Johnsonville's shock 23-13 loss to Premier Two side Poneke was the talking point of the opening Hardham Cup round. In an upset that could have major ramifications in the weeks ahead, Poneke also crossed for a late try to deny Johnsonville a crucial bonus point. Johnsonville's first loss of the season overshadowed the two opening round Hardham Cup clashes involving Swindale Shield sides, between Wainuiomata and Upper Hutt and Oriental-Rongotai and Avalon. At Fraser Park, Oriental-Rongotai beat Avalon 17-12, outscoring the home side three tries to nil with centre Steve Tavoi (2) and fullback Fa'avae Tuma'ai the try scorers...More

Marist St. Pat's No. 8 Alex Tulou provided the pot of gold in his side's upset 12-10 come-from-behind win over champions Northern United in the first round of Jubilee Cup matches on Saturday. With a rainbow beaming down on MSP's Evans Bay Park clubrooms, Tulou scored the match winning try late in the second half, taking a quick tap penalty himself and skirting 15 metres to score to the right of the uprights. Long serving MSP flyhalf Fa'atonu Fili added the extras in a thrilling conclusion to a hard fought game, dominated by high quality forward play...More

After a steady run of Jubilee Cup appearances in recent years, the forthcoming Hardham Cup will be unfamiliar territory for Avalon. 1998 was the last time Avalon missed out on the top eight after the first round and they have since been regular Jubilee Cup contenders. Their record in recent times has been good, winning the Swindale Shield in 2001 and finishing fourth last year. In the Jubilee Cup they featured in back-to-back semi-finals in 2003 and 2004. But 2007 hasn't been a vintage season so far...More

As far as favouritism goes, Northern United is about as hot as can be for the 2007 Jubilee Cup kicking off across Wellington this weekend. Fresh from a 72-0 trouncing of Wests Roosters to ensure their retention of the Swindale Shield, Norths will be gunning for a four-peat of Wellington premier rugby titles over the next nine weeks. Last year they became the first side since Marist St. Pat's in 1999 to achieve the rare Swindale Shield - Jubilee Cup double in the same season, a feat many are picking they will achieve again this year...More

Congratulations to Northern United, winners of the 2007 Swindale Shield. Norths wrote another chapter in its rapidly expanding book of achievements, beating Wests Roosters 72-0 in the last round and registering back-to-back Swindale Shield titles and three in five years. They did it in style, running in eleven tries at a sun-drenched Ian Galloway Park in a near flawless performance of attacking rugby.Poneke also came out to play in the last round, trouncing Upper Hutt 69-7 at Kilbirnie Park on captain Misipalauni Moananu's 150th premier game...More

This weekend's final Swindale Shield round is set to go down to the wire, with Northern United and Poneke both chasing the first round title honours. Norths remain in the box seat, the defending champions just needing to beat Wests Roosters at Ian Galloway Park to claim their third Swindale Shield in five years. But waiting in the wings will be Poneke, just three points further back and with an easier assignment against Upper Hutt at home at Kilbirnie Park. Poneke will be heavily favoured to win with a bonus point against the wooden spoon-bound Upper Hutt, putting the pressure firmly on Norths to hold off the Roosters to claim the title...More

Next week's final Swindale Shield round is set up to be a thriller after Northern United were almost upset by Avalon and Poneke grabbed a bonus point win over Tawa to close the margin at the top between Norths and Poneke to just three points. Barring a major boilover between Poneke and Upper Hutt next week, Norths must beat the Wests Roosters in their last round encounter to defend their first round title. Desperate to stay in contention to play the Jubilee Cup, Avalon pushed Norths all the way at Porirua Park before going down 18-9 late in the match, while Poneke beat Tawa 22-3 in their game at Lyndhurst Park...More

Wainuiomata's hopes of playing themselves into the Jubilee Cup in just their first season back in Premier grade could become reality as the final fortnight of the Swindale Shield unravels. Wainuiomata host the Wests Roosters this weekend at William Jones Park, where a fourth win for them would elevate them past Wests into the top eight and a likely place in the Jubilee Cup. Wainui's dream edged a step closer to reality last week when they beat Avalon 27-11 and the Roosters lost 23-9 to Petone, bringing them to within four points of the eighth placed Wests and giving them the chance to equal or overtake the Roosters on the points table...More

A thrilling draw between Old Boys-University and Poneke and a Piri Weepu inspired Wainuiomata win over Avalon were the talking points of the ninth round of Swindale Shield, again played in splendid late autumn conditions across Wellington. The 23-23 deadlock between big guns OBU and Poneke has seen Northern United, who annihilated Oriental-Rongotai 65-14, increase its lead on the points table to four points over second placed Poneke. The draw also means Hutt Old Boys Marist overtakes the students into third with two rounds to go, after they dispatched Upper Hutt 29-17 at Maidstone Park...More

There's still everything to play for in this week's ninth round of Swindale Shield matches. Three teams can still stop new leaders Norths from back to back title victories, while the race to finish eighth or higher for a Jubilee Cup spot is still wide open. At the top of the table, Northern United are now firmly in the box seat for repeat success after their emphatic runaway win against Poneke last week. On form and with the lower opposition yet to play, their supporters will be excused from thinking that the Swindale Shield is theirs to lose from here on in...More