The Hurricanes Development team went down 21-38 to the Crusaders Knights at a warm and sunny Porirua Park this afternoon. The Knights side, featuring All Blacks No. 8 Kieran Read, who played the first half, prop Joe Moody, lock Dominic Bird and others beat the Hurricanes Development Typhoons team six tries to three. The Knights led the charge early, racing to a 14-0 lead by the end of the first quarter with a pair of converted tries. The Typhoons replied early in the second quarter with a seven-pointer to No...More

The country’s best (uninjured and not playing Super Rugby) junior players will assemble in Palmerston North tomorrow for a training camp as New Zealand prepares for its assault on the Junior World Cup in Italy in June. New Zealand last won the Junior World Cup in 2011, the year it was last staged in Italy. They were subsequent beaten finalists in 2012 (losing to host team South Africa) and finished fourth in 2013 and third last year when the tournament was staged in Auckland. This initial camp will take place at the Massey University Sport and Rugby Institute from 5 to 9 March...More

?Above: Pat McEvedy, and the famous athletics shield contested in his name (insert), was brought up in Wellington and later returned to live there but in this match he captained the Anglo-Welsh against Wellington. Match details?Wellington 19 – Anglo-Welsh 13 27 May 1908 at Athletic Park. Weather: fine. Crowd: 18,000 The tourThe 1908 representative season was the busiest yet undertaken in the nearly three-decade history of the WRFU. Sixteen games were played for 11 wins and five losses. The highlight of the season was the visit of a team from Great Britain comprised of players from England and Wales and known as the Anglo-Welsh team...More

Club Rugby?is pleased to announce their partnership with?Lovelocks Sports Bar & Restaurant for 2015. Named after New Zealand’s first Olympic Gold medal winner on the track, Jack Lovelock, Lovelocks is the sports enthusiast’s haven. Specialising in rugby, racing, (Pizza) and beer – it’s the Wellington city bar with a local feel. Lovelocks Sports Bar & Restaurant is the home of rugby in Wellington. Situated in Bond St in the heart of Wellington City It’s the perfect place for locals and visitors alike to come down and watch live sport and racing whilst discussing the local and community game...More

A Hurricanes Under-20 selection has recovered from a sluggish start to thrash the Blues 38-13 at Owen Delany Park in Taupo this afternoon.Initially the Hurricanes struggled. They were overwhelmed by a bigger Blues pack at scrum time and surrendered early lineouts. The Blues were rewarded with the first try from a lineout drive.Once the Hurricanes acquired some ball and discovered their structures they proved too classy for the Blues. The Hurricanes led 21-13 at halftime and scored several tries in a resounding victory...More

In the second of our series documenting Wellington’s tussles against international touring opposition, here’s a look at the first ever international match Wellington played against Australia. ? Match details:? Wellington 23 – Australia 7 19 August 1905, at Athletic Park. Crowd 8,000 ? The tour: Teams representing New South Wales and Queensland had toured New Zealand five times previously, in 1882, 1886, 1894, 1896 and 1901, but this was the first tour to New Zealand undertaken by a fully representative Australian team...More

Toa (pictured above at the end of the day) are the inaugural Tawa Sevens champions, defeating Tawa White 10-7 in the Cup final at a festive Lyndhurst Park this afternoon.An array of musicians and local entertainers treated a healthy crowd all afternoon off the field, as several closely fought knockout matches unfolded on it.In the Tawa New World Cup final, Toa met Tawa White and won a mighty tussle two tries to one after trailing 7-5 at halftime. Guest Toa player Jackson Garden-Bachop was the individual hero, steaming 45 metres down the touchline to score the match-clinching try in the second half...More

The Poneke Football Club is seeking a Rugby Development Officer. Details below.?Founded in 1883 the Poneke Football Club, one of New Zealand’s great traditional rugby clubs is seeking a Rugby Development Officer (RDO). ??We have over 200 senior and 300 junior players making us one of the biggest clubs in the region and are very competitive on the field and family oriented off it, exhibiting a culture of excellence in all things rugby befitting of our motto “You don’t just play, you belong...More

There promises to be no shortage of excitement on and off the field at tomorrow’s inaugural Tawa Invitational Sevens tournament.?Twelve teams will descend on Lyndhurst Park for the day-long tournament that kicks off at 9.00 am, with all teams playing two Pool matches each, leading into the afternoon knockout matches to decide the Bowl, Shield and Cup winners.?The entrants include a mix of local club and invitational teams plus three sides from the Manawatu and one from Horowhenua-Kapiti hoping to come away with the maiden Tawa Sevens title...More

Success starts with building a foundation, and this is especially so for the newly crowned national champions Wainuiomata Sevens team that started in 2006 when the club’s current Sevens Rugby programme was created (the team several years ago pictured above – many of the same players are still involved). ? After a week of doing the rounds, the Middlesex County Wavell Wakefield Cup will soon take pride of place at the Wainuiomata Rugby Football Club’s clubrooms at William Jones Park...More