Above: Jason Love makes a break for Wainuiomata v Hutt Old Boys Marist in the 2014 Jubilee Cup final - his favourite game. "Bro, I need to hug you for that try," exclaimed John Morrissey to Jason Love after the Wainuiomata winger scored the winning try against Northern United at Porirua Park in the early 2000's. It's a phrase Love has heard often in his long career which reaches 150 games this Saturday and inspired Morrissey to wear a Wainuiomata number 11 jersey to every game thereafter. "I can't remember what year it was, a lot of the tries I have scored blur into one, but the Norths try is my favourite...More

Above: Lineout action between winners Wainuiomata and Oriental-Rongotai in last year's Women's Championship final - the two teams line up in the Division One Fleurs Trophy starting on Saturday. Saturday sees the return of the Women’s game, and competition that is as keenly fought as any other on Wellington’s rugby fields. There are a few changes to this year’s competition: Petone and Paremata-Plimmerton rejoin the grade; Petone – who were the first winners of the Victoria Tavern Trophy - last fielded a team in 2011, while the absence of Pare-Plim (inaugural winners of the Fleurs Trophy in 1993) stretches back to the turn of the century...More

Since this is a column about the Hurricanes, let's avoid talking about them for a while.  No, I'd rather discuss how this weekend we will see the Koru Club game. The only time I've been in the KC is when something bad has happened and it's recompense.  So this weekend's KC game is the Highlanders hosting the Blues. Whoever loses will have four losses clocked up - and that is probably enough to put them too far back to contemplate anything other than a very hard finals footy road.  It's not quite the departure lounge...More

MPV (Mana, Professional, Villagers) is a newly conceived philosophy at Petone. Halfback Logan Henry explains its meaning. "Mana is about having pride in the club and ourselves. Villagers is who we are, where we are from and professional represents turning up on time, working hard, setting and maintaining high standards." The season is only three weeks old but Petone have already won two trophies - the Bill Elvy Memorial Trophy against Marist St. Pats and the Morgan Family Cup against Avalon. These results align with another team slogan, 'Trophy Hunters...More

New Zealand teams are 8-0 against their Australian counterparts in 2017 and the Hurricanes hope to extend that winning record on Friday night when they host the Waratahs at the Westpac Stadium. Ngani Laumape is familiar with Aussie adversaries. He played 30 games and scored 11 tries for the Warriors in the NRL. The Warriors are hardly as successful as the Hurricanes. What's the biggest difference between the two clubs? "I enjoyed my time at the Warriors. They are down at the moment, but they will be back," Laumape responded...More

On Monday night an Invitational side made up of 2016 students from Porirua’s four colleges, plus others from the area such as ex-Rongotai players Esi Komasavai and William Heather, took on a side from the famous Paarl Boys’ High School from South Africa’s Western Cape area near Cape Town who are touring New Zealand. The locals took on a composite side from the Africans in what turned into an enterprising encounter with the Porirua boys willing to give the ball plenty of air, while the visitors stuck to a structured plan and ultimately kept the home side pinned in their own half and deservedly took a 12-0 lead into halftime...More

A new series for Mondays looking at some of the news in briefs, milestones, happenings, statistics and observations from the weekend of rugby just gone. Off the Ball is in association with Rob Law Max , Lovelocks Sports Bar  and Harcourts Johnsonville  The Hutt Old Boys Marist Eagles Premier Reserves were the first team to run out on to Ngatitoa Domain from Paremata-Plimmerton’s new visitors’ changing rooms on Saturday. when Club Rugby visited last week, well-known local Premier players Apirana McMillan-Parata and Matt de Terte were busy putting the finishing touches on the new dressing rooms, which includes new toilets and gas fired showers (so they never get cold)...More

Updated: Defending first round champions Old Boys University, Northern United, Oriental-Rongotai and Wainuiomata are unbeaten, while Marist St Pat’s and Petone both flexed their muscles with big wins in today’s third round set of Wellington club rugby Swindale Shield matches. Played in cloudy, breezy conditions, the OBU Goats, Norths and Ories each won their third successive bonus point wins to start the 2017 season. At Nairnville Park, OBU accounted for Johnsonville 64-11, at Hataitai Park, Norths defeated the Wellington Axemen 35-17 and at the Polo Ground Ories ousted Tawa 32-24...More

Update: There are two radio commentaries bringing the action to you tomorrow if you can't make it to any of the games or if you want to hear what's going on elsewhere. The Saturday Rugby Club (Radio Sport on 1503AM) is carrying the Petone v Avalon match, plus around the grounds updates, and Te Upoko o Te Ika (1161AM and online at tunein.com) is commentating Wainuiomata v Poneke. The expanded 13-match round-robin Swindale Shield competition is just a season old, so it’s hard to determine how many wins teams will need to finish inside the top eight and qualify for the coveted Jubilee Cup later in the season...More

Above: Tawa hooker and captain Matt Treeby playing against Marist St Pat's in this their Gala Day opener a fortnight ago. "It's one of the best Sundays I've ever had. I remember the bus ride before the game. There was a huge belief on board, a purpose we are here to make history." Matthew Treeby recalls of Jubilee Cup final day in 2013. Tawa beat Oriental Rongotai 26-21 at the Hutt Recreation Ground to win Wellington's Premier rugby trophy for the first time - an almost unthinkable achievement when Treeby first started with the club in 2007...More