Wellington club rugby team profile: OBU Green

The Old Boys University Green Colts side is arguably the hottest rugby ticket in town at the moment, having swept to the first round U21 Division 1 Paris Memorial Trophy title with a round to spare. They completed their seven-match first round campaign having scored 254 points and conceded 41 and extended their current winning streak to 28 matches.

This coming Saturday, OBU Green starts their defence of the John E. Kelly Cup second round Colts title. Of note they are joined in the second round by Saturday's Division 2 winners OBU Black.

The two OBU teams, HOBM Green, Ories, Norths Blue, Petone Blue, MSP and the Junior Axemen play a seven-week round-robin series, followed by semi-finals and final on Jubilee Cup Finals Day.

Club:?Old Boys University

Team name:?OBU Green?(Billy Goats)

Home ground:?Spiritual home is the Basin?Reserve;?most home games are played on the?Te?Whaea?Artificial ground

Competition currently playing:?Under 21 Division 1

Biggest Rivals:?Wellington?Axemen, there's definitely a bit of cross town rivalry with these guys. A couple years back they beat us twice in the regular season and we?knocked them over in the final. We always seem to run into them in?semi-finals?and finals. They always give us a contest when we meet them and there's certainly no love lost.

Magic Moments: Last year's season would be pretty hard to beat, going undefeated through the whole season then going on to win the final against HOBM Green in emphatic fashion?(they had only been beaten by us that year and there was a great rivalry between the teams). We lost a lot of blokes from that team this year, but the new guys have stepped up in their places and carried on the tradition and spirit of what it means to be a Goat in this grade.

Team rituals and traditions: ?Each week a gold coin donation sees the "Hit of the Day" get awarded. As students, the reward is very welcome and safely guarded until arrival at the Bridge that evening. Like all OBU Teams we pay homage to the "Bridge, the Basin and Trapper"

The team's experienced players: Sam Chamberlain?is the team stalwart - keeping it classy from the back for the past three years. Matt Fowler, Morgan Poi and James Prescott are all "senior" players in the group.

The team's personalities:

• OteneWilliams - the "Big O" lurks on the wing and is always hungry for the try line, also tells a very good yarn...
• JaredMartinovich- "Pole" is slight of frame but large of heart. Throws his 54kg frame at the biggest of opponents
• Matt Fowler - "Unit" is the reigning Mr OBU,the chatty halfback is always in the refs ear to ensure the right call is made.
• Chris McLean -part of the coaching team "Crispy"- described asDJForbes on steroidsis fondof Lion Brown anddownand ups.

The team's famous players: There are many handy cricketers nestled?in OBU Green - the Chamberlain brothers and Unit have all pushed for higher honours with leather?and willow.?Forwards coach Michael Barnes?was a pretty big deal on the Wellington social scene in the early 2000s.

The last word: OBU Green has not lost a game since?July in 2012?(28?game winning streak at present), which considering the player rotation is a fantastic achievement.?There's a lot of will amongst the boys to keep the streak going?and boys?stand up in social gatherings?to?talk about what it means to be part of this team. Under the tutelage of head coach James Bailey,?the?winning culture will hopefully stay around for some time yet.