A late converted try to openside flanker Paul Halafihi carried Oriental-Rongtotai to a sensational 20-16 win over Poneke to kept their Jubilee Cup semi-final chances alive in the fifth round set of matches played on Saturday. Halafihi's match winner at Kilbirnie Park clinched a vital win for Ories after the home side had seemingly got up to steal victory through the boot of first five-eighth James Pointon who kicked his third penalty to put Poneke in front 16-13 after fighting back from a 13-0 deficit at halftime...More

The playoff credentials of the five teams still in contention to join runaway leaders Tawa are set to become a lot clearer after this weekend's fifth round set of matches in the Hardham Cup. After a month's play it seems that only winless Johnsonville and Rimutaka are out of semi-final reckoning, but the aspirations of some other teams could be in the balance if they lose this weekend. One side hoping for a positive final three week's of round robin play is Wainuomata, whose loyal fans will be hoping for a third successive trip to Westpac Stadium on finals day...More

Hutt Old Boys Marist and Petone will resume their neighbourly rivalry in this week's fifth round set of Jubilee Cup matches when they meet at the Hutt Recreation Ground. The two have played some truly epic matches over the years, most notably for the McBain Shield played for in the first round and which Petone retained this year in winning 16-13 in the closing round of the Swindale Shield at the start of June. The McBain Shield won't be on the line this weekend, but with the 2008 semi-finals only a fortnight away after this weekend, this match promises to be no less intense...More

Tawa kept their unbeaten run in this year's Hardham Cup intact and maintained their icy grip on the top of the points table by defeating the Wests Roosters 24-3 at Lyndhurst Park in the fourth round on Saturday. Tawa's three tries to nil victory over an increasingly disappointing Wests Roosters side gives them a comfortable five-point buffer at the top of the standings, ahead of the Marist St. Pat's B team and Avalon who share second place with three rounds to play.In other?results, Avalon pipped Rimutaka 23-18 at Fraser Park, Wainuiomata accounted for Johnsonville 26-3 at William Jones Park and MSP won the battle of the B teams in defeating their Northern United counterparts 24-10 at Porirua Park...More

2008 Swindale Shield champions Marist St. Pat's took a major step towards their 12th Jubilee Cup title in defeating Northern United 25-17 in their clash at Porirua Park in the fourth round on Saturday.MSP's 14th consecutive win this season and their fourth straight?Jubilee Cup victory sees them maintain their two-point lead at the top of the points table, while Norths have now lost their last two games which have both been at home and slip from second to third. In a tight game as expected, Norths outscored MSP three tries to one but they let themselves down through poor discipline and a lack of concentration, and were made to pay by the boot of first five-eighth Fa'atonu Fili whose 17 points included four penalties and a dropped goal and won the match for MSP...More

The clash of the week for the fourth round of the Jubilee Cup is at Porirua Park between Northern United and Marist St. Pat's, where home team Norths will be looking to bounce back from their shock loss to Upper Hutt against the team that extended its winning streak to 13 wins in 2008 with victory against Poneke in the third round. MSP's come-from-behind 15-11 victory for Kilbirnie supremacy last week was a narrow win, as was their 20-15 win over against Petone in the previous round. But all that matters for their supporters is that they keep winning, increasing their hopes of achieving the Swindale Shield - Jubilee Cup double in the same season for the first time since 1999 and last achieved by Norths in 2006...More

Ten years on from winning the Jubilee Cup, the Wests Roosters enter the fourth round of the Hardham Cup in search of a big performance to spark their second round campaign into life. It's been a rollercoaster last three weeks for loyal Wests followers, who have watched their team defeat Avalon 25-5, draw with Johnsonville 15-all and lose to Northern United B 24-18. These three results also mirror many of their Swindale Shield games, where they were often in touch for long periods of the contest against more fancied opposition teams but generally fell away towards the end...More

In the Hardham Cup, Tawa held on to its top spot, beating southern neighbours Johnsonville 19-18 in a nailbiter at Lyndhurst Park. Northern United B crept to second with an unexpected 24-18 defeat of Wests Roosters, while Marist St. Pat's B and Avalon set up a mid-table logjam with wins over Rimutaka and Wainuiomata respectively. All eyes, including those of All Black selector Steve Hansen, were on Lyndhurst Park, where Johnsonville's Chris Masoe was pressing for a Tri-Nations call-up. Though the game pitched top of the table Tawa against a struggling Johnsonville, previous form meant little, with the visitors going ahead 5-0 early...More

Upper Hutt upset Northern United 24-18 at Porirua Park in a thrilling third round set of Jubilee Cup matches played around Wellington, in which three of the four games played went down to the wire. These close matches also included a last-gasp 23-22 win for Old Boys-University over Hutt Old Boys Marist at the Basin Reserve and a gritty 15-11 victory for Marist St. Pat's over Poneke at Evans Bay Park. The other match proved to be an exception, with Petone defeating Oriental-Rongotai 35-8 at the Polo Ground and emerging as the only bonus point winner of the round...More

The playoffs are a month away, but the Jubilee Cup dreams of defending champions Hutt Old Boys Marist, Old Boys-University and Oriental-Rongotai will effectively be over if they lose this weekend. These three teams are winless after two rounds, and with Northern United, Marist St. Pat's and Poneke sitting on two wins from two rounds, they realistically need to win this week to remain in contention for the playoffs. The Jubilee Cup has traditionally been about momentum and, in the last five years at least, no side has qualified for the semi-finals after losing their first two round-robin encounters, a cycle that HOBM, OBU and Ories now need to break...More