After a short working week, Central Otago rugby fans can look forward to another weekend of high-energy rugby in week five of the competition this Saturday (April 29).

There’s the highly anticipated replay of the 2022 final between the Cromwell Goats and Wakatipu Premiers in Queenstown.

Wakatipu will be coming off the back of a hard-fought first win of the season against Maniototo in Ranfurly last weekend.

They had to push hard to overcome the Maggots 22 to 16, keeping the men from Maniototo at the bottom of the competition table and hinting at the sort of rugby that made Wakatipu champions in 2022.

Cromwell head coach Mike Cunningham harbours no illusions about his side's task when they travel through the gorge to Queenstown.

“We're certainly looking forward to this weekend’s challenge after last year's final. We’ve had a little talk about that, and there's a bit of motivation, but we know a win won’t come easy.” 

He believes his side had had a good start to the season with three wins from three outings. 

“We’ve had a better start than last year when we were probably a little bit behind the eight ball.

“We’ve worked hard this year right from preseason straight after Christmas. We got some of the bigger guys running and tried hard to work on everybody's fitness, and we have the luxury of a big squad. 

“We've introduced some newer or younger guys who have had a couple of runs, which is fantastic.” 

Maniototo will be hoping for redemption in other week-five clashes as the team faces off against the Arrowtown Bulls in Ranfurly. 

The Alexandra Armadillos play host to Matakanui in what should be a close match between the neighbouring unions.

Central App will be in Queenstown to bring you coverage of the Wakatipu – Cromwell match, and we’ll wrap up the round on Monday.