The Hurricanes Poua are delighted to announce the appointment of Fusi Feaunati as the new Head Coach for Super Rugby Aupiki 2025.
“I am deeply honoured and excited to take on the role of Head Coach for the Hurricanes Poua in 2025,” Fusi said.
The Wellington Lions have announced that a new coach will be joining the pack, and it’s a name that many Wellingtonians will recognise.
Former All Black, Dane Coles, has offered his time to the Wellington Lions as a spot coach for the 2024 Bunnings Warehouse NPC competition.
The Hurricanes have added lock Zach Gallagher to their side, ahead of the 2025 DHL Super Rugby Pacific season, with the Canterbury product making the shift north to join the side.
It was a night for the loose forwards as the Hurricanes and Hurricanes Poua seasons culminated with the annual awards evening.
Of the 11 awards, six went to loose forwards, with outstanding youngster, Peter Lakai scooping two of them.
The winter season at Pātaka Art + Museum opens on Saturday 22 June with new exhibitions showing what can be achieved when art and collective action collide. "Featuring artists from Taranaki and Tāmaki through to Tonga, Fiji and Papua New Guinea, these shows celebrate the shared concerns that connect our region."
Third placed qualifier Northern United and fourth placed Wainuiomata will meet in the 2019 Jubilee Cup final at the Petone Recreation Ground, after winning thrilling semi-finals on Saturday.
Both teams won their playoffs matches away from home in the dying moments, with Northern United scoring a late try to beat Tawa 18-17 and Wainuiomata beating Oriental-Rongotai 21-20 with a last-gasp penalty.
Johnsonville v Wellington at Helston Park, with the Axemen winning 53-15. Photo: Wellington Football Club - Axemen
Wainuiomata (Jubilee Cup) and Wellington (Hardham Cup) are the competition leaders after fourth round Premier club rugby matches played on the shortest day of the year on Saturday.
Despite, losing their first match in seven weeks to neighbours Petone on Saturday, Wainuiomata (15 points) sit top of the Jubilee Cup.
On a fine afternoon, Petone (6) kept their playoff hopes alive with a 33-22 win at home at the Petone Recreation Ground.
The other two Jubilee Cup matches saw Oriental-Rongotai (6) also stay in contention by beating Tawa (10) 32-27 at Lyndhurst Park and first round winners Hutt Old Boys Marist (11) toppling Poneke (6) 44-26 at the Hutt Rec.
Northern United (10) had the Jubilee Cup bye.
In the Hardham Cup, the Wellington Axemen (15) won their third straight bonus point win to start this year’s competition by defeating Johnsonville (2) 53-15.
Elsewhere, Marist St Pats (10) beat the Upper Hutt Rams (9) 59-22 and Paremata-Plimmerton (3) and the Avalon Wolves (8) drew 25-25, as Old Boys University (14) had the bye.
There are three weeks remaining before this year’s semi-finals, with several teams in both grades having much to play for over the coming rounds.
In the Jubilee Cup, Petone centre Willie Fine (2 tries) and second five-eighth and captain Jarrod Adams scored three of their five tries as they burst to life against Wainuiomata from the opening exchanges.
Wainuiomata withstood an early storm and instead it was them that scored the game’s first two tries to move to a 12-0 lead. Fullback Josh Robertson-Weepu scored one and helped set the other to lock Bevan Clark.
Petone hit straight back with tries to wing Sam Blackburn and No. 8 Tupou Sopoaga, who has now scored 12 tries this season. Fine then ran on to a kick and chase by first five-eighth Carne to put Petone in the lead.
With skipper Adams in the sin-bin, Wainuiomata scored again to close it up, but he returned to score the next try, with Fine bagging his brace with a few minutes to play to seal victory for the Villagers.
At Tawa, visiting left wing Reuben Va’a scored a hat-trick and right wing Tuga Mativa scored another as Ories established a 22-8 lead early in the second half, only for Tawa to come back to level to 22-22 and then for Ories to pull away again.
Tawa scored the game’s first try, after a 60 second attacking foray from the opening kick-off, sending fullback PJ Iosefo in for a 5-0 lead.
In an absorbing forwards battle, Ories went into halftime holding a 17-8 lead, before Mativa scored a long-range try from a scrum and break by first five-eighth Trent Renata. Tawa responded with consecutive tries, a similar try scored by Best & Fairest leader and halfback Kemara Hauiti-Parapara from a scrum and burst by centre Pepesana Patafilo and a clinical strike from a lineout drive to prop Sitiveni Paongo which was converted from the sideline by flyhalf Sam Clarke.
Ories got back in front with a Renata penalty and then Va’a crossed for the match-winner after halfback Hinckley Siaosi collected a high kick and took off up the shortside. Tawa scored once more, through prop James Coburn.
In a similar start at the Hutt Rec, where Poneke No. 8 Greg Foe ran 40 metres to score the opening try of the match. But the home side HOBM hit back quickly, with fullback Brandyn Laursen scoring and converting to put them up 7-5.
Loosehead prop Brett Manaia crossed later in the first half to double their lead and Laursen kicked a penalty to see the Eagles turn with a 17-5 lead.
HOBM then pulled ahead 24-5 just after halftime with their third try, and then scored again on 50 minutes to make it 31-5. Another try made it 38-5, before Poneke broke out from deep inside their own territory to score twice on the trot. One more try made it 38-19, but HOBM sealed their win with two late penalties.
The closest of the six Premier matches was at at Ngati Toa Domain, where Paremata-Plimmerton drew 25-25 with the Avalon Wolves on their Old Timers’ Day and 60th anniversary celebration afternoon.
Paremata-Plmmerton fought back from 3-17 down to score two converted tries on either side of halftime to draw level 17-17. Avalon kicked a penalty to move ahead 20-17, and then scored another try to go ahead 25-17. Paremata-Plimmerton came back with a penalty and a try but neither side was able to break the deadlock before fulltime.
The other two Hardham Cup games were largely one-sided.
The Axemen out-scored Johnsonville seven tries to two at Helston Park, with seven different try-scorers crossing the whitewash. Wing Ollie Marshall continued his strong form, scoring 23 points, made up of a try, six conversions and two penalties. He has now scored 71 points in the Hardham Cup.
At Maoribank Park, the Upper Hutt Rams opened the scoring with a penalty, but from there it was Marist St Pats took control. MSP steadily moved ahead and eventually won the match nine tries to three. Wing Faresa Tasale scored four tries and second five-eighth Isaia Petelo scored two tries. Right wing Todd Svenson (2) and flanker Josh Dewar scored the Rams’ tries.
The four Women’s matches saw Ories beat Old Boys University 45-5 and Norths beat Petone 58-12 in the top flight Tia Paasi Memorial Trophy, while Wainuiomata beat Poneke 22-5 and Paremata-Plimmerton defeated HOBM 36-7. MSP had the bye.
In the match at Nairnville Park, Ories led OBU 21-5 at halftime and pulled clear from there. At Jerry Collins Stadium, Petone halfback Milley Mackey scored both her team’s tries and kicked a conversion.
The Tawa Colts beat Ories 44-31 in a free-flowing Colts Division 1 match at Redwood Park, Tawa score two early tries and also lost a player to the sinbin early, with Ories coming back to draw level with two tries of their own. Tawa crossed twice more before the break to see them leading 26-14. They kept their noses in front in the second spell.
Tawa are joined at the top of the Colts John E Kelly Cup Memorial table on 15 points by HOBM Green who defeated Marist St Pats 40-17. Norths are third after beating Paremata-Plimmerton 59-18, with OBU Green back in fourth after beating Petone 69-12.
The Upper Hutt Rams Colts and Poneke are both on 15 points at the top of the Division 2 Colts table after securing maximum points yesterday. The Rams edged Wainuiomata 17-10, while Poneke beat OBU Black by default. Wellington beat Johnsonville 36-12.
In the Ed Chaney Cup Premier Reserve Division 1, Petone maintained their lead, beating Wainuiomata 62-5. Tawa beat Ories 44-22 in the early fixture on Lyndhurst Park and Poneke also reversed their Premier’s result by overcoming HOBM 37-22.
In Division 2 Premier Reserve, MSP maintained their unbeaten record by easing past the Upper Hutt Rams 58-17, Johnsonville beat Wellington 28-17 in a reversal of the main game that followed and Paremata-Plimmerton and Avalon met at Ngati Toa Domain.
The leading two teams from the first round opened their second round of the compeition for the U85kg Paul Potiki Shield, with Avalon beating the HOBM Howlers 16-9 and the Upper Hutt Rams overcoming Paraparaumu 33-17.
First round winners the Poneke Ruffnuts opened their Reserve Grade Division 1 John Davies Cup campaign with a 36-17 win over the Petone Brotherhood. In a close match, the Johnsonville Cripples beat the Upper Hutt Rams Pirates 28-26.
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Hugo Plummer - Photo: Steven White
"First XV rugby at Onslow College reminded me of the reasons why I started playing the game in the first place. We're not a heavyweight school, but we had a group of boys who were really passionate about it and stuck together through thick and thin," Hugo Plummer enthuses when reflecting on his final year at high school.
Plummer is a member of the WRFU High Performance programme, and along with Ropati So'oalo from Aotea College was the only player from a Premier 2 outfit selected for the Hurricanes Under-18's in 2018.
This is quite a feat for the lock forward who battled a pesky ankle injury and had to shield and support lightweights in open weight rugby.
“We had three teams at Onslow, the First XV, the under 55’s and the under 65’s. We had five serious injuries in the First XV which meant the boys in the 65’s had to step up,” Plummer explained.
“We were last in Premier two, but we won the Isberg Cup for the first time in years and had a really positive chemistry.”
Plummer has added to the chemistry at Tawa. After a sluggish start to the season, Tawa have won their past five games and stand on top of the Jubilee Cup standings with a bye this coming weekend.
On Saturday, Plummer played the entire 80 minutes in Tawa's 24-21 win over Hutt Old Boys Marist, the Eagles’ first loss in 2019. In their previous meeting Plummer was penalised close to fulltime which enabled HOBM to kick a penalty and hang on for a narrow 25-24 victory.
A week earlier Plummer was the Player of the Match in the comeback 24-17 triumph against Petone.
“There’s a lot of younger guys at Tawa with a similar attitude and ambition to me. That’s why I joined the club,” Plummer says.
“The experience and support of the older boys like Sitiveni (Paongo), Hemi (Fermanis), and Tolu (Fahamokioa) has been great too.”
Plummer has had trials for the Wellington XV against Manawatu on Queen’s Birthday and the Wellington Under-19’s, as well as playing for matches for the Hurricanes U20 side at the start of this season.
“It’s an exciting time. We are building all the time at Tawa and I would love to make the 19’s, but I’m not getting too far ahead of myself.”
He started playing rugby when he was six and played in the backline as a first five-eighth until he was 16, where he then moved to lock.
In addition to rugby, Plummer has dabbled in cricket, rowing and American football.
Plummer is one of four siblings. His older half-sister Francis is married to former Maori All Black and Hurricane Shannon Paku. Plummer studies law and commerce at Victoria University.
Fast Questions
Favourite Movie: Star Wars
Favourite Band: Mako Road
Hobbies: Plumbing
Favourite Non Rugby Team: New Orleans Saints
-WRFU
The Oriental-Rongotai Women's team with the Rebecca Liua'ana Trophy after their win over Marist St Pats
Wainuiomata and Tawa are the two unbeaten teams through two rounds of the 2019 Jubilee Cup Championship round-robin, after both had tight results in the two Hutt Valley games on Saturday.
At William Jones Park, Wainuiomata scored a late converted try to pip Northern United 24-22, while at the Hutt Recreation ground, Tawa held off a fast-finishing Hutt Old Boys Marist to win 24-21.
In the third match of the second round, Poneke beat Petone 24-13 at Kilbirnie Park.
In the Premier 2 Hardham Cup, Old Boys University topped Paremata-Plimmerton 63-7 at Ngatitoa Domain, the Avalon Wolves defeated the Johnsonville Hawks 53-27 and the Wellington Axemen beat the Upper Hutt Rams 45-18.
Oriental-Rongotai won their eighth straight Women’s Rebecca Liua’ana Trophy match to win the first round title, beating Marist St Pats 50-17.
Ories will be joined by Norths, Petone, Old Boys University and possibly one other (to be confirmed) in the second round Division 1 competition starting next Saturday.
In other Women’s matches, Norths beat Petone 46-0, OBU beat Wainuiomata/Avalon 67-0 and Paremata-Plimmerton defeated Poneke 91-0 to seal either the fifth Division 1 spot or top Division 2 spot depending on what the make-up of the second round will be.
The Avalon Wolves U85kg side also won their first round title on Saturday, shooting to an unassailable lead at the top of the first round competition with a round to spare with their hard-fought 13-10 win over the Paraparaumu side.
The Wolves will collect the JC bowl next week when they meet the second placed Upper Hutt Rams, who beat the Wests Roosters 36-24 on their Old Timers’ Day.
The second round of Championship matches were played on a cold, blustery afternoon around the region.
At the Hutt Rec, home side and first round champions HOBM started strongly, but were met by a wall of Tawa defence that was to prove tough to crack all day.
Tawa withstood the pressure and broke out to score two first tries, to prop Sitiveni Paongo and wing Romu Senileba to go to a 14-0 lead at halftime. Turning with the wind, Tawa added a third try, to Senileba.
The Eagles hit back with two quickfire converted tries to cut Tawa’s lead to 21-14, before replacement Tawa first five-eighth Sam Clarke kicked a penalty to restore a buffer. However, HOBM scored with the last play to come away with a losing bonus point.
At William Jones Park, Wainuiomata scored the winning try to replacement wing Saita Tuaoi with just over 5 minutes to run after a rush up the left hand lane and fullback Josh Robertson-Weepu converted to give them their 24-22 win over Norths.
Wainuiomata came back from an early deficit after Norths had made a fast start with hooker Ethan Robinson-Mate scoring in the opening minute of play and then No. 8 Luca Rees crossing to make it 12-0.
Wainuiomata first five-eighth John Monu scored a solid individual try in reply to make it 12-7, before his opposite Jackson Garden-Bachop kicked a penalty to make it 15-7. Wainuiomata would go ahead 17-15 through the boot of Roberton-Weepu and a try to halfback TJ Va’a who stripped the ball free in the tackle and scuttled clear. Norths re-took the lead through a try and conversion to Garden-Bachop but lost a player to a red card which aided in the home side’s win at the end.
At Kilbirnie Park, Poneke beat Petone 24-13 in a dogfight. Playing with the wind, Poneke opened the scoring with a Pakai Turia penalty, followed soon after by No. 8 Tupou Sopoaga getting across the line after kicking ahead for himself. Turia strolled over from a scrum move before penalties led to a 16-8 halftime lead.
A break for a change of referee early in the second spell seemed to galvanise the home team and a period of pressure saw prop Soti Faamausili cross the chalk. Petone responded through centre Josh Onekawa but the loss of Adam Simpson to the bin proved too much to overcome, with Turia adding a fourth penalty on fulltime.
In the Premier 2 Hardham Cup, OBU were too fast in the backs for Paremata-Plimmerton in beating them 63-7. Playing into a stiff wind in the first half, OBU scored four first half tries and took a 24-0 lead into the break. Paremata-Plimmerton’s forwards had their moments and went close to scoring just prior to halftime but were held out by determined defence.
OBU spun the ball wide from the opening kick-off of the second spell and speedy right wing Trevahn Ta’ufo’ou flew over for the match-winner in the far corner. Second five-eighth Dale Sabbagh slotted the sideline conversion and at 31-0 the game was in the bag.
The home side briefly threatened, again through the forwards, and tighthead prop Junior Davey scored. From there, OBU ran in several more tries. Ta’ufo’ou scored a hat-trick and fullback Sam Reid and replacement wing Jack Green scored a double.
At Hataitai Park, the Wellington Axemen were comfortable winners over the Upper Hutt Rams.
The Rams opened the scoring through hooker Josh Houston-Tupou, but the Axemen struck back with a trio of tries to flanker Max Allen, midfielder Eremia Tapsell and No. 8 James Poloniati. The Axemen would go on to lead 24-18, after they scored their bonus point try to Teo Fudakowski and the Rams crossed again.
The Axemen pulled ahead 38-18 midway through the second half, and then scored once more to seal their win.
At Fraser Park, the Avalon Wolves were also impressive against the Johnsonville Hawks. The Wolves were coming off their bye and raced to a 29-10 halftime lead. Centre Jordan Aquila, loose forward option Scott Waldrom and blockbusting midfielder Ale Peni scored their first three tries as they went ahead 19-5. Jordan Aquila scored his second try just before the break.
Fullback Site Timu and Waldrom scored again to seal the match. Johnsonville came back, including left wing Connor Franklin scoring a double, but replacement Avalon halfback Jordan King scored and converted his own try to clinch victory.
Marist St Pats earned their second straight bonus point win in the Division 1 Colts John E Kelly Cup competition, beating Oriental-Rongotai 30-0.
First round winners Old Boys University Green bounced back from their loss to Ories last week by beating Paremata-Plimmerton 20-0. OBU had first use of the wind but took a long time to settle. An early penalty was eventually followed by a forwards try from a lineout drive and they went up 10-0.
Paremata-Plimmerton tried to avoid too many set-piece exhanges and attacked with vigour early in the second half. OBU withstood this, and scored their second try through a lineout drive to go up 15-0. They then crossed for their third and match-winner out-wide with about 15 minutes to play.
Tawa beat Petone 36-19 and Norths beat HOBM 34-25 in the other two Division 1 Colts games. In Colts Division 2, OBU Black and the Avalon WolfCubs are the two unbeaten teams, OBU beating Wainuiomata 43-8 and Avalon defeating Johnsonville 42-14.
The early Premier Reserve game at Kilbirnie Park was as tight as the main game that followed it. Petone’s 15-0 halftime lead had been pegged back to 15-14 when former All Black Piri Weepu entered with 15 minutes to play. Wearing #1 but at first-five his influence was immediate and dramatic as the visitors scored three times to pull away to win 34-14.
The other two Premier Reserve Ed Chaney Cup matches saw Tawa beat HOBM 44-26 and Norths ease past Wainuiomata 86-7.
In Premier Reserve Division 2 HD Morgan Memorial encounters, the Upper Hutt Rams edged Wellington 19-17, while OBU beat Paremata-Plimmerton 38-18 and Johnsonville toppled Avalon 51-28.
-WRFU
Photo: Stokes Valley RFC
The Delaney Park clubrooms will be a popular place this Saturday with the Stokes Valley Rugby Football Club celebrating its first 70 years.
“We have got people coming from Australia and around the country and a lot of players from the 1970s, 80s and 90s for our celebration so some good stories should be told,” says club Chairman Graeme Hardie.
Formed in 1949, the club has had its ups and downs but continues to be an important part of the Stokes Valley community.
“We have got three senior teams – First Grade, Reserve Grade and Presidents. We have got junior teams in every grade and we have got six netball teams as part of the club.”
Hardie says inclusiveness is a key to the survival of the club in what are tough times for local sport in general. “It is also having an open-door policy for whoever wants to be involved, whether that is playing, managing or supporting.
“In recent times we have also formed an alliance with our local Samoan church. They use the clubrooms on a Sunday and some of them play for us.”
Like all community clubs, there is a big emphasis on whanau. “A lot of the parents of the kids that play are members of the senior club, on and off the field.”
The club was formed on 18 January 1949 and started with one team in the Junior 2nd Grade, growing to four teams by 1964. In 1965 the club gained "Senior" status in the Senior 3rd Grade and between then and 1989 (next 25 years) the club grew in size, averaging 8-10 teams per year with the top team in either the Senior 3rd or Senior 2nd Grade.
In the 1990 and 1991 seasons, the club was at its zenith with 11 teams and the Senior 2nd team winning promotion against University to the top WRFU grade Senior 1sts in 1991. This grade became the Premier Grade in 1992 and the club held Premier status for four seasons, contesting the Swindale Shield and Hardham Cup.
A group of people have been with the club over a long period, including Hardie who started at Stokes Valley 24 years ago. “We have got Life Members in Trevor Couchman and Steve Windmill who are both still very active and they have been with the club for well over 40 years.”
Hardie and Couchman are both active WRRA referees.
In the modern era, Hardie says a highlight for the club was winning the Premier Reserve Ed Chaney Cup in 2008.
Several players have played higher rugby whilst representing the club, such as Neroli Knight who was a Black Fern in the early 1980s and No.8 John Cummings who played for Wellington and captained Wairarapa-Bush in the early 1980s.
Several juniors have gone on in recent seasons to forge successful careers in professional rugby, such as Brad Shields, Mike Kainga, Jason Woodward and Kat Whata-Simpkins.
Plus, a number of former Stokes Valley juniors are active playing Premier and Premier Reserve rugby for other clubs in the Hutt Valley and Wellington.
Hardie says there is a positive future. “We are living in changing times, but we are changing with the times. This weekend is a celebration of 70 years, but it is also the start of our re-birth as a rugby club for the next generation.”
On the field, Stokes Valley’s top team were hoping to earn promotion to the HD Morgan Memorial grade starting this Saturday. To do so they needed to have wrapped up the first round First Grade Thompson Memorial Trophy with two weeks to spare (as that grade is still being played beyond this Saturday). They would have done this if not for the Avalon Knights beating the HOBM Barbarians this past weekend.
Thus, the team’s goal for the remainder of 2019 is to win the First Grade first and second round double, which HOBM achieved last year.
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Wainuiomata v Oriental Rongotai, 27-0. Photo: David Brownlie
There are two rounds to play in the Premier Swindale Shield and 10 of the 14 teams still have much to play for.
Northern United have joined leaders Hutt Old Boys Marist in the ‘top 7’ and with a place in the championship round Jubilee Cup, while three teams are tied in seventh place, after a series of emphatic wins in windy, showery conditions on Saturday.
Expectedly, Hutt Old Boys Marist put away Johnsonville 50-14 at Helston Park to register their eighth straight win of the competition and move to 39 points on the standings.
Norths consolidated second by beating the Upper Hutt Rams 48-22 at Onepoto Park to move to 34 points.
Oriental-Rongotai are the only other team that can mathematically win the Swindale Shield, despite being overhwelmed 0-27 by Wainuiomata at William Jones Park, to remain on 30 points.
The title race is not over however, with HOBM set to play Ories this coming Saturday and then Norths in the 10th and final round.
Poneke are fourth on 26 points, despite being well beaten 13-41 by Old Boys University at Kilbirnie Park.
A group of three teams are just behind on 25 rounding out the current top 7 standings, these being Wainuiomata, OBU and Petone.
Like Wainuiomata and OBU, Petone had a sizable bonus point win on Saturday, beating the Wellington Axemen 58-22.
Of the rest of the field, Tawa on 22 points, Marist St Pats on 21 and the Upper Hutt Rams on 15 are eighth, ninth and 10th respectively and can still qualify for the Jubilee Cup.
Both Tawa and MSP continued the high scoring theme on Saturday, with Tawa beating the Avalon Wolves 43-14 and MSP defeating Paremata-Plimmerton 63-7.
The Rams have kept their championship chances alive for another week by virtue of a late bonus point try they scored in their defeat to Norths.
Avalon on 12 points, Wellington on 10, Paremata-Plimmerton on 4 and Johnsonville on 1 will be making preparations for the Premier 2 second round Hardham Cup when they convene at training on Tuesday night.
In some round eight Swindale Shield highlights, in which all seven winners won with bonus points, leaders HOBM beat Johnsonville who showed fight for long periods but couldn’t match the Eagles’ firepower.
This was led by Hurricanes training squad hooker James O’Reilly, who scored two tries. First five-eighth Glen Walters also scored two tries and 20 points, as the Eagles led 26-14 at halftime and pulled ahead in the second spell.
Wainuiomata kept Ories scoreless at home at William Jones Park, while scoring four tries themselves. They led 10-0 at halftime on the back of a penalty and conversion to fullback Josh Robertson-Weepu and a try to second five-eighth Peter Umaga-Jensen.
Wainuiomata more than doubled their score with a pair of match-winning tries early in the second half, through wing Saita Tuaoi and flanker Marvin Karawana, before sealing it with another try to inside centre Umaga-Jensen.
At Kilbirnie Park, Old Boys University retained the Beet Algar Rosebowl with their comfortable win over Poneke.
Playing into the wind in the first half, OBU established a two tries to nil lead late in the first half, before a decisive try right on halftime to right wing Trevahn Taufoou pushed the score out to 22-6.
Early in the second half, OBU scored again through right wing Joe Hill after a surge by No. 8 Teariki Ben Nicholas and first five-eighth Dale Sabbagh converted from the sideline and at 29-6. Poneke fought back and would score a try through Alex Morrisey but that was their only reward.
At Onepoto Park, Norths retained the Terry Farrow Memorial Cup against the Upper Hutt Rams by winning by an 8 tries to 4 margin.
Norths scored their first try from the opening kick-off, with No. 8 Luca Rees scoring his 14th of the season. The Rams quickly replied through Jayden Treviranus, but Norths had four more by the break including a double to Dudley Parsons against one from Konelio Feaunati.
Norths continued to pile on points in the second spell, centre Losi Filipo and prop Gerard Faitatoa both crossing to seal victory.
At Petone, the home side beat the Wellington Axemen 58-24, 9 tries to 3, to retain the Bill Francis / Jack Taylor Trophy. It was all-too easy for Petone at times, who, like Norths, scored early and kept their foot on the accelerator throughout.
Petone would lead 27-0 late in the first half and then 27-10 by the break with the Axemen kicking a penalty and scoring a good long-range try of their own through lock Angelo Smith.
Petone capitalised on poor defence early in the second spell, scoring twice more to extend their lead. The Axemen came back with a penalty try, but Petone pulled away again. Flanker Jacob Gooch and replacement wing Sam Blackburn both scored braces.
At Fraser Park, Tawa had the game wrapped up at 26-0 by halftime against the Wolves. Early tries to fullback PJ Iosefo and left wing Romu Senileba set the tone, These were followed by two more, to prop Tolu Fahumaokio and centre Tom Maiava.
Avalon started the second half with purpose but Tawa weathered this and outscored them three tries to two in the second 40 minutes. Iosefo finished with a hat-trick of tries for Tawa.
At Ngatitoa Domain, Marist St Pats boosted their Jubilee Cup hopes by beating home side Paremata-Plimmerton 63-7. Playing into the wind, MSP took a 32-0 lead into the break. MSP scored again to make it 39-0 and there was no coming back for Paremata-Plimmerton from there.
Four players scored doubles for MSP, including the Proctor brothers, James and Billy, flanker Tom Horan and replacement back Grayson Whitman.
Three of the scheduled women’s sixth round matches went ahead this weekend in the Women’s Rebecca Liu’ana Trophy, after Hutt Old Boys Marist defaulted to Oriental-Rongotai on Friday.
Northern United were made to work hard before beating OBU 27-17 at Nairnville Park after leading 15-12 at halftime and then coming back after OBU scored the opening try of the second spell and briefly took the lead.
Ories stayed in their clubrooms and collected a bonus point win, defaulted to by HOBM
On Friday night, Wainuiomata beat Poneke 41-10, while MSP beat Pare-Plimmerton 27-17.
The Marist St Pats second XV won their eighth straight win in the second tier Premier Reserve Harper Lock Shield competition, beating Paremata-Plimmerton 71-0.
In the early game at Onepoto Park, Norths leapt out to a handy lead only for the Rams to close it to 25-34 inside the last 10 minutes. But Norths had the final say with two closing tries to prevail 46-25. They are second behind MSP with seven wins.
Third placed Tawa overcame Avalon 61-12, fourth placed Petone beat Wellington 67-3, fourth placed Poneke pipped OBU 19-15, fifth placed Ories toppled Wainuiomata 45-0 and 11th placed HOBM beat 13th place Johnsonville 44-17.
Three close matches formed this week’s Colts Division 1 Paris Memorial Trophy round. OBU Green assumed the outright lead beating MSP 12-10 at Ian Galloway Park, leaving the Paris Memorial Trophy theirs to lose.
HOBM remain third but were beaten by Tawa 22-19, lifting Tawa from bottom into 6th while Petone beat Paremata-Plimmerton 22-12 in a pair of results that could have significant implications on the second round with two teams potentially being relegated. The fourth match saw Norths keep the Upper Hutt Rams winless, prevailing 34-6.
At Petone, the home side went ahead 12-0 early with a pair of tries. Paremata-Plimmerton hit back with a runaway try to their first five-eighth to make it 12-7. But that was as close as they would get. Petone kicked a penalty and then scored the try of the match with their centre cutting through to make it 22-7 at halftime.
The second half was a mostly scrappy affair, with Petone’s forwards on top but Paremata-Plimmerton holding a territorial advantage as they had the wind in the favour. Finally in the 70th minute, Paremata-Plimmerton were rewarded for their endeavour by scoring their second try of the match and the only score of the second half.
Oriental-Rongotai remained in charge of the Colts Division 2 standings winning 31-17 over Wainuiomata while OBU Black edged out Johnsonville 15-14. Avalon and Wellington met in the other match.
The Upper Hutt Rams and Avalon each won their fifth straight wins today in the U85kg JC Bowl first round competition.
The Rams beat Eastbourne 27-5 and Avalon battled past the Johnsonville Terrahawks 17-10.
Wests had their first win of the season in beating MSP 17-14, while Wellington beat the OBU outfit 47-14 and the HOBM Howlers met Paraparaumu in the other match.
The Avalon Knights and the Stokes Valley Chiefs made it three from three in the First Grade Thompson Memorial Trophy, with Stokes Valley beating Norths 46-19 and Avalon toppling OBU 24-19. In the third game, defending champions the HOBM Barbarians overcame the Wainuiomata Warriors 56-15.
-WRFU
Photo: Radar Photography
Women’s rugby across the decades will be celebrated at the Ngatitoa Domain this Saturday with a special Gala Day opening to kick the season off.
The season opening event will help recognise 30 years of women’s rugby in Wellington which officially started in 1989.
Not only will it feature all senior women’s teams playing at the same venue for the first round of the Rebecca Liua’ana Trophy, but there will also be a junior girls’ Rippa tournament to feature the next generation of players coming into the sport.
An after-match function will be held for the teams, which will be marked with the presentation of 50th caps to Pride representative players.
Women’s rugby in Wellington continues to produce hugely positive results with player numbers increasing 7% in 2018.That has seen the number of registered players grow to 1300.
Those numbers will hopefully continue to increase as the women’s game receives more exposure like the tremendous efforts of the Wellington Pride side which won the Farah Palmer Championship last season.
The performance of the side saw five of the Pride side contracted to the Black Ferns squad.
Following on from the Gala Day, a Girls Holiday Programme will be held in the first week of the school holidays between April 15 and 18 at the Petone Rugby Football Club.
More exciting news for the women’s game is the announcement of the first women’s curtain raiser to a super rugby game in the capital.
The annual Hurricanes club night on Friday 17th May will have added meaning to it next month with a curtain raiser to be played between the top two Wellington women’s club sides, Northern United and Oriental Rongotai.
It will be the first time a women’s club rugby match has been played at Westpac Stadium and the first time a women’s curtain raiser has been played before a Hurricanes home match.
It also promises to be an exciting and entertaining fixture, especially if it comes close to last year’s women’s final between the two sides that ended with Northern United coming out on top 20-15.
Gala Day Matches (all 11:30am kick-off):
Paremata-Plimmerton v Old Boys University; Ngati Toa Domain #1
Hutt Old Boys Marist v Poneke; Ngati Toa Domain #2
Northern United v Marist St Pats; Ngati Toa Domain #3
Oriental-Rongotai v Petone; Ngati Toa Domain #4
-WRFU
PHOTO: David Brownlie
A series of close games and come-from-behind wins has marked the second round of both the Premier Swindale Shield and Premier Reserve Harper Lock Shield competitions, played on another glorious day around the region on Saturday.
With the exception of a couple of blowout results, the rugby was generally hotly contested, as teams again battled the prevailing warm weather and hard grounds as well as their oppositions.
Northern United and Oriental-Rongotai sit atop the Swindale Shield with two bonus point wins, while Poneke and Hutt Old Boys Marist are the other two unbeaten teams.
The Northern United – Old Boys University Premier Reserve match ended in a 19-19 draw after OBU chased down a kick and ran in a late try, and it seemed the Premier contest that followed was heading the same way at 25-25 with two minutes to play.
But, livewire Norths first five-eighth Esi Komaisavai intercepted a pass in general play and sprinted 60 metres to score the match-winning try and see his side retain the Ken Douglas Trophy with a 30-25 victory.
In a tight seesaw match, OBU had taken a 15-10 lead into halftime, weathering waves of Norths possession and territory at the other end, to counterattack and score two forwards tries from their only two clear chances of the half.
Norths broke open the game immediately after halftime, with a turnover from a lineout on halfway and a runaway try, but OBU hit back once more when second five-eighth Izzy Foai joined his forwards at close-quarters and dived over to keep the game on tenterhooks.
At Fraser Park, Oriental-Rongotai’s top team won relatively comfortably against Avalon but not without the home team threatening a comeback with a burst of try-scoring themselves midway through the second half.
Ories had too much firepower out wide in the first half, as wing Tuga Mativa’s hat-trick helped them to a 29-7 halftime lead. This soon became 41-7 with two more tries. but Avalon struck back to close the deficit to 41-24 after 55 minutes and it was game on. However, the scoring dried up completely and that became the fulltime score.
The Harper Lock Shield match at Fraser Park saw Avalon leading Ories 19-7 at halftime and still ahead 33-21 after 65 minutes, but a late burst by Ories gave them a 42-33 win.
At Lyndhurst Park, Hutt Old Boys Marist edged Tawa 25-24, pipping the home side after scores were deadlocked 10-10 at halftime when Tawa centre Pepesana Patafilo burst through to score under the bar.
Tawa lost a player to the sin-bin after the break, leading directly to a HOBM try and a 17-10 lead for the Eagles. Tawa hit back with a try to hooker Tony Coburn to lock it up at 17-17, then took the lead when left wing Faraimo Nofoaiga scored and flyback Sam Clarke converted. Trailing 17-24, the Eagles came back to win at the end with a try and a penalty.
For HOBM, Centre Jordan Bradbrook, first five-eighth Anthony Utanga and prop Rei Manaia scored their three tries and halfback Sheridan Rangihuna found his range off the kicking tee.
Tawa won the Harper Lock Shield curtain-raiser 70-14.
The Upper Hutt Rams supporters can thank a strong second half at home at Maoribank Park from their Premiers, as that propelled them to their 46-26 win over the Wellington Axemen. After a tightly contested first half and a tense third quarter, the Rams came through late to take their 20-point victory.
Openside flanker Dan Schrijvers scored a hat-trick, his brother Hayden scored one try and fullback Tyler Tane scored two in the seven tries to four win for the Rams.
The Rams won the Premier Reserve early game 73-5.
At Ngatitoa Domain, home side Paremata-Plimmerton pushed Poneke hard throughout the main match, before going down 17-37.
As they always do playing at home, Paremata-Plimmerton brought a lot of early energy to the encounter and they applied all the early pressure and opened the scoring. It was 10-10 late in the first half, before Poneke took the lead for the first time to take a 15-10 lead into the break.
Poneke’s Moananu coaching duo of Misipalauni and Toto made strategic personnel changes at half time, up front and in the midfield and this soon paid off as they pulled clear in the final quarter. Fullback Michael Sage finished with two tries.
Poneke won the earlier Harper Lock Shield game against Paremata-Plimmerton 57-8.
At William Jones Park, home team Wainuiomata overcame Petone 18-13 to win the Darren Larsen Cup that is played between these two sides.
There was little room given defensively by both teams, as Wainuiomata led the Villagers 13-10 at halftime and battled hard in a sloppy second half to win. Petone, missing several key players for this match, were left to rue moments of inaccurate play and handline errors. Wainuiomata physicality in the breakdown proved telling, but poor discipline also let them down and they were reduced to 13 players at one point. Lock Teru Teru and left wing Saita Tuaoi scored their only two tries.
Roles were reversed in the early match at William Jones Park, with Petone winning 41-17.
Marist St Pat’s were the day’s biggest winners, over-running the Johnsonville Hawks 71-5 at home at Evans Bay. MSP won 10 tries to one, with eight individuals crossing the whitewash and wings Ricky Manulaiatea and Iosefo Aukusitino bagging braces. Centre Willie Shultz slotted nine conversions and a penalty for 21 points.
For Johnsonville, their only try was scored by replacement lock Taewa Rima.
MSP’s Premier Reserves and defending Harper Lock Shield champions overcame the Hawks second XV 101-5.
MSP, Tawa and Ories are three teams unbeaten on 10 competition points after the first two rounds of the Harper Lock Shield.
-WRFU
Round two of the Swindale Shield sees a mouth-watering clash at Porirua Park between defending first round Swindale champions (Northern United) and last year’s Jubilee Cup winners (Old Boys University).
Both Norths and OBU were two of six teams to start their 2019 seasons with bonus point wins in an opening round, played in hot sunshine throughout the region.
Norths were the day’s biggest victors on the scoreboard, beating the Johnsonville Hawks 76-17 at home to retain the Barlow Trophy. Norths scored 12 tries and first five-eighth Jackson Garden-Bachop kicked eight conversions.
New Norths recruits, No. 8 Luca Rees (4 tries), openside flanker Bruce Kauika-Petersen and centre Losi Filipo were amongst the scorers, while second five-eighth Kienan Higgins crossed for a brace.
The OBU Billygoat’s forwards paved the way for their 30-6 win over the Upper Hutt Rams at Maoribank Park.
OBU held a 10-6 lead after 20 minutes and were ahead 23-6 by halftime with their four-try bonus point locked away.
The second half remained scoreless until a few minutes before the end when OBU were awarded a penalty try, which sealed the outcome.
Other first-up bonus point winners were Oriental-Rongotai, Petone, Hutt Old Boys Marist and Avalon.
At Ngati Toa Domain, Ories turned a 10-0 halftime lead into a 57-0 win over Paremata-Plimmerton. Ories’ superior physicality and size took its toll on Paremata-Plimmerton as the contest developed.
Both Petone and Poneke had wins over other sides expected to challenge for the Jubilee Cup later in the season.
At Lyndhurst Park, Petone beat home side Tawa 41-22 – scoring four tries directly off Tawa’s dropped passes and intercepts. Two of these to right wing Willie Fine were runaway tries virtually from their own goal line totally against the run of play and both proved decisive.
The first of Fine’s tries came early in the second half with a player in the sin-bin and Tawa building momentum after getting back into the game just before halftime, with a penalty try after a break by centre Pepesana Patafilo and deliberate knockdown. Instead of being 10-22 behind and probably about to close the gap further, Fine scooted away to put Petone ahead 27-10.
Later, at 22-34 down and with a completely dominant scrum, Fine intercepted again and raced the length of the field to score the winner.
Petone first five-eighth Piri Paraone scored two of their other five tries, left wing Mark Telea the other. As well as their penalty try, Tawa crossed through prop Ben Aumua-Peseta and debutant right wing Caleb Cavubati.
For Petone, openside flanker Mateaki Kafatolu was a standout and lock Eduan Struwig toiled hard all match. Petone only made substitutions all match in their forwards, while Tawa made several and will need to shore up their errors fast, in particularly a misfiring lineout and a mistiming backline, apart from Patafilo who was a standout.
At Evans Bay Park, Poneke beat Marist St Pat’s in the ‘Battle of Kilbirnie’ and for the Horan-Millar Trophy 25-21, after taking an emphatic 18-0 lead into halftime.
Poneke first five-eighth Pakai Turia kicked two penalties and converted his own try to put Poneke ahead 13-0, before hooker Andrew Jones crossed the chalk to give Poneke a notable lead. It got better for Poneke early in the second half, when MSP flanker James Tuia was sin-binned and Poneke wing Royce Tonumaipea scored soon after to put them up 25-0.
MSP hit back with three tries of their own to cut the margin but ran out of time to affect a comeback win. To compound their problems, MSP ended the match with a couple of injury concerns. Poneke, who had several new players in their team, will be buoyed by this victory.
The Avalon Wolves started their 40th season and their first at the Fraser Park Sportsville complex by beating the Wellington Axemen 27-15. Second five-eight Jordan Aquila scored two of three first-half tries in their 19-5 halftime lead. Axemen prop Jason Bird scored to close the gap to 10-19 but flanker Sefo Aumua scored to clinch the win. For Wellington, prop Max Allen scored their other two tries. Avalon turned the clock back in this match with the Waldrom brothers, Thomas and Scott, both featuring.
Over the Wainuiomata hill, visitors Hutt Old Boys Marist overcame sweltering heat to defeat the home team 37-19. Fullback Glen Walters scored two tries as the Eagles extended a halftime 13-7 lead to 27-14 and held their advantage to fulltime. Left wing Salesi Rayasi was also full of running and flanker Jordan Gillies was as busy as he was all last season.
In the Premier Reserve Harper Lock Shield, last year’s first and second round champions Marist St Pat’s kick-started their year with a 46-22 win over Poneke.
Tawa held on to beat Petone 43-40 in a thriller, after taking a 24-0 late in the first half. Petone came back to reduce the deficit to 10 points, and then to three points with a try in the corner that was converted. Tawa had the deciding say with an intercept try a few minutes from the end.
The Upper Hutt Rams and Wainuiomata second XVs both reversed their Premier results that were to follow. The Rams beat the OBU Goats 15-12 and Wainuiomata defeated HOBM 39-19.
Northern United beat Johnsonville 48-5, Oriental-Rongotai beat Paremata-Plimmerton 45-21 and the Avalon Wolves beat the Axemen second XV 38-15.
Round two of both competitions is this coming Saturday 30 March.
-WRFU
