Above:Petone celebrating their hard-fought 9-6 Senior 1 final victory over Poneke today. There were wins for Petone, Oriental-RongotaI, Hutt Old Boys Marist and Old Boys University in today's Wellington club rugby finals. Petone edged out Poneke 9-6 to win the Senior 1 Ed Chaney Cup final at the Petone Recreation Ground. Ories defeated Norths 32-24 to win the Victoria Tavern Trophy Women's final at Porirua Park. HOBM defeated Old Boys University 32-15 to win the Senior 2 HD Morgan Memorial Cup final at the Hutt Recreation Ground...More

Above: Halftime in the Wellington Samoans and Suburbs match at Porirua Park today The first two matches of the WRFU Festival of Rugby got underway at Porirua Park with Wellington Maori side beating Wellington City 37-31 and Wellington Suburbs beating Wellington Samoans 22-15. Maori hold off City In beautiful conditions on the number 2 ground, the match was a game of two halves as the Wellington Maori side proved too strong for City. City got off to the perfect start when Pau Halafihi burst through some weak defence to coast in for the first try of the afternoon...More

Above: Teariki Kie Tonga (Paremata) and Tane McMillan-Parata (Plimmerton).? Two clubs became one in 1959, and on Saturday team loyalties are divided by the Paremata bridge. Paremata-Plimmerton club stalwart Paul Latham is bringing the old club colours back for a "Battle of the Bridge" match at Ngatitoa Domain this Saturday. Battle lines will be drawn for a match to be played between those who have to cross the bridge (Paremata) to come to the club and those that don't (Plimmerton). The current Paremata-Plimmerton RFC was formed with the amalgamation of Paremata and Plimmerton Rugby Clubs...More

They came in their droves. Wellington's largest rugby crowd, then and now, estimated on the day at 60,000 but revised down to 59,000, packed the old Athletic Park to watch the All Blacks defeat the touring British Isles 11-8 and go two nil up in their four-Test series. Just a fortnight earlier a crowd of 47,000 had witnessed the Wellington Lions go down gallantly 6-21 to the British Lions. The All Blacks had also won the first Test in Dunedin - but only just 18-17 - so this was going to be big...More

Above: Wellington Maori No. 8 TJ Fermanis breaks away from a scrum in his team's match against the Wellington Samoans last year. UPDATED: The local representative season kicks into action with the first round of matches in the Festival of Rugby series, both at Porirua Park. At 1.00 pm on the number 2 ground City take on Wellingotn Maori, while at 2.30 pm Suburbs face the Samoans on the main field. Additionally, The U19s are in Masterton at 2.00 pm in a pre-season fixture. The teams are (subject to change): Suburbs: 1...More

Above: Young Lion Leni Apisai playing for Northern United recently in their Hardham Cup semi-final against Avalon.The Ricoh Wellington Lions will kick off their 2014 ITM Cup campaign against Waikato on Saturday in Wellington. The Lions roster has suffered major pre-season setbacks with injuries to key playmakers, notably returning five-eighth Riki Flutey, out with a season ending injury. The return of local boy Jason Woodward eases those woes after gaining Super Rugby experience with the Melbourne-based Rebels over the past two seasons...More

Finals football continues around the club rugby fields of Wellington on Saturday, with the Victoria Tavern Trophy Women's, Ed Chaney Cup Senior 1 and HD Morgan Memorial Cup Senior 2 finals being played. It's another busy weekend with most of the remaining grades in either finals or semi-finals action, and the Under 85s in their final round of the season. Women's Victoria Tavern Trophy final Northern United v Oriental-Rongotai, Porirua Park 11.30 am. Porirua Park will again be the setting for the Women's final, with a repeat of last year's final between home side Norths and challengers Oriental-Rongotai...More

Above: The Petone Brotherhood team earlier this season celebrating a 62-0 win over the Johnsonville Cripples. It's the semi-finals of the Reserve Grade Division 1 Johnsonville Centennium Cup this Saturday, with top qualifier the Poneke Ruffnuts playing fourth placed OBU Therapists in one knockout match and the second placed Upper Hutt Rams J8s hosting third placed the Petone Brotherhood in the other. In a much-anticipated semi-final at Maidstone Park, kick-off 2.30 pm, the Petone Brotherhood are out to reverse their 19-22 loss to this same side in last week's final round-robin match of the season...More

?Above: Wellington's five All Blacks, from left to right Stu Wilson, Allan Hewson, Murray Mexted, Jamie Salmon and Bernie Fraser, emerge on to the tarmac with the Ranfurly Shield after their 22-4 win over Waikato. Photo courtesy of the Evening Post, 1 October 1981. In 1981 Wellington famously did the double by winning the Ranfurly Shield and the National Provincial Championship (ITM Cup) in the same season and fullback Allan Hewson was a key member of that side. One of the then famous five All Blacks in that successful 1981 Wellington Lions team, alongside Murray Mexted, Jamie Salmon and the wing duo of Stu Wilson and Bernie Fraser, Hewson watched most of it unfold from fullback...More

Wellington Lions head coach Chris Boyd has named his 2014 squad ahead of the team's first home match against Waikato this weekend. The Lions will be led by a new captain this season, with Petone loose forward Brad Shields given the reins. Shields will lead a squad that features six new caps and the return of Marist St Pat's first five-eighth Fa'atonu Fili, who has previously played 35 times for the Lions between 2009 and 2011. Fili comes in for Petone's Riki Flutey who sustained a season-ending hamstring injury in the Wellington XV's 26-24 pre-season win over defending ITM Cup champions Canterbury last Friday...More