Titikaveka Bulls are hoping to pull off a major upset when they take on the undefeated Tupapa Panthers in the Rarotonga Club 15s semifinal this afternoon at Victoria Park.

The Bulls finished fourth while the Panthers claimed the top spot after the preliminary round of competition which concluded last week.

The two teams met in round one where the Panthers thrashed the Bulls 41-7 after leading 29-7 at half time.

In their last two matches, particularly the 16-all draw against Arorangi Bears on Friday last week, the Bulls showed major improvements and are tipped to give the Panthers a good run for their money this afternoon.

Titikaveka Bulls manager Tereapii Tumutoa said the performance against the Bears would serve as the motivation for this “do or die” clash against the Panthers.

The Bears salvaged a draw from a penalty kick after the fulltime hooter had sounded.

“It has given our camp a bit of confidence going into this match. I think both teams played really well on the day and made lots of errors but we tried really hard and believed in ourselves and I’m sure the performance last week will motivate our players to do better,” Tumutoa said.

“We have got nothing to lose (against the Panthers). We will go there give it our all, empty the tank, do what we have been doing for the past four weeks and hopefully we can hold off Tupapa’s hard running backline and their big forwards.

“Tupapa is a really good side and we really look up to them and how they have done (performed) in the previous years. We are trying to hopefully one day bring pride back to our village and bring the community back together through the sport of rugby union.”

Tumutoa said preparations for the semifinal have been going well “with lots of boys turning up for training”.

However the Bulls will miss the services of their young star Ewen Iro who has been ruled out due to concussion.

“He has been a really impactful player in the last three matches and we will surely miss his services.”

The team will be led by co-captains Mark Tuaati and Timothy Tangirere.

“We have a mix of young and veteran players, our local boys, the SDA brothers and a good mix of Fijian players including Papa Ilai (Bedini) and Lakena,” Tumutoa said.

“We are encouraging our fans to stop by at Victoria Park on their way home after work (today) and show your support to our boys. We got nothing to lose but we will give our all.”

Panthers assistant coach Thomas Toa said they are wary of the Bulls and will not take them lightly.

The Panthers versus the Bulls match will kick off at 4.15pm.

• Rashneel Kumar

Fixtures

Today: Victoria Park, Tupapa: 4.15pm Semis Premier Grade Men’s Tupapa Panthers (1^st) versus (4^th) Titikaveka Bulls.

Tomorrow: Victoria Park:  11.55am Opening prayer All Clubs Junior Development Ethos: “Development first & competition later”, U13 GIRLS/U10 & U8 Boys – Quick Rip ALL Clubs (Junior Development Quick Rip non-contact, participation for all including Girls), U13 Boys – Rugby 15s ALL Clubs (Junior Development “Train & Play” - Rugby 15s); 2pm U19 Men

Avatiu Eels-Arorangi Bears; 3.30pm Women’s 10s Lady Bears-Lady Panthers/TKV Reds (2x 10 minutes); 4pm Premier Men – semifinal – Avatiu Eels (2^nd) versus Arorangi Bears (3^rd).