Above: This year's joint winner Ben Tupuola earned points in nine of his 19 games played this year, including six Billy Wallace competition Player of the Match performances.  If you made up a team comprised of the best from the Billy Wallace Best & Fairest standings, what would it look like and how would they go? We reckon the fifth annual Club Rugby side – using the Dominion Post’s contributors 3-2-1 scoring for every Swindale Shield and Jubilee Cup match this season – would be more than a handful for most teams...More

Above: A perfect sunny day greeted visiting English team Sedbergh School who took on Bishop Viard College at Porirua Park on Saturday. Read more about their visit below.  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. After a difficult several weekends of club rugby weather-wise, the rugby gods shined on Wellington on Saturday with perfect weather, sunny skies and little wind...More

Mike Buckley evades two tacklers on his way to scoring the first try, a customary breakout solo run. Photo by Dave Lintott Photography. More photos of this game here Two tries in two minutes by former Oriental-Rongotai hooker Hunter Prescott was the telling difference in Manawatu’s 28-14 Men’s NPC pre-season win over the Wellington XV this afternoon at Otaki. The game was tied at 14-14 heading into the last quarter, but Prescott scored successive tries to extinguish a Wellington challenge that was hampered by mistakes...More

The Oriental Rongotai women’s team, the Upper Hutt Rams Hardham Cup side and Colts and the Petone Colts Premier Reserves and Women’s were big winners in today’s non-Premier Wellington club rugby matches. At Maidstone Park, the Upper Hutt Rams put on a try scoring clinic to beat the Avalon Wolves 98-12 and win the Hardham Cup with a week to spare. Openside flanker Daniel Schrijvers and right wing Max Pearson both scored hat-tricks. The Upper Hutt Rams Premier Reserves also beat Avalon in the early game at Maidstone, to win the HD Morgan Memorial Cup with next week’s final round to spare...More

The battle of the two unbeaten teams in the WelTec First XV Premiership was the proverbial game of two halves in perfect conditions at Jerry Collins Stadium in Porirua this afternoon. Silverstream won 35-24 in the end, to finish top qualifier ahead of next week's semi-finals.  Both St Patrick’s College, Silverstream and Scots College have been the dominant attacking teams all season and the match was a high-quality affair with some excellent counter attack. Silverstream defended early attacks from Scots, but eventually strung together phases and finished off some outstanding tries to lead 35-8 at halftime...More

For the second time in three years, Old Boys University held aloft the Jubilee Cup trophy, beating Hutt Old Boys Marist 32-19 this afternoon. In bright sunshine at the Petone Recreation Ground, Old Boys University became the first team since Tawa in 2013 to win the Swindale Shield, Andy Leslie Trophy and Jubilee Cup treble in one season. The students led from start to finish, despite being reduced to 14 men shortly before halftime and being forced to combat waves of Hutt Old Boys Marist attack...More

Brandyn Laursen and the Hutt Old Boys Marist Eagles will kick off the Jubilee Cup final against Old Boys University tomorrow at the Petone Rec at 2.30pm.  Tomorrow shapes up as silverware Saturday. The Jubilee Cup final takes centre-stage of the six finals being played at the Petone Rec, but there’s also the likelihood that the destinations of the Hardham Cup and HD Morgan Cup will also be determined tomorrow, plus one of the most eagerly-anticipated College matches of the year. Premier Jubilee Cup Old Boys-University vs Hutt Old Boys Marist And so after 21 previously matches this season it all comes down to one, and the last two teams standing...More

On form throughout 2017, it will take a special effort for Old Boys University to beat Oriental-Rongotai in Saturday’s Wellington women’s club rugby Division 1 final at the Petone Recreation Ground. In last weekend’s semi-final against Northern United, OBU hung in there throughout the entire match, pouncing at the very end to win and earn their spot in the final. They will go into Saturday’s decider wearing the underdog tag and will be dangerous. But if top qualifier Ories needs the motivation to win this title, it comes from the last two consecutive Victoria Tavern Trophy season deciders that they have lost...More

They’ve won four out of the past five Wellington club rugby Colts Division 1 titles, including a three-peat between 2012-14, but Old Boys University will go into Saturday’s Les Mills John E Kelly Cup as underdogs. Despite a couple of late season speed wobbles – losing narrowly to beaten semi-finalists Tawa and Oriental-Rongotai – first round winners Petone have undoubtedly been the form Colts side all season and will be favoured to go all the way and lift the cup on their home track on Saturday afternoon...More

The Player of the Jubilee Cup Final is awarded the Jim Brown Plate. Jim Brown was a stalwart of the great Petone teams of the 1960s and 1970, playing over 200 matches for the club and many for Wellington. He was a contemporary of former Petone and All Black captain Andy Leslie, who described the former centre as “one of the best players I played with, and a player with a great rugby brain.” Leslie added that Brown went within a whisker of being selected for the All Blacks and was measured up for an All Blacks suit the day before the team was named...More