Above: Leaders Paremata-Plimmerton could book a home semi-final with next week's final round to spare in the Senior 1 competition if they beat Ories on Saturday. The first Wellington club rugby final of the year takes place under lights at Porirua Park at 7.00 pm on Friday night when the Premier Women’s title, and with it the Victoria Tavern Trophy, is decided.Northern United will be on home turf, having accounted for Old Boys-University last week by 63-5, and are undefeated all season...More

Jubilee Cup Tawa (1) v Old Boys University (4)It’s been a long time between drinks for top qualifiers Tawa and fourth placed finisher Old Boys University since either were involved in Jubilee Cup playoffs rugby.? For OBU it’s been 11 years since they last made the semi-finals, for Tawa its even longer - 1998 being the last time they have featured in the Premier playoff series. On both these occasions, OBU and Tawa won their semi-finals and progressed through to the final before being beaten by Marist St...More

Above: Old Boy University's Seminar Manu in action in last year's Hardham Cup final. Manu is set to become the fourth OBU player to reach the milestone of 100 games for the club in this Saturday's semi-final against Tawa. 2013 will be the first year in the past 20 seasons that one or more of the big three traditional Jubilee Cup teams of the modern era - Petone, Poneke and Marist St. Pat’s - won’t be featuring at playoff time.More recently, at least two of Petone, Poneke and MSP featured in the Jubilee Cup semi-finals every year between 1999 and 2010...More

Above: The Tawa team on Evans Bay Park after their recent Jubilee Cup round-robin win over Marist St. Pat’s.. Club: TawaHome ground: Lyndhurst ParkCurrent Super Rugby players: Shaun Treeby (Highlanders), James Marshall (Hurricanes)Last year: SixthSwindale Shield this year: ChampionsCaptain: Filisione KoloamatangiPosition: Lock1. What is special about playing in the Jubilee Cup?Having the opportunity to play high quality rugby against the top players in this region.The level of rugby usually goes up a few notches during the Jubilee so it’s a good test and the only way to progress as a rugby player – by playing against the best...More

?(Above): Hutt Old Boys Marist hammering away at Ories’ line towards the end of their tense 2011 Jubilee Cup semi-final. Ories held on to win 18-15 and went on to win the final the following week. As part of the countdown to this weekend’s Jubilee and Hardham Cup semi-finals, here’s a look at 10 memorable semi-final matches over the past two decades. This list is by no means a definitive list, just a selection of some of the more thrilling post-season matches: 1993: Petone 21 - Harlequins 14‘Harlequins denied by bad bounce’ said the Dominion’s headline, following Petone’s tense victory over Harlequins [now Old Boys University]...More

?Above: Avalon fullback Peni Bulamaibau breaks the tackle of his opposite number James Waddell to race away to score the second of his two tries today. Avalon won this Hardham Cup 24-14. UPDATED SUNDAY MORNING: Recently crowned Swindale Shield champions Tawa added the Andy Leslie Trophy to their cabinet today for winning the Jubilee Cup round-robin series. All that’s missing is the big one, the Jubilee Cup itself, which moves into championship mode next weekend after another hotly contested set of last round matches...More

(Above): Tawa edged out MSP 20-10 last week. Will Tawa finish the round-robin on top and claim the Andy Leslie Trophy? Can defending champions MSP make the semi-finals? It’s all on in the last week of the round-robin play in Premier competitions with something riding on every game.Jubilee CupThree teams are certain of being in the semi-finals next week – Hutt Old Boys Marist, Tawa, and Old Boys-University – but who they’ll play and where is still uncertain. Just as uncertain is who will fill the final playoff spot...More

Above: The Northern United Women’s team are top qualifiers for Saturday’s Victoria Tavern Trophy semi-finals. While it’s the last round of the? Jubilee and Hardham Cup competitions this Saturday ahead of the championship semi-finals, the action is also set to spice up throughout the lower and Women’s grades of Wellington club rugby. It kicks off with the Premier Women’s Victoria Tavern Trophy semi-finals, the first set of playoff matches of the year. Top qualifier and unbeaten Northern United host an Old Boys-University side they have easily accounted for twice this season already by 44-0 and 22-5 and defending second round champions Wainuiomata travel to play Oriental Rongotai ,with the hosts having also won both games this year by margins of 17-12 and 26-5...More

Above: Ories captain and tighthead prop Whetu Henry (third from left) calling the lineout towards the end of their Jubilee Cup match against Wainuiomata last week. 2011 Ories will probably need to beat OBU at Nairnville Park this Saturday to make the upcoming playoffs and make their third consecutive final.Club: Oriental-RongotaiHome ground: Polo GroundsCurrent Super Rugby players: Ma’a Nonu (Highlanders), Julian Savea, Ardie Savea, Matt Proctor, Mark Reddish, Motu Matu’u, Jack Lam? (all Hurricanes) Jubilee Cups won:1943 and 1944 (combined with Poneke); 2011...More

Above: It was a close struggle at Evans Bay Park, but Tawa prevailed in the end against the defending champions MSP who now must win this coming weekend and rely on other results going their way to make the semi-finals. Next week’s seventh and final regular season rounds of the Jubilee Cup and Hardham Cup competitions will be going down to the wire, after another drama-soaked set of matches around the club rugby fields of Wellington this afternoon.One major and one minor upset today in the Jubilee Cup has left the Jubilee Cup on tenderhooks heading into next week’s final set of matches, effectively leaving four teams chasing one playoff berth next week, three sides hunting for two home semi-final spots and just one club, Petone, out of contention...More