekend.

Otorohanga v Te Awamutu Sports

Country neighbours Otorohanga host Te Awamutu Sports down at Island Reserve in another mid-table clash. Both sides coming off home wins last weekend with Te Awamutu sports coming off the back of three wins on the bounce and Otorohanga got back on the winning train last weekend at home vs Morrinsville Sports.

This will be a good match up vs two evenly placed sides with both sides wanting the win to keep tabs on the higher ranked sides looking to keep their hopes alive for a top 4 spot come later in the season.

Under 21s

Some quality evenly contested match up this weekend in our Under 21s competition.

Hautapu v Rugby United

Top four contenders Rugby United from Thames Valley make the trip into Cambridge and square off against current competition leaders Hautapu. Last weekend both teams got big wins against their respective opposition showing plenty of attacking flair and ability. While they would like to assure up that defensive end, scoring points is always pleasing and will go a long way to winning these kind of match ups.

definitely and intriguing matchup if your heading to Memorial Park Saturday afternoon, it will be well worth your while arriving at 1pm and catching our next generation talent.

Morrinsville v Suburbs

Fifth placed Suburbs make the little roadie out to Morrinsville and take on sixth placed Morrinsville Sports. Suburbs are coming off the back of a cracking 36-34 win at home last week and will be keen to maintain that momentum and get a good win on the road keeping them well and truly in touch with the top 4. Meanwhile Morrinsville Sports get back to home following a defeat on the road in Thames Valley last weekend and with a home win will likely jump over Suburbs into the top 5 and get their season back on track after a couple early defeats.

Well worth checking out if you are in the Morrinsville area as their senior men’s side are on the road this weekend.

Pirongia v Fraser Tech

Two sides that have battled early in 2025 and will be looking forward to this match up with the hope of getting a win to their name. Pirongia have had a tough start to the season with all four of their matches coming against teams considerably higher than them on the ladder. The young men from Pirongia will back themselves at home host Fraser Tech – who have also had a tough start to the year only recording one win from their opening three matches. A massive day awaits at Pirongia Domain and the Under 21s will be keen to get the day off to a good start with a early afternoon W.

Leamington v University

Like Pirongia the young Leamington men have also battled early in 2025 recording 3 losses from three starts. They welcome a University side who have two wins and two loses and will be eager to get their season on track with a big win at home vs the students.

University will have high ambitions of been inside the top four in 2025 and a win in Cambridge will ensure they keep alongside the Morinville, Suburbs and Rugby United’s of the competition and hold them in good stead just over a month into the competition.

TA Sports v Hamilton Marist

Likely to be the biggest mismatch of the competition this weekend will see the winless Te Awamutu Sports host defending champions Hamilton Marist at Albert Park in Te Awamutu. What has been a tough start to 2025 for the new comers Te Awamutu Sports likely wont get much easier this weekend when Hamilton Marist come to town.

Te Awamutu Sports are on a bit of rebuild seeing them enter a Colts side for the first time in a couple of seasons, and with that some tough results are going to come your way. Last week they showed some massive heart with a two point loss to Suburbs in Hamilton – hopefully that ignites the Te Awamutu men and get them firing this weekend at home vs Hamilton Marist.

Waitomo Group Women’s Championship

Suburbs v Hamilton Marist

This is shaping up to be a cracking game at Flagstaff Park Saturday afternoon. Both sides are currently sitting mid table locked on 10 competition points with two wins and two losses. Hamilton Marist faced a tough top of the table Taupiri side last weekend going doing 50 points to 5, while Suburbs are coming off a 50 nil victory on the road to Hinuera.

This will shape up as a great match and will kick off an action packed day of rugby at Flagstaff Park Saturday afternoon.

Putaruru v Hinuera

Top of the table Putaruru are four win from four starts and will welcome neighbours Hinuera to Nola Block Park. Hinuera are chasing their opening win in the Championship after entering the Championship for the first time in 2025. This could be another tough afternoon for Hinuera as Putaruru will be well supported as the Women’s side kick off a big day at Nola Block as the men welcome Frankton in the Division 1 competition.

Waitete v Pirongia

This will be another tight tussle down in Te Kuiti and Pirongia will be keen to get on the road and capture their first win of 2025 vs a struggling Waitete side. Pirongia have had a rough start to kick off their campaign but arguable face their most even challenge yet when they venture down to Te Kuiti.

A win for the Pirongia ladies will be their first for some time and still keep them locked into seventh on the ladder, but no doubt do their confidence a world of good. A side that doesn’t lake confidence and continue to show up week in week out truly deserve to get into the winners circle and get a taste of victory for 2025.

Taupiri v Matamata Sports

A massive match up at Murphy Lane Saturday afternoon. Second placed and four from four Taupiri host third placed Matamata Sports in what we think will be a great game of rugby north of the city.

Taupiri had a big win last weekend clocking up 50odd points on the road vs Hamilton Marist, while Matamata Sports had a hard-fought win at home vs Waitete. Both teams can score points and often score plenty of points. If Matamata Sports can tighten up on defense, they could be a good shout for a road trip upset to kick start the weekend.

Division 1

Division 1 remains a bit of a log jam for our top six sides in the competition with only four points separating first and sixth place. Southern United are punching above their weight winning four games from four starts and probably have a slight advantage currently sitting in second place with having their bye already. The other sides are all yet to have their bye but have also tasted defeated at least once in 2025.

Current table topper Ohaupo have the bye this weekend and will no doubt be overtaken by those sides around them. Second place Southern United host bottom placed Kereone and will likely maintain their perfect start to 2025. Third place Suburbs are back home for a big day at Flagstaff Park and host sixth placed Hinuera. This will shape up to be a big day and an evenly matched contest.

Fourth placed Te Rapa make the trip out to Cambridge and battle fifth placed Leamington in what is the closest match up of the weekend.

The two remaining matches have Pirongia host Taupiri at home. A win to Pirongia will see them close to cracking the top six while Taupiri need to start winning if they want to continue to keep their hopes alive of top six rugby in the second round.
 

The final matchup is the battling Putaruru host the even more battling Frankton down at Nola Block. Putaruru have had a mix start to their season with one win, a draw and a couple losses in their opening four weeks, while Frankton are still yet to record their opening victory in 2025.

Womens Premiership

Top placed Melville welcome rivals Hamilton Old Boys in what is a top of the table must watch clash of our leading women's premiership sides. Both teams are currently undefeated in 2025 and have a perfect record with 20 competition points earnt from the 20 points available. 

Collins Road will be the place to be come 1pm Saturday afternoon if you want to catch our Premier women club players in action in a battle to see who heads into the second half of the season in top place. 

Fifth placed University welcome newcomers Hautapu Sports to the University with Hautapu currently sitting above University in fourth placed. New to the Premiership in 2025, Hautapu have shown some impressive pieces so far in their four matches. While both sides have only recorded the one win so far this season, this will be another great match up with both sides looking to double their wins for the year. 

The final match up has Otorohanga hosting the battling Kihikihi Sports. Otorohanga have started the year with two wins and two losses while Kihikihi are still looking for their first victory. A tough match up awaits the Kihikihi ladies at Island Reserve where a good home win for Otorohanga will see them maitain that third spot on the ladder. 

Article added: Thursday 08 May 2025