Above: Asafo Aumua in action for the Avalon Wolves against Poneke a few weeks ago. Photo by Hugh Pretorius. “It’s all hype. I haven’t heard from the All Black selectors. I don’t like cameras and microphones. I’m just trying to be the best player I can be,” the softly spoken Asafo Aumua asserts when asked to address speculation he might be an apprentice on the All Blacks end of season tour. The 20-year old hooker has made a rapid ascent into National consciousness after some damaging performances for the world champion New Zealand Under-20’s in 2017 and Wellington Lions in 2016...More

Above: Upper Hutt Rams second five-eighth Tyler Tane pushed what would have been his 20th consecutive conversion to the right of the poles on Saturday in his side’s season ending win over Poneke. After landing all 14 kicks the week before and his first five on Saturday he went on to kick three more after his missed kick. Off the Ball is in association with Rob Law Max , Lovelocks Sports Bar  and Harcourts Johnsonville  Looking at some of the news in briefs, milestones, happenings, statistics and observations from the weekend of rugby just gone and what’s coming up this week...More

Above: Upper Hutt Rams flanker Mitchell Markov crosses for one of their 11 tries against Poneke today in their season ending 71-14 win. The Upper Hutt Rams top two sides finished with a win and a loss respectively but both walked away from Kilbirnie Park this afternoon with the second round silverware in their possession. In the early game, the Rams’ second XV lost 16-18 to their Poneke counterparts in a thriller, before being presented with the Premier Reserve HD Morgan Memorial Cup that they wrapped up last weekend...More

It’s first versus third in next weekend’s WelTec Premiership final when top qualifier St Pat’s Silverstream will play defending champion Wellington College in the Porirua Park decider. In today’s semi-finals, Silverstream defeated St Pat’s Town 41-7 and Wellington College beat Scots College 27-14. Wellington College were emphatic winners over Scots College at Evans Bay Park. The match was transferred from soggy Strathmore to a sun-drenched Kilbirnie which was supposed to suit Scots’ ambitious running game, but the second-placed qualifier came unstuck against a vastly superior Wellington pack...More

Above: Malo Tuitama scored a hat-trick against the Tasman Makos in their warm-up match in Seddon on Thursday. He returns to the squad from last season and is joined by nine players in line to make their NPC debuts. The Wellington Lions squad to try and lead the province out of division 2 and back into the top flight of the Men’s NPC competition features a group of new players. Petone and Hurricanes loose forward Brad Shields will captain the squad that opens its NPC campaign in Palmerston North next Sunday against the Manawatu Turbos...More

Both Avalon and Paremata-Plimmerton are hoping to finish their seasons on a high tomorrow. In last round Hardham Cup games, Avalon hosts the Wellington Axemen, Paremata-Plimmerton travels to play Johnsonville and Poneke is the home side against the Upper Hutt Rams. Photo by Hugh Pretorius. UPDATED: While the sharp end of the club season came to an end last Saturday at the Petone Rec, there’s still plenty of local rugby happening as the remaining club and college grades hit the end of their seasons...More

National Top Four runners-up in 2015. Last year they missed out on the Wellington semi-finals. Can Scots College reach the Wellington final this year? “The last time we played Wellington College we only had three of our regular starting forwards and 19 injured players in our first and second fifteens. We weren’t confident of a win, but our defence stepped up that day,” acclaims Jack Gray when reflecting on the narrow 14-13 win Scots College enjoyed over Wellington College in June...More

Above: Both Wellington College and St Pat's Town are challenging for away victories in Saturday's WelTec Premiership semi-finals. Photo by Andy McArthur.  The WelTec First XV Premiership enters the finals stage this Saturday and the four combatants are familiar and fierce rivals. In Strathmore, Scots College hosts Wellington College while in Upper Hutt the two St. Patrick’s College’s clash for the second time in a month. Silverstream have been the pacesetters all season, but pole position has been a poisoned chalice in the recent past with only Wellington College in 2016 winning the championship from first place in the last seven years...More

I catch lots of buses, and nothing is more annoying than when your bus breaks down. But when THE Bus gets parked, well it's a different matter. I doubt there are many Canes fans who are protesting loudly, but that's the same thing as writing Julian Savea's international obituary. True, he cannot expect to be hanging in there anymore - the All Blacks need wingers who score tries so ergo, fail to score tries and there's no rationale for him being there.But there’s not necessarily a rationale yet for the sudden flurry of Savea RIPs in recent days...More

Hurricane Wes Goosen was a surprise and rare starter for Old Boys University in the Jubilee Cup final on Saturday. Second five-eighth Regan Verney had never played alongside the accomplished centre and recalls their first meeting about tactics. “Wes is a class player so I said to him I’ll play off you. Wes replied, ‘I hear you've got some game so I’ll play of you.’ I managed to hit some gaps and together we worked well.” Verney was such a success he became the first midfield back to win the Jim Brown Plate as Player of the Final...More