Excitement building for Wellington club rugby playoffs

Above: Action from the 2013 Jubilee Cup semi-final that was won by Oriental-Rongotai 30-27 in an extra-time thriller. Will Saturday’s playoff matches be as close?

The 2015 Wellington Premier, Premier 2 and Women’s club rugby season is now in championship mode and there’s excitement in the air.

Twenty five teams started the second round competitions at the start of June and now 12 are left standing in the Jubilee and Hardham Cups and the Victoria Tavern Trophy. These will be halved after the opening weekend of knockout rugby and this weekend's winners and their supporters will converge on Porirua Park next Saturday for Finals Day.

Ten clubs are represented across all three finals, with Ories, Norths and Avalon the only three clubs fielding more than one team in the playoffs, the Jubilee Cup, Hardham Cup and Victoria Tavern Trophy.

With Ories and OBU clashing in one Jubilee Cup semi-final, there are guaranteed to be at least four clubs filling the six changing rooms on Finals Day.

Although their women’s side is represented, this is the first time that Northern United’s men’s side won’t be in one of the men’s semi-finals since 2002 when they finished fifth.

Of note, other grades continue apace this week, which we will preview here tomorrow as usual.

In the Jubilee Cup semi-finals, top qualifier and unbeaten Old Boys University host 2011 winners and fourth placed Oriental-Rongotai at the Basin Reserve and second placed Marist St Pat’s and third placed Tawa clash in the other playoff at Evans Bay Park.

Defending Hardham Cup champions Poneke enter the playoffs in fourth position and they travel to Helston Park to take on top qualifier Johnsonville, whilst the Hutt Valley will be represented on Finals Day by either the Upper Hutt Rams or Avalon who meet in the other.

All four Jubilee Cup and Hardham Cup semi-finals kick-off at the earlier than usual time of 2.30 pm, to allow for extra time – which was needed two years ago when Ories defeated HOBM 30-27 in an extraordinary knockout fixture.

In the Victoria Tavern Trophy Women’s semi-finals, top qualifier Ories face Avalon at the Polo Ground and Norths host the OBU Impalas at Porirua Park. Both Women’s semi-finals are at 11.30am.

The stage is set for a big fortnight of rugby to bring the curtain down on the 2015 club rugby season. Of course, many combatants on the playoff fields will soon be teammates in the various representative teams as well.

The Jubilee Cup, Wellington sport's most coveted trophy, was presented by the WRFU in 1929 as part of its golden jubilee year and, despite some formatting changes along the way, has always been awarded to the winner of the competition among the leading teams in the Premier division.

The now defunct University club (merged with WCOB to become Old Boys University) was the first recipient of the Jubilee Cup, having successfully defended their title from 1928. Five different clubs won the Jubilee Cup in its first five seasons, before Hutt became the first multiple winners in 1934 when it backed up its 1931 success.

Petone have the most Jubilee Cup victories. From their first win in 1930, they have gone on to record a further 22 Jubilee Cup titles, including an unprecedented five consecutive wins between 1967-1971. They also shared the Cup with St Pats Old Boys in 1949 and Wellington in 1982.

Other multiple winners include MSP (13 outright titles, one shared), Athletic (seven outright, one shared), University (seven, one shared), Wellington (five, three shared) and Poneke (five).

The current semi-final and finals format was introduced in 1993. In that time MSP have triumphed nine times (once shared), Northern United four times (once shared), Petone three times, Poneke and Hutt Old Boys Marist twice, and the Wests Roosters, Ories and Tawa once each.

Now in its 86th year, the Jubilee Cup still remains as the definitive accolade in Wellington club rugby.

Five different clubs have won the last five Cups, Norths in 2010, Ories in 2011, MSP in 2012, Tawa in 2013 and Hutt Old Boys Marist in 2014.

The Hardham Cup has been won by four different clubs in the past five years. Recent winners have been Wainuiomata in 2010, Old Boys University in 2011, Poneke in 2012, Norths in 2013 and Poneke in 2014.

Similarly, the Victoria Tavern Trophy has been won by four different winners in as many years recently, with Eketahuna winning in 2011, Wainuiomata in 2012, Norths in 2013 and ories in 2014.

The previous 15 Jubilee Cup winners have been:

2014: Hutt Old Boys Marist
2013: Tawa
2012: Marist St Pat's
2011: Oriental Rongotai
2010: Northern United
2009: Marist St. Pat's
2008: Marist St. Pat's and Northern United shared
2007: Hutt Old Boys Marist
2006: Northern United
2005: Petone
2004 Northern United
2003 Poneke
2002 Marist St Pat's
2001 Marist St Pat's
2000 Petone