2011 Swindale Shield champions Northern United will be presented with the Shield for the third consecutive year at the conclusion of their round 10 tussle with Poneke this weekend. But for up to half the field there’s still much to play for over the final fortnight of the first round. Anything could and probably will happen over the next fortnight, so there’s plenty of rugby left over the final two weeks of the 2011 Swindale Shield. For at least five teams in the middle of the pack and two more either side of it – Petone and Tawa –finishing inside the top eight and securing spots in the Jubilee Cup starting on 11 June is the paramount consideration over the next fortnight...More

It took a 75th minute intercept try for Northern United to diffuse Oriental-Rongotai's challenge and retain the 2011 Swindale Shield with two rounds remaining at the Polo Ground yesterday. All Blacks star and birthday boy Ma'a Nonu was leading the charge for Ories but his long searching pass out to Hurricanes teammate Julian Savea was plucked out of the air by Norths midfielder Leon Ellison and he raced away to score untouched under the bar. Fullback James So'oialo added the extras to put Norths ahead 21-10 and the first round title is theirs for another year...More

Northern United will win the 2011 Swindale Shield with two rounds to spare if they beat Oriental-Rongotai in this weekend's top-of-the-table round nine showdown at the Polo Ground.With a whopping 12-point lead at the head of the table to their nearest challenger Ories, Norths are at this stage raging hot favourites to go on and claim their third consecutive first round title and their sixth since their break through win in 2003.Such has been their dominance so far in grabbing eight consecutive bonus point wins, the closest that anyone has got to them was back in round one when Hutt Old Boys Marist held them to a 34-17 scoreline...More

Wellington College ran out 29-10 winners over St. Pat’s Town in their annual traditional match at Evans Bay Park Wednesday. In entertaining game in fine, sunny conditions, Wellington College out scored St. Pat’s five tries to two, with fullback Andrew Quinlivan and left wing Campbell Cowie each grabbing two tries and strong running second five-eighth Jonny Tevita one. For more click here?Or visit: www.collegerugby.co.nz More

Spare a thought for the Upper Hutt faithful. Three times they’ve watched their Swindale Shield team at home at Maidstone Park in 2011 and three times they’ve watched their side lose on fulltime. Against Ories in round three they conceded a late try and visiting first five-eighth Trevor Marama dramatically nailed the sideline conversion to seal a 25-27 loss and against MSP in round five, it was the turn of opposing replacement first five-eighth Fa’atonu Fili to step up and kick a penalty with the last act of the game to inflict a 15-16 defeat on them...More

It’s the biggest weekend of the season so far for Marist St. Pat’s, both on and off the field. Off it, the club celebrates its 40th anniversary over three days from Friday to Sunday. On it, their Premier, Senior 1 and Senior 2 sides face Hutt Old Boys Marist opposition in three defining first round matches. It’s a huge round for their Premiers. If they lose to Hutt Old Boys Marist in the feature round eight Swindale Shield and Father Cleary Shield interclub fixture and other results go against them, they could find themselves outside the top eight on the points table and in must-win territory over the final three weeks just to make the Jubilee Cup round...More

There were contrasting Old Timers' Day Swindale Shield matches at the Polo and Petone Recreation Grounds on Saturday, with Oriental-Rongotai going down in a shock loss to Tawa and Petone thrashing arch-rivals Marist St. Pat's.Ories, unbeaten after the first five weeks, suffered their second consecutive loss to a lower ranked team, pipped 17-12 by Tawa in a thriller that saw Tawa score the match winning try right at the end after trailing 12-10 with the Miramar sun setting behind their backs...More

Can Northern United be stopped in the Swindale Shield? Who will win this weekend's Fleurs Trophy Women's showdown between Norths and Eketahuna? Will Hutt Old Boys Marist teams continue to set the pace in the Senior 1 and Senior 2 competitions? These questions and many more are on the lips of Wellington club rugby supporters heading into this weekend's highly anticipated seventh week of competition matches.Fresh from their 75-point win over Avalon in round 6, The Norths Premiers are back at home at Porirua Park this weekend to flex their muscles against Old Boys-University...More

Updated Sunday: There’s still five weeks of the 2011 Swindale Shield to play but Wellington’s first round Premier title is defending champions Northern United’s to lose, following their sixth consecutive bonus point win over Avalon and Oriental-Rongotai’s shock loss to the Wests Roosters in the latest round of matches on Saturday. Norths brushed aside Avalon to win 84-9 at Porirua Park to move to a maximum 30 points on the points table, now seven clear of second placed Ories on 23 who were outpassioned by the Wests Roosters at the Cage and lost 17-16 to the previously winless Roosters...More

The battle of Kilbirnie and the hopeful return to the field of 62-Test All Black and Hurricane Rodney So'oialo are two reasons for fans to get excited about New Zealand's hottest club rugby competition this Saturday. Separated by a strip of road between Kilbirnie and Evans Bay Parks, neighbours Marist St. Pat's and Poneke meet for the Horan-Miller Trophy and in a key clash for vital Swindale Shield points as part of this week's sixth round set of matchesOne of the much anticipated match ups on the calendar, MSP - Poneke clashes are renowned for always being tough and extremely closely fought...More