For the second successive year, Wellington College has lost narrowly to a South Island school in the final of the Quadrangular tournament. Last year they lost 3-6 to Nelson College, this year they lost 19-24 to Christ’s College in today’s final at Christchurch. For the first time since 2002 Christ's College are champions after defeating Wellington College in a gripping decider. Christ's, playing in their first final since 2003, achieved just their second victory against Wellington since 1985...More

I missed being at the stadium last Saturday for the first time this season, instead being at a murder mystery evening. I turned up finally at home not knowing the score but able to catch the last 15 minutes on delayed TV. At that stage the question was who was threatening to murder our season and the answer appeared to be Professor Umaga, in the cake tin, with a sloppy defence. Well that’s what witnesses later related, and I had to believe them because the bit I caught featured some pretty vigorous defence and some nice closing out of the result...More

Above: Max Pearson (left) and Mitchell Markov are both playing well for the Upper Hutt Rams this season. What’s in the water bottles at the Upper Hutt Rams? Not for the first time this season, and perhaps not for the last, the Upper Hutt Rams came back from the brink last Saturday to win their Premier bucqui Jubilee Cup match. They were behind 7-24 late in the first half against Oriental-Rongotai , but instead of folding (Ories won this match 50-25 in the first round), they rallied and blitzed Ories with three tries, turning the game around faster than the radio show could go around the grounds for the next score update...More

Clamouring for Saturday, and it’s still Monday? There’s a lot to look forward to this weekend, so here’s an overview. Full previews later in the week. The bucqui Jubilee Cup is set up for an exciting finish to the round-robin season, with the race to the semi-finals at the end of July set to go down to the wire and the top four contenders anyone’s guess with just three weeks remaining in the regular season. Just eight points separate the eight teams after the opening month of the championship competition...More

UPDATED: Is this the comeback of the year? The Upper Hutt Rams end ended Oriental-Rongotai’s unbeaten record in the second round with a stirring come-from-behind 46-29 win in their fourth round bucqui Jubilee Cup fixture at a sun-drenched Polo Ground this afternoon. The Rams were seemingly dead and buried at 7-24 behind late in the first half, but instead of rolling over they flicked the switch and launched a furious five-try assault on Ories either side of halftime that won them the game...More

A number of grades reach the midpoint of their second rounds this weekend, and the pressure just continues to climb. At the top of that list is the bucqi Jubilee Cup, where the table could either thin out or become quite congested depending on results, and this week’s rain may have played into some teams hands more than others. Elsewhere there’s significant top-two clashes in the Hardham Cup, Colts John Kelly Memorial, and under 85kg Paul Potiki Shield grades, as well as the conclusion to the Women’s round-robin tonight...More

Above: Jonathon Fuimaono running strongly in last year's final at Jerry Collins Stadium against Marist St Pat's.  Whether it’s anchoring the strong Old Boys University scrum, or hitting the ball up in midfield as he frequently does in games, Jonathon Fuimaono is an integral cog in the Old Boys University Premiers. On Saturday ‘Fui’ plays his 100th Premier match for them, and few are more deserving of the milestone. The committed, whole-hearted play of the popular prop is one of the reasons behind OBU’s recent rise and annexing of last year’s bucqui Jubilee Cup and this year’s Swindale Shield...More

Perhaps under the radar of many is that the Wellington Women’s club rugby competition is rapidly coming to a close, with Friday night’s round under lights the conclusion of the round-robin and only the playoffs to come. This is mostly due to the early start of the Women’s NPC with the Pride’s first game, a re-match of last year’s final away against the Auckland Storm, taking place on August 6. That’s the same day as the Men’s bucqui Jubilee and Hardham Cup finals, precluding the Women from playing the opening game on Finals day as they did last year...More

After a century of games for Poneke in the mid to late 1990s, Peato Lafaele will celebrate his 200th game for Northern United when they host Hutt Old Boys Marist in the Hardham Cup this Saturday at Jerry Collins Stadium. In 1996 Poneke won the Jubilee Cup. A year later they were demoted to the Hardham Cup. Such a quick fall from grace was a lot to take in for then wide-eyed rookie Peato Lafaele. "I remember we lost our final game in the Swindale Shield and went back to the dressing room. There were kegs upon kegs of beer just waiting for us...More

Palmerston North Boys’ High School 17 (Matene Ruawai, Brayden Iose tries; Stewart Cruden 2 con, pen) beat St Pat’s Silverstream 5 (Chris Aumua try) The St Pat’s Silverstream First XV was taken down 5-17 by Palmerston North Boys’ High School in a Palmerston North quagmire in their annual Traditional fixture today. It is the third year in succession that the local school has won this match, which has been contested since 1934. Recent heavy rain had turned the home school’s home ground into a sea of mud, making for a difficult contest for both sides...More