This week in club rugby history: 16-22 July

Above: MSP's Isaiah Petelo attempts to chargedown a John Monu kick in their match this week in 2012. Petelo and hooker Liu Tautave score tries as MSP win 26-14 and take a step towards winning this year's Jubilee Cup. 

In association with Lovelocks Sports Bar on Bond Street in Wellington, some highlights from this week in Wellington club rugby history are below.

16 July

1960: Soon-to-be Jubilee Cup champions Marist win a key victory over close rivals Onslow. With the game locked up at 3-3 deep into the second half, Marist first five-eighth C.J. Stewart kicks high across to wing Mick Dennehy. In full stride, Dennehy leaps high to take the slippery ball and dives over for a decisive try and an 8-3 win for Marist.

1983: MSP and Wellington are joint Jubilee Cup leaders after three rounds, after Wellington No. 8 Murray Mexted jumps off a plane from Auckland and heads to the Polo Ground to help Wellington beat WCOB 22-13. Murray’s brother Alan also scores a try for the Axemen, while their cousin Fraser lands three goals for WCOB. MSP beat Poneke 14-6, avenging their last-gasp defeat to them earlier in the season.

1988: MSP and Wellington are headed towards a semi-final showdown in a fortnight, with contrasting wins today. MSP beats Upper Hutt 52 -4, with wing Chris Wells scoring a hat-trick and first five-eighth Peter O’Shaughnessy surpassing 200 points for the season. Wellington rely on the boot of fullback Evan Hopkin to see them past Poneke 19-16.

2011: It’s an eastern Suburbs one-two for the semi-finals with neighbours Oriental Rongotai and Poneke both set to host Jubilee Cup semi-finals in a fortnight's time after each won their round six matches to qualify first and second respectively for the playoffs with a week to spare. Ories hold on to beat Northern United 32-30 in a thrill-a-minute fixture at Porirua Park and Poneke are emphatic home 44-11 winners over Marist St. Pat's at Kilbirnie Park.

2016: Wainuiomata are the 2016 Wellington women’s club rugby Division 1 champions, beating Oriental-Rongotai 24-12 in today’s final at William Jones Park. Captain Mary-Ann Collins is the Player of the Final and her 50-metre intercept try just after halftime is the match-winner.

17 July

1943: The biggest club match in Wellington since 1939 sees the combined Poneke-Oriental side play “stirring rugby” and beat Marist Old Brothers in this match and thus capture the Jubilee Cup title. The Dominion reports that Poneke-Oriental “dominated” Marist, running out 14-8 winners. They score three tries, all through the forwards, and the margin of victory could have been greater if not for missed kicks. With five wins from five, Poneke-Oriental are unbeaten in the 1943 Jubilee Cup. The combined eastern suburbs side (merged due to WW2 and reduced player numbers) defend their title in 1944.

1993: A 15-point haul against Wests today has written Avalon’s ace goal-kicker Craig Laursen into Wellington club rugby record books with the most points scored in a season. Laursen takes his season tally to 250, eclipsing what is understood to be Petone's Allan Hewson's record of 238. MSP’s Elton Moncreiff is chasing hard on 235 and will likely surpass Hewson’s record with three rounds still to play. Avalon beats Wests 40-19 and MSP defeats Johnsonville 68-0.

2010: In diabolical conditions, Poneke swamp Upper Hutt 31-3 at Maidstone Park to earn their fourth straight win and go to the top of the table and put themselves in a strong position heading into the semi-finals with two rounds to play. In a strong team effort, five individuals score tries. Petone overruns Old Boys-University 20-3 at the Basin Reserve to keep their playoff chances alive, while defending champions MSP’s playoff chances are probably shot after losing to Norths by the same score, 20-3.

18 July

1936: 1933 champions and title contenders Wellington College Old Boys get beaten in the backs by Petone and they lose 6-3 in the match of the round at Athletic Park. The loss proves fatal to WCOB’s hopes of another title, eventually won by Athletic.

1981: Athletic hold MSP to a 7-7 draw, after beating the Swindale Shield winner, Petone, last week. MSP are the leaders but with four rounds to play the competition remains wide open.

1992: Naera Parata scores two tries and 18 points for Petone to become the first player to notch 200 points in Premier rugby this season, helping the Villagers to a 41-13 win over MSP. This win is Petone’s fifth on the trot in the Jubilee Cup and they go on to capture the Swindale Shield-Jubilee Cup double.

2009: Fullback James So'oialo scores all the points including two intercept tries to lead co-defending champions Northern United to a shaky 23-17 win over Hutt Old Boys Marist to keep his side in the mix in the sixth and penultimate round of the Jubilee Cup. So'oialo's personal points scoring haul, including the match-winning try in the dying stages, will prove enough to propel Norths into the semi-finals in a fortnight's time, while at the same time burying HOBM's playoff hopes. With the Eagles holding a 17-16 lead, So'oialo intercepts his second pass of the afternoon and races away to win the game for his team, in the process surpassing 200 points for the season.

19 July

1931: The 1931 Jubilee Cup is heartily contested with several sides in the mix throughout the season. In the end Hutt come out on top to claim their maiden Jubilee Cup, beating a strong Marist side 9-3 in a key match. But on this day Hutt meet a 3-8 defeat to neighbours Eastbourne in the match of the round at Athletic Park. Hutt’s defeat put them, Wellington, Eastbourne and Poneke - who they drew 14-14 with in another big match of 1931 - bunched together. Hutt prevails in the subsequent weeks and became the third side in as many years to win the new Jubilee Cup.

1980: Steve Haturini scores a double as Poneke beat Wellington 23-16. MSP wing Wayne Gray notches his 13th try of the season in his side’s 39th straight win, 29-7 over Athletic, while Allan Hewson and Mike Clamp score two tries each in Petone’s 20-15 win over WCOB.

2008: Marist St Pat's and Petone will host this year's two Jubilee Cup semi-finals, following wins over Old Boys-University and Northern United respectively in trying conditions after torrential rain. MSP defeats Old Boys-University 26-0 at the Basin Reserve and Petone overcome Norths 17-9 at home and opening up a seven-point gap to their third-placed Porirua rivals.

20 July

1940: Eastbourne upset championship leaders Wellington in this first round Jubilee Cup clash at Athletic Park. Having toppled big guns Athletic the previous Saturday, Eastbourne are quickly becoming the giant killers of the 1940 season. In an exciting match, Eastbourne lead 11-0 at halftime and hold off the Axemen in the second spell to win 14-8. It is Athletic who go on to win the 1940 Jubilee Cup - after a forced two-week break for all teams in August on account of closed grounds.

1985: MSP and Wellington are the two unbeaten sides, after MSP beats Avalon 40-0 and Wellington overruns Ories 43-9. Meanwhile, Poneke call on Gaelic flair, with French import Eric Blanc featuring in three tries and scoring one himself in their 31-16 win over Hutt Valley Marist.

1991: Poneke remains unbeaten after five rounds of the Jubilee Cup, after first five-eighth Steve Hirini snaps a late dropped goal for a 14-12 win over Wellington. Poneke have come back from a 0-12 deficit earlier in the match.

1996: Poneke are top qualifiers for next week’s semi-finals after beating Upper Hutt 19-16 in today’s last round set of matches. Poneke lead 16-6 after 55 minutes, but a 75-metre intercept try to Upper Hutt wing Jason Edwards converted by Alan Henderson cuts their lead and makes for an exciting finish. Poneke will meet Harlequins in next week’s semi-finals, who over-run HOBM 27-12. Western Suburbs and Avalon will meet in the other semi-final after Filo Tiatia scores two tries for Wests in their 37-9 win over Norths and Avalon’s forwards shut out MSP 14-6.

2000: Friday night Jubilee Cup semi-finals at the new Westpac Stadium see Poneke edge MSP 27-26 and Petone defeat Johnsonville 19-13. For Poneke, David Holwell kicks 17 points, while a kick into the in-goal by Petone first five-eighth Riki Flutey on the stroke of halftime proves the decisive score for them.

2013: Recently crowned Swindale Shield champions Tawa add the Andy Leslie Trophy to their cabinet today for winning the Jubilee Cup round-robin series. All that’s missing is the big one, the Jubilee Cup itself, which moves into championship mode next weekend. Tawa beat HOBM 23-9 in today’s seventh round match. HOBM qualify second, ahead of OBU third and Ories fourth.

21 July

1984: Upper Hutt beats Petone 26-19 in what is their first win at the Petone Recreation Ground in many seasons. Upper Hutt trail 10-19 at halftime, but turn with the wind and over-run the Villagers. First five-eighth Sam McLean is the hero, kicking four penalties and two dropped goals for 18 points. It’s also Upper Hutt’s first win in their past 17 Jubilee Cup matches. Poneke remains in front, after battling to a 15-10 win over Hutt Valley Marist.

2001: MSP sneaks into the Jubilee Cup top four with a nail-biting 30-27 win over Western Suburbs at Rugby League Park. They lead 23-8 but Wests roar back with a southerly advantage. The turning point comes when MSP hooker Luke Mahoney, later to play for Wests, makes a break and sets up a try to lock Andrew Gallagher.

2007: MSP qualifies top for the Jubilee Cup Semi-finals with a round to spare with a clinical 69-15 demolition of wooden spoon-bound Wests Roosters at home at Evans Bay Park. MSP win their sixth straight second round match and earn their first bonus point, minus recent forwards regulars Wellington lock Bernie Upton and new Manawatu signing and hooker Ged Robinson. The other three matches on this day are much closer. HOBM topple Petone 21-15, Tawa prevailed over Poneke 19-17 and OBU draw 22-22 with Norths.

2012: Defending champions Oriental Rongotai, Marist St Pat's and Northern United all book their Jubilee Cup semi-final places with next week's seventh and final round to spare, in bright sunshine today. Ardie Savea is again the star and scores two tries as Ories blast past Tawa 43-5 at the Polo Ground and Norths run through winless Petone 59-12 to record bonus point victories and maintain the top two places on the table. MSP score two tries in their 26-14 win over highly rated Wainuiomata at Evans Bay Park.

22 July

1978: The Wellington Axemen - led by outgoing captain and talisman Graham Williams and No. 8 Murray Mexted topple title contenders MSP 12-0. With just three rounds to play, MSP, Wellington and Athletic are tied at the top. Wellington and MSP go on to share the Jubilee Cup.

1983: Acting Wellington Axemen Head Coach Jim Morgan races in from the left wing to score three second-half tries as the Axemen beat Upper Hutt 40-15. MSP beat Western Suburbs 22-9, to leave Wellington and MSP level pegging at the top after four rounds. Wellington goes on to win the Jubilee Cup outright.

1995: MSP retain the Jubilee Cup with a 20-18 win over Petone in the final, winning the Jubilee Cup - Swindale Shield double for the second consecutive year. Protecting a two-point lead, MSP holds off Petone for the final 20 minutes, the Villagers unlucky not to score when a pass between first five-eighth Simon Mannix and wing Alex Telea is knocked down.

2006: Petone and Poneke are big winners in round 6 matches. In a season of highs and lows, Petone pull out the round's surprise result, beating Northern United 16-8 at home to move into the top four and relegate a tottering Norths from first to third. Poneke are the new leaders after they have a comfortable 23-3 win over Marist St Pat's at Evans Bay Park.