Above: Hutt Old Boys Marist play Old Boys University tomorrow in the final of the First Grade competiton at Te Whaea, while one of the Premier Reserve semi-finals and the Festival Series kicks off on the Petone Rec. Details below.  While the Premier grades have reached the conclusion of their season, there are still finals footy in the lower club grades while it is also the start of the representative season in Wellington tomorrow. Premier Reserve Ed Chaney and HD Morgan Cups In the top-six Ed Chaney Cup division the Upper Hutt Rams have emerged as top qualifiers, and following last week’s 40-28 win over Northern United, with an unbeaten record in the second round of matches...More

Above: Expect another explosive National Provincial Championship campaign by Vaea Fifita American prop Chris Baumann and towering lock Sam Lousi will add bulk to a Wellington Lions squad packed full of young talent during the upcoming National Provincial Championship (NPC). Wellington head coach Earl Va’a has named a squad of 38 ahead of the start of the provincial season where the Lions will again be looking to gain promotion from the Championship to the Premiership. The squad will be captained by outstanding loose forward Brad Shields, one of 12 members of the Hurricanes squad that recently won the Super Rugby title...More

UPDATED: Old Boys University Green are angling to secure the first round-second round double, while Tawa are hoping to ride on their Premier team’s Jubilee Cup success in this Saturday’s 2016 Colts Division 1 John E Kelly Cup at Te Whaea. OBU and Tawa arrive after contrasting semi-final wins last weekend, OBU overwhelming fourth placed qualifier Poneke 55-7 at home at Nairnville and Tawa edging out Marist St Pat’s 11-8 in a hard-fought Jubilee Cup curtain-raiser at Porirua Park...More

The Johnsonville Rugby Football Club is advertising for senior coaching positions and a Rugby Development Officer role out of Helston Park next year. Johnsonville Rugby Football Club – Senior Coaching Roles Do you want to be part of a success story!?Johnsonville as a suburb has a rich history, dating back to 1841 and despite a challenging period for the Rugby Club in recent times; we are dedicated to turning this around with a vision of success over the next 3-5 years. This will be a significant challenge and we are seeking coaches who want to take their careers to the next level...More

Damn you Hurricanes. Damn you for ending a 21-year jinx. Damn you for making us so happy.I don’t know what you felt in the stands after the 80 minutes once the elation had worn off, but part of me didn’t know what to feel. I mean, how can you know how to celebrate being Super Rugby champs if you’ve never experienced it before. What am I going to do now there isn’t the annual build-up of unreasoning optimism, only to be bought crashing to earth to repeat again the next season? I think it’s the same for the Canes haters out there...More

Above: The 2016 Best & Fairest team’s halfback Tomasi Palu gets a pass way for Old Boys University against Oriental-Rongotai in their first round match, while Ories and Best & Fairest team captain Whetu Henry remonstrates with referee Ben O’Keeffe in the same match. This year's fourth annual Wellington club rugby Billy Wallace Best & Fairest side would challenge most teams. There’s some heavyweight performers up front, the usual mix of dynamic loose forwards that this competition produces year in-year out and some sparkling backs...More

Tawa's Etuale Togia collects the Player of the Final award on Saturday afternoon. Photo by Dave Lintott.  Endings to a career don’t get much sweeter than that of Tawa’s Etuale ‘Jet’ Togia. In a remarkable closing of his club rugby curtain spanning 18 seasons and a tick over 250 Premier games, Togia was crowned bucqi Jubilee Cup champion for the second time, capping off the feat by winning the Jim Brown Plate for Man of the Match in the final. Togia played a vital role in Tawa’s 24-20 win over Marist St Pat’s, scoring two tries and helping set up another, all in the space of 60 minutes...More

Tawa have held on in a nail-biting 2016 bucqi Jubilee Cup final to edge Marist St Pat’s 24-20 at Porirua Park. With four minutes to play Tawa substitute Pati Gaualofa was yellow-carded for repeated infringements, adding drama to the game as MSP found themselves just five metres out from Tawa’s line down four points. However, in what could be a story of their last six Jubilee Cup matches – all victories - Tawa’s defence held strong, causing an MSP knock on to secure the 2016 Jubilee Cup...More

Above: The HOBM Eagles celebrating winning the Hardham Cup. Photo by Hugh Pretorius. Hutt Old Boys Marist have won the 2016 Hardham Cup, beating Petone 17-5 at the Hutt Recreation Ground.  Up 10-0 at half time after playing the first 40 minutes with the wind advantage, there were questions whether the 10-point buffer would be sufficient against a potent, wind-backed Petone backline and these doubts were amplified after a try to Petone hooker Eugene Smith just minutes into the second period. But, overcoming the elements, Hutt continued to control the game as they did in the first half to deny Petone any further additions to the scoreboard to beat their cross-town rivals who suffered their first ever loss in a Hardham Cup final...More

Understandably the focus this weekend falls on tomorrows SuperRugby final, the Premier bucqi Jubilee Cup Final and tonight’s equivalent in the Hardham Cup; but there still remains plenty of rugby on at the lower grades, most of which are at the playoff stages themselves. And aside from the big boys, two of those will crown their champions tomorrow. Colts John Kelly Memorial and Vic Calcinai Memorial Cups The age-grade top-flight is into playoff mode. First up tomorrow is the 2v3 matchup with Tawa and Marist St Pats given the honour of playing the curtainraiser to their Premier sides meeting in the Jubilee Cup Final on Porirua Park, starting at 11...More