Above: Wellington Lions fullback Kelly Rolleston running in one of his two tries in this match against Western Samoa. Credit: EP 28/5/1996 Match Details Result: Wellington 52 – Western Samoa 30When: 26 May 1996Weather: FairCrowd: 15,000 The Tour 1996 was a watershed year for world rugby, being the first year of professionalism. The Super 12 competition started up in 1996 and the new Wellington Hurricanes team was born.For the first time, Western Samoa came to New Zealand as a full international touring side and played one Test against the All Blacks, in Napier and under lights for the first time in New Zealand...More

Super Rugby is expanding to 18 teams in 2016 and the Hurricanes have selected the right man to lead the side into the dynamic new era. Dane Coles (Poneke) takes over from Conrad Smith (Old Boys-University) as the Hurricanes’ captain next season. Coles becomes the third hooker after Norm Hewitt and Andrew Hore and the fourth front-rower after Hewitt, Hore and founding skipper Mark Allen to lead the Hurricanes in to Super Rugby battle. Halfback TJ Perenara (Northern United) is the Hurricanes’ vice-captain in 2016...More

Above: St Pat’s Town’s Siosaia Paese running clear to score a try on the opening day of the Condor 7s against eventual Cup finalists Hastings Boys’ High School. A mixed 2015 National Secondary Schools Condor 7s tournament for the three Wellington schools involved has seen St Mary’s College in the girls section finish as the highest placed of the trio. All three Wellington schools were relegated to the bottom half of the draw after each winning just one match from three on Saturday, but St Mary’s rallied on Sunday to beat North Harbour school Long Bay College 36-5 in their Bowl quarter-final, Waikato’s Cambridge High School 24-5 in their Bowl semi-final and another North Harbour school, Kaipara College, 31-7 in their Bowl Final...More

This weekend sees the playing of college rugby’s final event of the year, the national Condor Sevens championship at Kelston Boys’ High School in Auckland. Wellington once again sends three teams to the showcase event – boys regional winners St Patricks College, Wellington, runners-up St Patricks Silverstream, and girls winners St Mary’s, Wellington. Both boys’ sides head to the tournament with plenty of optimism about their chances, but also know that Wellington has a strong recent history at this event with Scots College having finished runners-up in each of the last two years...More

Above: Then Ories fullback Richard Parkinson profiled in the Evening Post on the eve of his NPC debut for Wellington against Bay of Plenty in 1991. Photo credit: EP 9/9/1991. Name: Richard Parkinson Nickname: Parky Playing positions: Fullback, first five-eighth. Secondary school attended: Rongotai College Clubs played for: Oriental Rongotai 1988-1993, Marist St Pat’s 1994-1995, Oriental Rongotai 1997-1999 Premier appearances: Over 100 for Ories, 30 MSP. Representative teams played in: Wellington Colts 1988, Wellington Lions 1991...More

Above: Action in the Cup semi-final between the Napier Pirates and home side Wainuiomata at today’s Piri Weepu 7s. Napier won the semi-final before losing to Ngamatapouri in the final. Wanganui raiders Ngamatapouri are the 2015 Piri Weepu Invitational 7s champions. Ngamatapouri beat visiting Hawke’s Bay club Napier Pirates 33-24 in the Men’s Cup final today at William Jones Park after both sides had shut out Wellington clubs in the semi-finals. Ngamatapouri and Napier Pirates were deserved finalists, both playing with superior energy and organisation all day...More

The New Zealand Defence Force rugby team known as the Defence Blacks recently returned from their successful tour winning five of eight games and playing an open exciting brand of running rugby. In Europe the team were involved in several World War One commemorative services including one to honour Sgt Dave Gallaher the captain of the 1905 All Blacks “Originals”. The team proudly wore replica 1917 jerseys for the games in Europe. They won their first game against a French Pacific XV 54-0 at Jean Bouin Stadium before travelling to Belgium to play the national side who were in the middle of their European Cup competition...More

Above: Georgia Daals with Ayesha Leti-liga in support, moments away from scoring the try of the season at the death against Counties Manukau to send the Wellington Pride into the 2015 Women’s NPC final against Auckland. They finished runners-up in the Women’s NPC competition and now eight Wellington Pride players have been selected in the 56-players Black Ferns training squad to start preparing for the 2017 Women’s World Cup. Wellington forwards selected in the squad - Moana Aiatu (Northern United), Sanita Levave (Northern United), Aimee Sutorius (Northern United) and Jackie Patea (Wainuiomata) – have all previously played Tests for the Black Ferns...More

Twelve men’s and four women’s teams will take the field at William Jones Park this Saturday in the fifth annual Piri Weepu Invitational 7s tournament. Teams from Manawatu, Taranaki, Hawke’s Bay and Horowhenua-Kapiti are coming down to join several Wellington club and invitational teams in this year’s event. Wellington clubs taking part are host club Wainuiomata, Marist St Pat’s (men’s and women’s), Northern United (men’s and women’s), Old Boys University, the Upper Hutt Rams, Poneke and Hutt Old Boys Marist (women's)...More

The article below was publshed in the recent St Patrick's College, Wellington, Rugby Football Club newsletter. Somewhat like the phantom haunting by a spectral hound (the centre of the plot of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's third Sherlock Holmes mystery), New Zealand's Baskiville family were hounded by our rugby authorities, as a result of the family's role in creating New Zealand's first professional representative rugby team. A Clerk in the Stores Department of Wellington's Post and Telegraph Office, Albert Henry (Bert) Baskiville quit his job in 1907 to focus solely on the formation of a professional rugby team to tour the north of England, following an offer he made to the Northern Rugby League...More