Above: Esi Komaisavai playing for a Wellington Dvelopment sevens team at the Weepu 7s late last year and inset for Rongotai College. Photo credit: David Brownlie Photos As always, a number of new players will be given the chance to showcase their talent on the national provincial stage for the first time at this weekend’s Bayleys National Sevens tournament at Rotorua. Recent Rongotai College school leaver and sevens playmaker Esi Komaisavai is one such player looking to grab his opportunities with both hands if selected in the Wellington team...More

Chris Gibbes has been appointed as the Wellington Lions head coach for the next three years. The 43-year-old former Waikato coach is heading home to New Zealand after four successful years as the forwards coach at top Welsh club Ospreys. Gibbes, who was New Zealand Under 20s assistant coach in 2013, said the opportunity to return home and resume his career on home soil with one of the country’s premier provincial union’s was too good to pass up. “I’ve been away from home for nearly four years now, so when this exciting opportunity came up it seemed like the right time for me...More

Above: Max Pearson meets Northern United's Perry Hayman head on in a Swindale Shield match in early 2016 and inset with the American Ambassador's Trophy after captaining the Upper Hutt Rams to tournament victory in November.  Sometimes an injury and a spell on the sideline can be a blessing in disguise. That was certainly the case for Max Pearson, when a nasty bicep injury he sustained in 2014 playing for his club side the Upper Hutt Rams and half a club season and six months spent out of the game made him reassess his goals...More

After a refreshing break, fans can look forward to a cascade of community and big-time rugby over the first few months of 2017. The regional and provincial sevens season picks up pace soon, ahead of pre-season and the early rounds of Super Rugby, pre-season and the start of club rugby and then the much anticipated British and Irish Lions tour hitting New Zealand. The rugby resumes this coming Saturday with the one-day Bay of Plenty Provincial Sevens tournament at Blake Park, Mt Maunganui. Details and draw to come here later this week...More

An earlier version of this article was previously published on this website in 2014. We’ll be back with loads of fresh content in the New Year. On international tours up to the 1970s it was commonplace for the All Blacks to play matches between Christmas and New Year.? Indeed, the All Blacks have played 17 matches in this week in history whilst on tour in Europe. All Blacks matches played over Christmas and New Year: 26 December 1905 v Cardiff (won 10-8) 30 December 1905 v Swansea (won 4-3) 1 January 1906 v France (won 38-8) 27 December 1924 v London Counties (won 28-3) 3 January 1925 v England (won 17-11) 26 December 1935 v London Counties (won 24-5) 4 January 1936 v England (lost 0-13) 26 December 1953 v Combined Services (won 40-8) 30 December 1953 v Midland Counties (won 18-3) 2 January 1954 v Ulster (drew 5-5) 26 December 1963 v Combined Services (won 23-9) 28 December 1963 v Midland Counties (won 14-6) 31 December 1963 v Llanelli (won 22-8) 4 January 1964 v England (won 14-0) 26 December 1972 v Combined Services (won 31-10) 30 December 1972 v East Glamorgan (won 20-9) 2 January 1973 v South-Western Counties (won 30-7) In 1906 the All Blacks played a New Year’s Day Test - on arguably the most famous tour of them all...More

The World Champions, Investec Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup holders have been crowned the adidas Team of the Year for the sixth year in a row, at the NZRU end of season awards in Auckland on Wednesday night. This year’s World Rugby Player of the Year nominee and Wellingtonian of the Year Dane Coles (Ngati Porou) captained his beloved Hurricanes to thier first Investec Super Rugby title before taking things up a gear with the All Blacks.  His exceptional year of success has seen him named the Tom French Memorial Maori Player of the Year...More

Above: Hayden Cripps playing for Wellington in 2010, with this year’s Melbourne Rebels co-captain Scott Fuflistaller on his shoulder. Photo by Lintott Photography. Former Wellington College, Petone and Wellington Lions first five-eighth Hayden Cripps has been selected in the Japanese Sunwolves squad for next year’s Super Rugby competition. The Sunwolves will head into their second Super Rugby season with a squad that head coach and former Wests Roosters, Wellington and Hurricanes No...More

The Wellington Men's and Manawatu Women's teams won today's Central 7s tournament in wet conditions at Playford Park in Levin, to qualify top from the Central Zone for the National 7s in January. Wellington beat Taranaki 33-7 in the Men's final and Manawatu defeated Wellington 26-7 in the Women's final. The five men's teams to qualify for the Nationals were (seedings in brackets): Wellington (1), Taranaki (2), Hawke's Bay (3), Manawatu (4) and Horowhenua Kapiti (5). The four women's teams to qualify for the Nationals were (seedings in brackets): Manawatu (1), Wellington (2), Taranaki (3) and Hawke's Bay (4)...More

That was some year, that 2016. Here were my key correct predictions for 2016.The Hurricanes would not only be Super Rugby champions but achieve it after an incredible three game finals run where they conceded no tries.The All Blacks would set a world record streak but make even more history by becoming the first side in black to lose to Ireland.England - yes, England - would be well on the way to being world no.2.So yeah, actually, only predicted the first one (but I do that every year).It's hard to imagine 2017 will be more of a showstopper, yet it could well be - with the Lions tour front and centre, and if they get their act together, a very real threat to the All Blacks...More

UPDATED Friday: The East Coast Men's team has withdrawn from the tournament. Updated information: · 2 pools of 4 teams· Round Robin pool play within own pool - 3 games each· 1st in Pool A will play 2nd in Pool B and 2nd Pool A will play 1st in Pool B in the Cup Semi Finals (1st – 4th).· 3rd in Pool A will play 4th Pool B and 4th Pool A will play 3rd Pool B in 5th v 6th Playoff Semi-Finals. Winners of these two games will play off for 5th & 6th· Semi-final losers play off for 3rd & 4th; Semi-final winners play off for 1st & 2nd (the Cup Final)· Top 5 teams qualify for the 2017 National Sevens   The representative sevens season gets serious on Saturday, with the Central Zone 7s Tournament in Levin doubling as the qualifying round for the Sevens Nationals in the New Year...More