Above: Eden celebrating their back-to-back title win after beating Napier Old Boys Marist in the Cup final. Photo credit: Eden Rugby Club Facebook  Auckland’s Eden has become the first club since Otago’s Alhambra-Union in 2009 to defend the Middlesex County Wavell Wakefield Cup, winning the National Club Sevens title in style at home at Gribblehurst Park on Sunday afternoon. In wet conditions, Eden beat Hawke’s Bay Champions Napier Old Boys Marist, winning 24-14 in the final. Earlier on day two, Eden had defeated Northland’s Old Boys Marist 19-0 in their quarter-final and overcome Waikato’s Hamilton Marist 14-5 in their semi-final...More

For the first time since 2003, the Blues have won a Super Rugby trophy. The perennial underachievers from Auckland beat the Hurricanes 10-7 in the final of the Brisbane 10s to capture the pre-season title for the first time. Two vital mistakes cost the Hurricanes victory. Ahead 7-0 with three minutes remaining, Brayden Iose conceded a cynical penalty which allowed the Blues to march into the Hurricanes 22 and strike out wide via Akira Ioane. In the final minute Jamie Booth lost the ball ten-metres shy of his own goal line and the Blues mounted a final assault which saw George Mola stretch out in the corner after initially being restrained...More

Dunedin’s Alhambra-Union in 2009 was the last club to defend the Middlesex County Wavell Wakefield Cup. Since then there have been seven different winners from six provinces, but defending champions and this year’s tournament hosts Eden are looking good to back-to-back on day two on Sunday. Led by the Argentine Costa brothers, Eden comfortably won all three of their games and will return in the morning to Gribblehurst Park with high hopes of holding on to the New Zealand Club Sevens Championship title for another year...More

UPDATED: The Upper Hutt Rams will go into this coming weekend’s National Club Sevens Nationals in Auckland missing several familiar players from recent sevens campaigns and previous club nationals. Key among them are the Schrijvers brothers, Hayden and Daniel, with Hayden sidelined for several months with an ACL injury and Dan attending a New Zealand Sevens Development camp in Mt Maunganui this weekend which clashes with this tournament. Other players missing from recent Upper Hutt Rams Sevens campaigns include former All Blacks Sevens player Max Pearson (broken leg late last season), dynamic 15s openside flanker Mitchell Markov (work commitments), Tafa Tafa (just married and honeymooning) and experienced Nua Fono-Hunt (newly minted father, family commitments)...More

The New Zealand Club Sevens has grown to be one of the most hotly contested tournaments on the rugby calendar to win. Last year’s winners Eden Rugby Club became the seventh different winner of the tournament in as many years, and this year a string of provincial club sevens champions are set to descend on the club’s home ground Gribblehirst Park in Auckland, most hoping to take home the title for the first time. Current club sevens champions from Northland, Auckland, North Harbour, Counties Manukau, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Hawke’s Bay, Wellington and Canterbury fill the16-team field for the two-day tournament...More

The Wellington club rugby championship has been shared nine times in its history. Here is a summary of those seasons. 1883: Wellington and Greytown The inaugural WRFU Senior Championship was contested in 1880 between Wellington and Athletic, who played in the city division, and Greytown, Masterton and Carterton, who played in the Wairarapa division. Athletic were the first winners, there were “No Contests” in 1881 and Athletic won again in 1882. The introduction of Poneke the next season formed a six-team competition in one division...More

Graham Williams' fingers were so badly damaged during his rugby career he resorted to wearing his wedding ring on a string around his neck. If ever there was an illustration of commitment to his wife (Williams was married to Sharon for 52 years) and rugby this was surely it. Speaking at Williams' funeral yesterday Wellington Rugby Union President Brendan Gard'ner passionately asserted Williams touched every aspect of the “Wellington Rugby family.” Gard'ner acclaimed Williams as a player, coach, administrator, referee, commentator and fan of high repute...More

Above: Matt Proctor in hot form for the Hurricanes in early 2017. The return from injury for midfield backs Matt Proctor (Oriental-Rongotai) and Peter Umaga-Jensen (Wainuiomata) are positive features of the opening Hurricanes squad of the season to play the Crusaders in Greymouth on Friday, kick-off 5.30pm. Both spent the second half of 2017 out of the game and have been named to start together in the Hurricanes midfield in an extended 32-player squad for Friday’s first encounter of the season and first of two pre-season matches (not counting the Brisbane 10s next weekend) before the season opener against the Bulls in Pretoria on Sunday 25 February (NZT)...More

Above: Perry Hayman scores in the corner for Norths against Poneke early last season, one of 691 tries in the 2017 Swindale Shield. The 2018 rugby season kicks of this coming weekend, with the first of the Super Rugby pre-season fixtures. The Hurricanes meet the Crusaders in Greymouth on Friday. There’s a steady diet of sevens and pre-season 15s rugby over the following several weeks leading to the start of the club season. Here are some numbers and statistics we have put together ahead of the new season...More

A giant has fallen. Former All Black flanker and Wellington games record holder Graham (GC) Williams has died aged 72. In recent years Williams suffered from frontal lobe dementia and motor neurone disease. He would have turned 73 on Friday. Williams was born in 1945 and educated at Rongotai College appearing in the First XV from 1960-1963. In 1964 Williams was picked in the Wellington representative team, at that time a rare feat for a schoolboy leaver.  Williams forged a reputation as a skilful and uncompromising flanker appearing in a record 174 games for the Lions between 1964 and 1976...More