Three Wellington forwards and one back have been named in the first Junior All Blacks squad of the year. As part of more thorough preparations for the upcoming U20 World Cup in Italy, the New Zealand U20s are competing in an Oceania Under 20 Championship in Australia next month. A 31-strong Junior All Blacks squad has been named for that tournament. The Wellington players are lock James Blackwell (Petone), loose forward Teariki Ben-Nicholas (Old Boys University), hooker Leni Apisai (Northern United) and midfielder Wes Goosen (Old Boys University)...More

Above: Andy Leslie holds the Jubilee Cup trophy aloft for Petone in 1974, the year he first made the All Blacks. In 2008, Andy Leslie enjoyed a sumptuous lunch at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff as President of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union. In 1974 on the same ground (then named Cardiff Arms Park), Leslie was told to “bugger off” by an officious groundsman. Leslie was All Black captain and was inspecting the field ahead of the All Blacks clash against the Welsh XV. The Welsh XV, effectively a Test side, was tamed 12-3 following a memorable try scored by Ian Kirkpatrick...More

Above: Upper Hutt Rams fullback Jordan Simpson-Hefft and Poneke flanker Greg Foe have both been named today in a Wellington Rugby Training Squad. Wellington Lions coach Earl Va’a has named a 30-strong training squad as part of a new initiative to enhance the development of rugby in Wellington. The squad is designed to cater for those players who fall outside the age group restrictions of Wellington’s academy programme, and are not part of a Super Rugby squad. Va’a said the new programme came about as a result of last year’s Lions’ season, when a number of club players were called into the provincial team and required to step up to ITM Cup level...More

Above: Wellington’s Vaea Fifita snaffles the ball at lineout time from Johnsonville’s Kane Le’aupepe. Both players had busy games today, but it was Fifita’s Axemen that prevailed 17-12. UPDATED: There’s still a lot of rugby to be played and several big head-to-head battles coming up over the next few weeks, but the Wellington Premier club rugby points table has a familiar look about it after the opening fortnight. Defending first round Swindale Shield champions Marist St Pat’s, defending Jubilee Cup championship winners Hutt Old Boys Marist and 2013 powerhouses Tawa are the three clubs with two wins from two, after a tightly fought set of matches around the region today...More

Above: The Johnsonville Hawks were more competitive against Marist St Pat's in their first match than the 8-52 scorelines suggests. Tomorrow they host the Wellington Axemen on their Old Timers' Day at Helston Park. Last weekend’s Gala Opening Day at Trentham seemingly threw up as many new questions as answers to those already posed. Already the indications are that the fight for the eight Jubilee Cup places will be hard fought, and that adds extra spice to every game this week. Last weekend’s biggest winners, Tawa, are on home turf at Lyndhurst Park with Oriental-Rongotai the visitors...More

Above: Chris Eves packing down at tighthead prop in a Wellington club rugby Swindale Shield match in mid-2013 for his then club the Wests Roosters against Marist St Pat’s. Chris Eves, perhaps one of the more unknown of the Hurricanes contingent, is an integral force off the bench for the unbeaten franchise. Now into his third season within the Hurricanes’ squad, Eves has now become a permanent fixture in the playing 23 and will again start from the bench in the number 18 jersey on Friday...More

Above: His Excellency the Governor General Lord Bledisloe meeting the Wellington players before the match against Australia. Three years later, Bledisloe donated the Cup in his name to be played in internationals between New Zealand and Australia.? Match details Result:?Wellington 15 – Australia 8When: 5 September 1931, at Athletic Park.?Weather: Fine to start with, with a southerly blast arriving during the gameCrowd: 17,000 The tour For the first time in 18 months, an Australian team toured New Zealand...More

Above: A view of Gala Day in action, with Petone and Ories playing in the foreground in their Jim Brown Memorial Cup and Swindale Shield fixture.? Two draws, a one-point win and plenty of positive rugby marked the start of the 2015 Wellington club rugby Premier Swindale Shield season at a baking Trentham Memorial Park this afternoon. Conditions were hot, and so was much of the rugby played as Northern United and Wainuiomata drew 34-34, Poneke and the Upper Hutt Rams drew 35-35 and defending Jubilee Cup champions Hutt Old Boys Marist used their get out of jail free card to pip the Wellington Axemen 37-36, in three notable results...More

Above: Marist St Pat's celebrate winning the Swindale Shield in last season's 'virtual final' match against 2013 champions Tawa. Fourteen clubs will take the field at tomorrow's Gala Day at Trentham Memorial Park in a bid to win the first round Premier title this year. Tomorrow heralds the start of the 2015 Premier Club rugby season, with the first of 20 weekends of action before the Jubilee Cup winners are crowned in the first weekend in August. Before that however, there is the matter of the 11 rounds of the Swindale Shield to be contested...More

Above: Chris Smylie playing for his current Wellington club Old Boys-University two seasons ago. The versatile Hurricanes halfback also spent a season affiliated with Northern United in 2007. Chris Smylie has worn many different coloured jerseys across New Zealand over his professional career but it will be a Hurricanes one he signs out on. The livewire halfback’s long affiliation with the Wellington-based franchise will end at the 2015 season after nine seasons in the competition, having also played for the Highlanders and Blues throughout his successful tenure...More