The Oriental-Rongotai – Poneke Swindale Shield match this Saturday takes on special significance for being the 50th anniversary Jimmy Grbich Memorial Shield match between the sides. As reported recently, the two clubs are holding a joint fundraising weekend to raise funds for a new ‘Rongotai College Rugby Hub'. Grbich, a regular Wellington and New Zealand Maori representative played for Poneke throughout the 1950s and early 1960s before tragically dying in a late night car accident near the Tawa motorway interchange...More

This Saturday Tawa and Marist St. Pat's will square off in a ‘virtual final' to decide this year's first round Swindale Shield champions. What other close finishes in the Swindale Shield have there been over the years? Below is a compilation (by no means a definitive list) of tight endings to the first round competition. Petone and Wellington shared 1972Petone and Wellington share the lead going into the last round, five points clear of the next side, Marist St Pat's. Petone is drawn to play University and the Axemen are up against Taita...More

Oriental-Rongotai survived a scare against Wainuiomata but hung on for a 22-15 win to claim the first round Premier Women's Fleurs Trophy on Saturday (pictured above - photo courtesy of Ories Rugby). Just needing to beat Wainuiomata in their seventh and final round match to win the Fleurs Trophy, it was touch and go for the visiting Ories side right up until the final whistle with Wainuiomata pressing hard for a converted try that would have levelled up the scores. In the end, Ories (who finished the first round unbeaten on 35 points) would still have won the Fleurs Trophy outright ahead of Norths (32 points), who banked maximum points from the last round when a depleted Stokes Valley defaulted to them the day before...More

Above: The Kennedy brothers both had big games today for OBU in their 18-16 win over Tawa. Here Ross soars high in a lineout. The 2014 Swindale Shield winner has to be decided and the final four places for the upcoming coveted Jubilee Cup round have still got to be found in what's shaping as a massive final round set of Swindale Shield matches next Saturday. The upshot after Another electric set of the matches under bleak skies today is that defending champions Tawa and Marist St Pat's will square for the first round silverware in a ‘virtual' final next weekend, while just these two sides and Wainuiomata and Petone are already assured of joining them in the Jubilee Cup round...More

Tomorrow marks the mid-point of the 2014 Wellington Premier club rugby season, which has been as competitive as ever this year. There have been no easybeats in this year's Swindale Shield. Highlighting this is Johnsonville, who ended last season as a Senior 1 club but owing to the demotion of the Wests Roosters because the Roosters fielded an ineligible player, Johnsonville regained their Premier status. Far from rolling over against most sides, Johnsonville has proven themselves a tough customer to bank competition points against...More

It's the penultimate round of matches in both the Swindale and Harper Lock Shield competitions, with both having been shaken up by results that went somewhat against the form book in round nine. Both titles could potentially be decided this weekend, as could the fields for both the Jubilee and Hardham Cups. This week is also the ‘College at Club' round of the season, where a number of College matches will take place at club venues as the prelude to senior club matches. For more information on this, including which college games are involved and where, check the Club Rugby story from yesterday...More

Above: St Pat's Silverstream continued their good early season form today, beating visiting New Plymouth Boys' High School 46-13. St Pat's Town also won well today, beating St John's College in Hastings 61-8. Photo by Mike Lewis. St Pat's Town v St John's report below in this article. Last weekend saw the conclusion of both the Hurricanes First XV Festival and the grading rounds for the College Sport Wellington competitions, which start this weekend. In the Hurricanes Festival three of the Wellington schools were successful...More

The second of our team profile series, taking a look at as many of Wellington club rugby's serious and social lower grade teams, is the Marist St Pat's ‘Cougar' Green team (pictured above at their recent 'Initiation' ceremony).? The Cougars are one of three MSP teams playing in the two U85 kg Restricted grades. The MSP Blues and the Reds contest the 10-team Division 1 grade, while the Cougars fly the flag for the club in the 8-team Division 2 competition. Want your team and club featured in this series? Email editor@clubrugby...More

Don't be surprised if the next generation of Vanuatu or Cook Islands rugby players are fleet of foot, have booming punts and can run like the wind. Last Saturday Wellington-based community charity Boots For Grassroots (B4G) delivered almost 200 pairs of new and used boots to Pango Village fields in Port Villa in Vanuatu to local children representing four different rugby clubs/villages. As well as fitting out over 10 children's rugby teams with boots, B4G were also able to provide many larger size boots and jerseys to the local Power House Rugby League Club...More

Above: The weather was fine and sunny, but OBU and Avalon Senior 1 players got their first taste of mud on Saturday in their clash at Ian Galloway Park. Story updated: Including headline mistake: The race for the top eight Jubilee Cup spots for the second half of the season is on tenterhooks. Frontrunners Tawa and Marist St Pat's both lost today and significant wins for several teams in the chasing pack has made for a frantic final fortnight of first round rugby for fans to ponder with Swindale Shield silverware and top eight Jubilee Cup places on the line...More