There was much to celebrate for Northern United on their Old Timers' Day on Saturday after their top three sides had won all three of Wellington club rugby's first round competitions - the Senior 2 National Mutual Cup, the Senior 1 Harper Lock Shield and the Premier Swindale Shield.Norths collected all three first round titles after its teams had each won their final round matches on Porirua Park against visiting Poneke sides. Their Senior 2nds won 29-20, their Senior 1sts prevailed 50-14 and their top side overcame the red and black incursion 34-18 for their 11th straight win of the Swindale Shield round...More

Northern United have already wrapped up the 2010 Swindale Shield title, but the tussle down the points table to join them and the five other already confirmed qualifiers in the prestigious Jubilee Cup is set to get exciting this weekend. While Norths have been busy bamboozling their fans in a record breaking first round campaign, the race to finish inside the top eight and make the Jubilee Cup has been steadily gathering pace to the point where four teams - Wainuiomata, Tawa, Old Boys-University and Upper Hutt - are effectively chasing the final two Jubilee Cup spots this weekend...More

Northern United came from behind to beat Oriental-Rongotai 31-26 at the Polo Ground on Saturday to capture the 2010 Swindale Shield with a round to spare. Needing just a solitary competition point to secure their fifth first round title since winning their first in 2003, Norths overtook Ories with two quick tries after halftime and held on to take the spoils.Northern United will officially be presented with the Swindale Shield after their last round match against Poneke at Porirua Park next week and are guaranteed to finish at least seven points clear of the second placed finisher...More

Four into two won't go. That's the predicament facing Wainuiomata, Tawa, Old Boys-University and Upper Hutt when considering their second round prospects. With just two weeks of the 2010 Swindale Shield remaining, all four can still hope for a realistic shot of finishing the first round inside the top eight and earn a berth in the upcoming Jubilee Cup.OBU's timely bonus point win over Upper Hutt last week and Tawa's and Wainuiomata's respective defeats to Marist St. Pat's and Oriental Rongotai without advancing their causes on the points table has created a 10-point chasm on the Swindale Shield ladder between sixth placed Petone on 30 and seventh placed Wainuiomata on 20...More

The big wet came to Wellington on Saturday, but it didn’t stop attractive rugby being played across most of the Premier venues in a ninth round of heart warming and high scoring action that saw Norths tighten its grip on the Swindale Shield and the race down the table to finish inside the top eight heat up considerably.?A biting southerly and heavy rain during the week wreaked havoc with Wellington’s winter sports officials, not least the rugby code where all lower grade rugby was cancelled outright in advance and there was a swathe of transfers across the top three grades...More

They won’t be celebrating for at least another week, but if Northern United’s top two teams both win their home matches this weekend then the Swindale Shield and the Harper Lock Shield should both be coming their way in a fortnight’s time.In two top of the table round nine clashes at Porirua Park - both against Hutt Old Boys Marist Opposition - Norths will all but seal the Swindale Shield with the last two rounds to spare if they win the main game and will have one hand on the Harper Locker Shield with a fortnight to play if they win in the early encounter...More

Hutt Old Boys Marist, Tawa and Wainuiomata emerged from the pack as significant winners in a cracking eighth round set of Swindale Shield matches on Saturday.At the top of the table, HOBM created the boilover of the round and paved the way for a probable Northern United Swindale Shield victory in three weeks by sweeping aside Oriental-Rongotai 46-5 at the Hutt Recreation Ground. In the battle for the top eight, Tawa and Wainuiomata all but cemented their places for the upcoming Jubilee Cup round with respective bonus point wins over Poneke and the Wests Roosters...More

The expected continuation of Northern United's unbeaten run and the intensifying battle down the points table for Jubilee Cup berths are two key features of this weekend's eighth round set of Swindale Shield matches. Top dog Norths are this week gunning to become the first team since Upper Hutt in 2005 to start the season with eight consecutive wins when they line up against winless Johnsonville at Helston Park. If they overcome Johnsonville, as the formbook strongly suggests they might, then Norths will exceed the accomplishments of Hutt Old Boys Marist in 2006, Poneke in 2007 and Petone last year, who each won their opening seven games of the season but tripped up for the first time in week eight...More

Marist St. Pats' Swindale Shield resurgence continued on Saturday when they beat Petone 16-10 in an epic clash on their Old Timers' Day at Evans Bay Park. After a horror start to the year that saw them drop their first three games to first round title contenders Northern United, Poneke and Oriental-Rongotai, the defending Jubilee Cup champions have bounced back to now win four matches in a row with this win over Petone for the Bill Elvy Cup their biggest win of the season so far...More

?This weekend's round seven Swindale clash at Ian Galloway Park between Oriental-Rongotai and the Wests Roosters shapes as a key clash for both sides. For home team Wests, this match is a must-win or their 2010 Jubilee Cup hopes could be gone, while for in-form Ories another bonus point victory would keep the pressure right on Northern United with a month to play. With tougher matches to come including dates with Hutt Old Boys Marist and then the big one against Norths in round 10, Ories will be eyeing up five points this week against Wests and hoping Norths slip up against neighbours Tawa in their match at Porirua Park for the inaugural Sammy Saili Memorial Trophy...More