Club rugby season kicks off on Thursday

PETER JONES

Change seems inevitable at the top level of club rugby these days and, as kick-off nears for the 2023 season, there has been more reshuffling of the ranks.

Once again, just three teams from this side of the hill will contest the Marlborough premier sub-union and Tasman Trophy competi- tions this season. However, this year the personnel have changed.

With the Renwick ‘Green Machine’ unable to muster sufficient numbers to compete in the top echelon, Moutere have stepped into the breach.

The Magpies, along with defencing sub-union and Tasman Trophy champions Central and Waitohi will play each other over the first three weeks of the season, which begins on Thursday, April 6, when Moutere meet Central at Awarua Park. They then turn their attention to the Tasman Trophy. This season the Marlborough trio will battle just five Nelson sides. Waimea Old Boys, Kahurangi, Stoke, Nelson and Marist will once again front up for a series of cross-over clashes, beginning on April 29, while Wanderers are a notable absentee, the Brightwater-based club being unable to muster a premier team. Semifinals are provisionally scheduled for July 8 with the grand final down for July 15.

Local hopefuls

Central, again led by inspirational Mako veteran and player/ coach Quentin MacDonald, appear the most likely of the local sides to make the play-offs. However, the ‘Blues Brothers’ have undergone plenty of change in the off season but still have talent in abundance, although without the sort of player depth that saw them finish the 2022 season in such style. Players such as blockbusting No 8 Peni Fihaki, hard-working lock Matt McCormick and Mako loosie Braden Stewart, who will make a delayed start to the season due to injury rehab, will ensure they remain competitive up front, while Mitch Smith, Ben Filipo and Nigel Satherley are experienced back- line operators at this level. Waitohi will also have a seasoned Mako man at the helm, both on and off the field. Versatile backline general Tim O’Malley returns to the Picton crew as player/coach and will have plenty of youthful talent alongside him. Up front hard-nosed operators such as newcomer Campbell Hart, a former NZ Heartland XV player, Dylan Burns and Taine Cragg-