It will be a Northern United - Poneke Jubilee Cup final at Westpac Stadium next weekend, after both won their home ground semi-finals in wildly contrasting circumstances. Norths ran riot against Petone in their 54-17 victory, outscoring them nine tries to two and leading 29-3 after 30 minutes. However, Poneke were made to fight tooth and nail for their 15-13 win over Hutt Old Boys Marist. Poneke first five-eighth Brad Cooper kicked his side to victory, with four first half penalties and one in the second half reflecting another dogged, hugely determined Poneke performance...More

Hardham Cup glory-boys Wainuiomata won their way into next week's Westpac Stadium final with a last-minute come-from-behind 19-18 semi-final win over Oriental-Rongotai at William Jones Park. Wainuiomata will play Upper Hutt, who beat Western Suburbs 25-16 in the other semi-final, with the pinpoint goal kicking of Ben Aoina again guiding Upper Hutt to victory. It was the continued resurgence of Wainuiomata that was again the talking point of the Hardham Cup top four round, with the green-and-blacks winning their way into their first premier final in almost two decades and registering their sixth win from eight games played this year...More

Poneke’s big game experience could prove too much for Hutt Old Boys Marist when the two teams meet in their semi-final at Kilbirnie Park. The 2003 Jubilee Cup champions and 2004 finalists only just missed out on a third successive final last year when they were pipped in the dying stages by eventual winners Petone in their top four fixture. With several players having playoff experience, and the sage coaching of Richard Watt and John Jackson behind the scenes, Poneke’s loyal supporters will be confident that their team can continue their impressive recent form...More

Defending Jubilee Cup champions Petone seem to have found their best form at the right end of the season and travel to Porirua Park confident they can repeat last year’s 21-20 final win against Northern United. Petone have struck upon a winning formula of late, which saw them overpower Old Boys-University 23-16 last week, in what was a must-win victory, and defeat Norths 16-8 two weeks ago at the Petone Recreation Ground.Overall the Villagers have won four of their last five games, largely through strong forward play, with their only recent loss coming against Avalon 10-19 in round five...More

Defending Hardham Cup champions Oriental-Rongotai will find themselves in a tough battle when they travel to William Jones Park in Wainuiomata for their semi-final. Wainuiomata are sure to have a legion of home support behind them willing them on to a first ever final at Westpac Stadium.Wainuiomata and Ories – in that order – were the two frontrunners right through the round-robin phase until the very last round when Upper Hutt leapfrogged both of them into the top qualifiers position after both lost their respective round seven games...More

It will be an optimistic Upper Hutt who host Western Suburbs at Maidstone Park in their semi-final, after a convincing 35-12 win over competition high flyers Wainuiomata last week saw them grab the top qualifier spot for the playoffs. Aside from their losses to Johnsonville and Oriental-Rongotai, Upper Hutt have had a generally successful Hardham Cup round-robin campaign. Their five wins were all by 20-plus point margins, and while they have included three easy 50-point wins against the three B teams, their road to the playoffs has been more assured than Wests’...More

Defending Jubilee Cup champions Petone got up to qualify third for next week's semi-finals with a tight-five inspired 23-16 win over Old-Boys University in their round seven elimination showdown at the Prime Finance Basin Reserve. Petone will meet second placed qualifier Northern United at Porirua Park in the playoffs, after Norths beat Hutt Old Boys Marist 22-10 in their match at the Hutt Recreation Ground. Poneke won the Andy Leslie Trophy for winning the round-robin with a crushing 50-18 win against luckless Tawa at Kilbirnie Park and will return to the same venue to host HOBM in the other semi-final...More

It was huge relief for Western Suburbs and disappointment for Johnsonville, after Wests avoided relegation from premier rugby in 2007 by the skin of their teeth after producing a mammoth defensive effort to defeat Oriental-Rongotai 12-8 in their last round match at Ian Galloway Park. In the early game Johnsonville had already beaten Poneke 31-24 at Kilbirnie Park and grabbed a bonus point, meaning Wests and Johnsonville finished fourth equal on 23 points. But it was Johnsonville who were the unlucky team and will drop out of the Swindale Shield on the basis of who beat who when they played each other in round one, won by Wests by a solitary point, 27-26...More

Five teams will be chasing three playoff spots in this week's final Jubilee Cup round-robin sets of matches, with Hutt Old Boys Marist, Petone, Northern United, Old Boys-University and Avalon all still hoping to make the semi-finals. Such has been the remarkably close nature of this year's competition that three out of four of this week's games will have a direct influence on the playoff fortunes of the other contenders, with just five points separating second placed HOBM and sixth placed Avalon...More

An extraordinary Hardham Cup will culminate this weekend with the relegation of either Western Suburbs, Upper Hutt, Johnsonville or Oriental-Rongotai - but no one who has been following the competition so far would want to hazard a guess as to which one. Going into the final round the only certainty is that Wainuiomata have qualified for next week's playoffs ahead of one of the current premier clubs, one of whom will drop out of the Swindale Shield next season. In all likelihood it won't be second placed Ories, who have a two-point buffer to third, leaving a nail-biting afternoon of round seven rugby for Wests, Upper Hutt and Johnsonville, with an ensuing semi-final spot a relieving consequence of avoiding relegation...More