Nelson and Waimea Old Boys will host the NPD Trophy semi-finals this weekend after both picked up important wins.
Three of the four teams in this year’s semis are from Nelson, with Marist and Marlborough’s Renwick rounding out the top four.
It will be Renwick that travels to Nelson’s Neale Park on Saturday while Marist will head to Jubilee Park.
Of the top four, only Renwick will be heading into the knockout game on the back of a loss, after it was put to the sword by Marist at Tahunanui on Saturday.
Marist won 54-24, which will give the beaten Nelson sub-union finalists plenty of confidence for its trip to Richmond.
“There are some great teams out there and it will be tough, but if we all do our jobs, train well and stick to our processes I think we will have a good crack at it,” says Marist’s star fullback Jamie Spowart.
Nelson had the bye over the weekend, while Waimea Old Boys beat East Coast 30-17.
This season the NPD trophy also features championship and bowl titles up for grabs.
Stoke will host Wanderers at Greenmeadows in the first championship semi-final, while Central will host East Coast.
In the bowl semi-finals, Moutere will visit Waitohi, while Kahurangi has the bye.
