Updated Friday afternoon: Although most of the rugby world’s attention will be focused on Eden Park and the third Test between the All Blacks and the British and Irish Lions, before then there’s plenty of drama to be played out across Wellington’s rugby fields as the Premier grades rapidly move towards the end of their competitions. Once again though club rugby will take place under the cloud of the loss of one of our own, with the passing of Petone senior player Sione ‘Bah’ Tuiano in the early hours of last Sunday morning and the grievous injuries sustained by his two brothers...More

In 2015, Zeke Sopoaga was told he would be starting the Jubilee Cup final for Old Boys University. Stu Simonsen explains why he usurped Sopoaga into the match day XV. “I got a phone call from coach Paddy Gough who conceded he had a change of heart. He wanted me to start because of my greater experience,” Simonsen reflects. The hooker only played 20 minutes and was supposed to return to the field, but laughs “things turned pear-shaped.” OBU, after leading 25-6 against Marist St Pat’s, eventually held on to win 30-27...More

Competition frontrunners St Pat’s Silverstream showed why they are clearly the team to beat in Wellington while Porirua College enjoyed an emphatic win over Tawa College in two WelTec Premiership fixtures in two competition games played this afternoon. In Nelson, Wellington College finished third in the Quadrangular tournament. Elsewhere, Taranaki school Francis Douglas Memorial College defeated Lower Hutt’s St Bernard’s College. Nelson College retain Moascar Cup and win annual ‘Quad’ For the first time since 2001 the Quadrangular final didn’t feature Wellington College...More

Above: Anthony Pettett making a telling burst for the Johnsonville Hawks in a match last year. Photo credit: David Brownlie Photography. Anthony Pettett is a softly spoken 21-year old who admits it was a major surprise when he was approached by Johnsonville coach Logan Tauiliili to captain the Premiers. “I am shy and don’t say a lot. I hadn’t had a lot of captaincy experience before. I struggled in my first game. Since then we have developed a leadership group which has made life easier,” he says...More

Sometimes I don't recognise my own country. Not that that is a bad thing. In days gone past, Sonny Bill Williams would have been wise to take a month's holiday overseas. Instead, he's posting video tweets of his daughter cracking up over fart jokes and TV sports hosts are cooing with delight. Now I know you don't have to scratch the surface too much to find the SBW haters. I mean I took a while to warm to the guy (or more probably his offloads). I wouldn't put the relative calm down to some new-found collective maturity, although there's probably a bit of that...More

Above, as the caption in the original photo alludes to, Hataitai Park is looking well-manicured at the moment, probably why Saturday’s curtain-raiser between the Wellington Axemen and Johnsonville second XVs was a 5-5 draw. Johnsonville won the Hardham Cup match that followed 17-5, and it wasn’t a day for sweeping back play. 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: Marist St Pat's second five-eighth Ryan Setefano makes a break against Hutt Old Boys Marist this afternoon. Two late tries to fullback Andrew Wells saw MSP come back to snatch a 33-27 win over the Eagles. The 2017 Jubilee Cup came alive with three of the four matches this afternoon decided on the last play in cloudy, breezy conditions. Marist St Pat’s, Tawa and Northern United all had death-knock victories to help keep the race for this year’s playoffs alive with just three weeks remaining until the semi-finals...More

Above: Oriental-Rongotai lock Karl Dumelow celebrates his side's fighting win in his 50th Premier match over Northern United last week. Photo by David Brownlie Photography Clearly the biggest show in town tomorrow is the Second Test between the All Blacks and the British and Irish Lions at Westpac Stadium, but that takes nothing away from our local competitions which should continue to deliver great grassroots rugby, something that visitors to the region might want to get out and experience at a ground near to them...More

Above: The British and Irish Lions training at Jerry Collins Stadium earlier this week. Photo by Dave Lintott Photography  What a fantastic game on Tuesday night - but what else would you expect in the home of the best Super rugby team on the planet. The match itself has rather been overshadowed by the controversial bits - BOD 2017, and the Geography Six.So let's just dial out some of the noise, and make a few points:- That somewhat disrespected Hurricanes pack more than stood up - and at times was edging the Lions pack...More

In 2015 the Sky Sport College Rugby website ran a poll asking followers of its Facebook page to vote for the player they would most like to see profiled. Paddy Carter from Auckland Grammar School was the unlikely winner. The likes of Asafo Aumua, Josh McKay and Dalton Papali’i, all members of the recent New Zealand Under-20’s World Championship winning team, were running amok for their respective college’s two years ago, but it was Carter who emerged as a convincing victor. “I don’t know why I won...More