There are steady hands back at the wheel as Steelform Whanganui has the double task of upending their North Island rival as well as taking advantage of their first challenge for a prestigious prize in Thames on Saturday.

Nearly three years since it was first introduced into the Bunnings Warehouse Heartland Championship, Whanganui will finally get a challenge for the trophy named after one of their greatest players – the Bill Osborne taonga – when they face Thames Valley at Rhodes Park.

Dedicated to Whanganui’s 48-game All Black and former NZR president, the taonga acts as the Ranfurly Shield of Heartland rugby, defended in regular season home matches, and through the extraordinary outcome of changing hands three times in consecutive games, Whanganui now get a shot.

In its short but exciting history, the taonga was first held by Poverty Bay, who beat Mid Canterbury at the end of the 2021 campaign in a fifth vs sixth place clash for a revamped season caused by Covid delays.

Poverty Bay held it for two 2022 defences, before losing to rising neighbours East Coast, who would rattle off six successful defences over a two-season run which saw them lift to winning the 2022 Lochore Cup and making the 2023 Meads Cup semifinals.

But coming into this campaign, East Coast lost the taonga right on fulltime to Buller, who were then well-beaten by King Country in Westport, who in turn lost a grinding wet-weather derby with Thames Valley in Te Kuiti, 23-18 last Saturday.

“[Vice captain] Doug Horrocks had mapped this out when Buller beat East Coast – turns out he was right,” said Whanganui coach Jason Hamlin of the hot-potato tenures.

The challenge heightens the Swampfoxes vs Butcher Boys rivalry, which has been a battle for North Island supremacy during this era of South Canterbury’s Meads Cup success.

Starting with Thames Valley’s shocking upset of an unbeaten Whanganui in the 2018 Meads Cup semifinal, the teams have met seven times, including a further three semifinals, with Whanganui just ahead in the tally 4-3.

Packed with quality veterans like Connor McVerry, Todd Donlan, Alex Thrupp, Cam Dromgool and Laulea Mau, Thames Valley have made a strong start to 2024 with wins over Wairarapa Bush (37-24), North Otago (24-15) and the taonga victory.

Despite there being few faults in Whanganui’s record-breaking 91-7 victory over Buller, with 15 tries the most ever for the union, the step up in opposition means some squad changes.

Vice captain Dane Whale and Manawatu-based expat Griffin Culver return to the halves, with Ethan Robinson moving back to second-five ahead of Cyrus Tasi, who in a correction from the Buller match report scored his first Heartland try, not lock Peter-Travis Hay-Horton.

Matt Ashworth comes back into the starting lineup to partner Hay-Horton, with young locks Reuben Allen and Ngapuke Patea bracketed at Thursday training for the reserve spot, while also returning to the bench after his late scratching from Buller is another veteran in Samu Kubunavanua.

Unfortunately, winger Lafo Takiari Ah Ching is suffering delayed concussion effects and goes on medical stand-down, so again Hamlin has chosen a steady pair of hands with Josaia Bogileka taking the spot.

“It’s good to have someone the ability and experience of Josaia to come in, and then someone like Mitai [Hemi] making the most of his opportunities,” said Hamlin.

“The players took their opportunities [with Buller], but we’re just leaning back to what we know with people that have done the job in the past.

“They’re the best tools for this weekend.

“We tell the players to keep on working on the things we’ve been trying to push and promote.”

Hamlin praised the likes of halfback Eben Claassen and reserve forward Joseph Abernethy for strong efforts against Buller, as they step away this week.

Saturday will also be the blazer match (15 appearances) for both hooker Alesana Tofa and dynamic flanker Josefa Namosimalua.

The squad flies out to Hamilton on Friday, where they will stay the night before bussing north to Thames for the 2.30pm kickoff.

The match forms part of a crucial halfway part of the round robin with two away matches against tough opponents.

“You can’t win [the championship] in the first week, but you can go a hell of a long way to make it harder for yourselves,” said Hamlin.

By Jared Smith