RIWAKA 24 HARLEQUINS 15, WAKATU MARIST 57 RENWICK 12, HUIA 40 MOUTERE 36 NELSON 41 CENTRAL 20, WAITOHI 21 STOKE 10, WANDERERS 45 AWATERE 15.

Tomorrow's opening round of the Bayleys Tasman Trophy rugby championship is the first step towards establishing a regular and meaningful interprovincial club rivalry between Nelson Bays and Marlborough.

Having played for Wellington and the Hurricanes development team, Cripps has his heart set on playing Super rugby, a goal endorsed by Tasman's chief executive Andrew Flexman. "We are thrilled to have a player of Hayden's calibre locked in for two years," said Flexman. "He has made a massive impact in [Marlborough] club rugby to date. We see him as a potential Super Rugby player in the next few years."

Nelson orthodontist Andrew Marriott is putting his money where his mouth is, donating 3800 mouthguards to young rugby players in Nelson and Marlborough. Andrew, who is a partner in Nelson Orthodontics, approached the Tasman Rugby Union about the initiative earlier this year and the union happily agreed. The mouthguards were delivered to the clubs for their JAB players aged five to 14 and they were put to the test at games around the region last Saturday.

Tevita Cavubati is still young in international locking terms and although he just missed selection in last year's Fiji Rugby World Cup squad, is now hoping to establish himself in Fiji's 2012 squad under new coach and former test No8 Inoke Male. That means playing regular high-quality rugby, which Cavubati reckons New Zealand's provincial ITM Cup competition will help him achieve. Tasman just happened to fall nicely into the mix.