Above: HOBM fullback Glen Walters flying in to score the match winning try against Wainuiomata that clinched the 2012 Swindale Shield. As part of the build-up to the start of the 2017 Premier club rugby season, we’re recapping some of the memorable tries in Wellington Premier club rugby over the past 15 years or so. There’s been approximately 10,000 tries scored in this period, so these are just the tip of the iceberg and ones that stuck out or we reported from our vantage point on halfway or through our camera lens...More

Above: Monica Tagoai, from Condor Sevens winning captain to New Zealand Sevens Development squad. A group of talented players will be winging their way to Japan next month as part of the Black Ferns Sevens Development Squad. The team will depart on Saturday 11 March and return Sunday 19 March. They will be involved in a four team mini tournament on the 16 and 17 March featuring the Japan National Women’s Sevens Squad with two sides and Hong Kong National Women’s Team. The Black F...More

Above: Winners Feilding Old Boys Oroua and Petone after the women’s final UPDATE: In a repeat of last year, teams from Hawke’s Bay, Manawatu and Wellington won the main prizes at the Paladin Sports Hawke’s Bay Sevens tournament at Waipukurau on Saturday. Napier Pirate (Men’s), Feilding Old Boys Oroua (Women’s) and Petone (Colts) all successfully defended their titles, with Feilding winning for the third straight year and Petone claiming a four-peat of victories in the Colts section...More

The Paladin Sports Hawke’s Bay Sevens is being played at Central Park in Waikpukurau on Saturday. In total, some 43 teams are expected to take part, comprising 21 Men’s, 14 Colts and eight Women’s sides. Section (pool) play starts at 9.40am and runs across three fields, with the final round of pool matches scheduled to conclude at 2.50pm. The crossover rounds then kick into gear, with the Women’s, Colts and Men’s Championship finals at 6.20pm, 7.00pm and 7.20pm respectively...More

The Farmlands Grassroots Game Day on Friday  promises to be a huge occasion for the Waverley and Wanganui communities with no less than 14 All Blacks from the 2016 end of year tour squad set to take the field across the Hurricanes and Crusaders squads. The match kicks off at 5.00pm, has sold out with 4,500 fans set to stream through the gates at the Border Rugby Club. The Hurricanes starting side will also provide an opportunity for Hurricanes fans to see new recruit Ben Lam in action with the former New Zealand Sevens star starting on the right wing...More

Wellington’s sports fans won’t be idle for much longer, with the release of the 2017 Wellington club rugby Premier first round draw. Wellington’s 14 Premier clubs will again battle it out over a 13-match round-robin campaign to decide this year’s Swindale Shield winner, which has been contested over the first part of the season continuously since 1969. The season starts on Saturday 18 March with a Gala Day at an all-new venue of Awakairangi Park and nearby Maoribank Park in Upper Hutt, the early start meaning the scrapping of the two midweek night rounds that were played last year...More

The Petone Colts will be gunning for a four-peat of Paladin Sports Hawke’s Bay Sevens titles this Saturday at the annual tournament hosted by the Central Hawke’s Bay Rugby and Sports Club in Waipukurau. The Petone Colts are proud holders of the Angus Cup, having won it consecutively in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Last year they beat Palmerston North Boys’ High School 27-12 in the Colts final, after defeating Havelock North 17-14 the previous year. The Villagers will be sending up four teams in total, their Colts, two Men’s sides and their Women’s team that has recently been re-formed...More

Fourteen coaching teams are hard at work preparing their Premier squads for a big season ahead and a shot at the Jubilee Cup final in early August.  UPDATED: Pre-season preparations are well underway at all 14 of Wellington’s Premier rugby clubs as they gear up for another season. Kick-off of the Swindale Shield is a week earlier than in recent years on March 18, for the 131st season of Wellington club rugby. As has become the norm in recent years many clubs will have new coaches at the helm, and the trend of recent, and even current, players moving into the ranks continues...More

The Hurricanes were knocked out of the inaugural Brisbane Global Tens tournament by the Crusaders at a hot Suncorp Stadium on Sunday evening. The Chiefs went on to beat the Crusaders 12-5 in the final. It was a mixed weekend for the defending Super Rugby champions the Hurricanes. Club Rugby had a look at each game. Hurricanes Pool Games The Hurricanes won two out of three group games, accounting for the Force (17-12) and Toulon (32-0) after stumbling to the Highlanders (13-0). The win against the Force was especially hard-earned and vital in the path to the quarter finals...More

Above: Petone supporters celebrating Eugene Smith’s match-winning try in their 28-21 125th anniversary day win over Poneke in 2010. Photo by Dave Lintott Photography. As part of the build-up to the start of the 2017 Premier club rugby season, we’re recapping some of the memorable tries in Wellington Premier club rugby over the past 15 years or so. There’s been approximately 10,000 tries scored in this period, so these are just the tip of the iceberg and ones that stuck out or we reported from our vantage point on halfway or through our camera lens...More