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Showing posts with the label clubrugby

Sideline Conversions 2 November (some rugby news to start the new week)

Georgia Daals on the burst for Petone against Poneke in their WRFU women’s 7s tournament on Saturday. Photo: Andy McArthur. The first of five scheduled Saturdays of sevens was held at Rugby League Park on Saturday with the first of the two WRFU women’s tournaments. The Petone Ponies have the upper hand heading into this...

Wellington Club Sevens underway tomorrow with Leg One of Eleanor Roosevelt Cup Women’s Tournament

We have blast off for the Wellington club rugby sevens season A scheduled four-week Wellington club rugby sevens series starts tomorrow with the first of two scheduled women’s tournaments. The plan  for the WRFU is to run two weeks of women’s and then two weeks of men’s club sevens over the next five weekends –...

Matchday Scoring Highlights: CSW 7s Open Boys Knockout Matches

The 2026 College Sport Wellington 7s tournament was held at its usual venue of Naenae College on Labour Day Monday. Conditions were fine but windy, with afternoon gusts sweeping down the ground. The action and results from the knockout and finals matches proved close. In the Open Boys competition, St Pat’s Silverstream and Wellington College...

Condor Sevens at Naenae College on Monday

Twenty-seven teams will vie for local supremacy at the annual College Sport Wellington Sevens tournament at Naenae College on Monday. The tournament returns to its traditional Labour Day date this year, after last year’s event was postponed a fortnight due to weather. There is also a change in the qualification for the National event in...

Summer of Sevens around the corner

Rupeni Raviyawa flashes in for a try at the WRFU Club Sevens last November for his new club Hutt Old Boys Marist. The Eagles won the series and in February won the National Club 7s and Raviyawa was one of the leading players of the tournament. Photo: Andy McArthur.  The 2026/27 sevens season for lower...

Sideline Conversions 19 October (some rugby news and information to start the new week)

The Wellington U85kgs plot their next move from the penalty and upcoming lineout in the corner in their match against Manawatu on Saturday. Monday morning edition – updates expected later today: That’s it for 15s rugby for the year for most. Just the NPC final to come, but for many readers of this website, when...

Best & Fairest competitions Teams of the Season

Best & Fairest starting halfback Esi Komaisavai celebrates a try for Paremata-Plimmerton against Johnsonville in early June. Photo: Stewart Baird Photography. By Scott MacLean, of the WRRA A big part of our end of season pieces is to name teams based on the Men’s Billy Wallace and Women’s Erin Rush Best & Fairest standings, which...

Sideline Conversions 12 October (some rugby news and information to start the new week)

Horowhenua-Kapiti No. 8 Mika Alaifatu scores a try that wasn’t on Saturday, after running on to a pass that was ruled forward by flanker David Leota-Johnson. H-K did score soon after and led with two minutes to play before a try on fulltime and then extra time momentum carried Whanganui to a 39-38 win.  Monday...

Aisle be Back: Bledisloe Cup in Auckland

Delirious All Blacks fans in the stands earlier this year. By Kevin McCarthy It’s so 2026 for everything to be moving at hyper speed. Even the very worthwhile tour of South Africa and Baltimore seems ages ago. Admittedly some of All Black bodies won’t feel that way, as indeed the injury list will testify. But...

Sideline Conversions 5 October (some rugby news and information to start the week)

Action from the Wellington Pride’s semi-final win over Hawke’s Bay. They are hosting the Northland Kauri at Wellington Stadium at 12.05pm.  The rugby to watch and follow is thinning, but there is still some to note and follow. The Hurricanes U16s tournament is this week in Whanganui. We previewed this in the body of our...

Matchday Scoring Highlights: Wellington U16s (20) v Hawke’s Bay U16s (17)

The two teams met in round one of the 2026 Hurricanes Youth Council U16 competition at Lyndhurst Park, Tawa, on Saturday. A very even game that could have gone either way and duly went down to the last play with Manawatu just failing to come up with the try at the death after a torrid...

Sideline Conversions 28 September (rugby news and information to start the week)

Commitment – Halfback Milly Mackey looks to get the offload away to Baylee Meroiti in driving rain in the second half of their win over Tasman on Sunday. Photo: Tane Nathan/Kinetic Images. We are just about at the end of the line for representative 15s rugby for 2026, particularly in Wellington. The Wellington Pride have...

Pioneers of Rugby in Wellington 142: Nev MacEwan

Nev MacEwan was a leading player in Wellington club rugby and for Wellington representative teams throughout his career which spanned 1954-67. MacEwan was a lock or No. 8 and specialist lineout forward. He played all his rugby for the Athletic Club, the last three seasons as captain and coach, leading his team to Jubilee Cup...

Matchday Scoring Highlights: Wellington U16s v Wellington Co-ed Schools U18s

The Wellington Co-ed Schools U18s is a new representative team, with players selected from those Co-ed schools who are mostly playing in the non-Premiership grades in the College Sport Wellington competitions. A number of high profile players have come through and risen to the top of the game from these schools in the modern era,...

Matchday Scoring Highlights: Hawke’s Bay U18s (42) v Centurions U18s (41)

For the neutral observer, this match featured some cracking tries by both teams – and its all packaged up in the highlights below. Hawke’s Bay trailed the whole game but scored a try when it mattered with the final play of the game and kicked the winning conversion on fulltime. Earlier, the Centurions had got...

Sideline Conversions 21 September (some news and information to start the new week)

Horowhenua-Kapiti and Ories flanker David Leota-Johnson surges forward on Saturday, flanked by teammates, including Petone prop Kafa Katoa and HOBM No. 8 Mika Alaifatu. Photo: Stewart Baid. They beat Thames Valley 57-26.  Monday morning edition: The first week of spring and the start of daylight savings at the end of this week mean the 15s...

If only the benches could talk

Above: The Petone Rec grandstand in its former glory. Credit: Petone Borough Council collection. By Touchline “Patrons of the Petone recreation ground are to be denied the use of the grandstand at the ground in future owing to the unsafe condition of the building,” declared the Dominion newspaper (forerunner of today’s “Post”), 89 years ago....

Sideline Conversions 14 September (some rugby news and information to start the new week)

Above: Wellington Centurions U18s lock Kitiona Talaepa runs on to Laifone Kamoto’s pass on Saturday. The Petone and USA Junior Eagle and Wellington College flanker have both been selected in the two-day Hurricanes U18s camp at Upper Hutt at the end of this week. Monday morning edition – updates to come: Another wild ride for...

Aisle be Back: All Blacks v South Africa 4.0

By Kevin McCarthy 32-26. Not a score prediction for the fourth and final test of the thriller Boks v All Blacks. Though New Zealand would happily take a win of that margin. No, 32 is the average age of the Springbok starting XV, and 26 the same for the All Blacks during the series before...

Matchday Scoring Highlights: Centurions U18s (53) v Wellington Māori U18s (21)

The two teams met in fine, windy conditions in their opening Hurricanes Youth Council 2026 Division 1 match at Kilbirnie Park this past Saturday. A feature of the encounter was the well-acquainted match-ups of many of the players, having been First XV teammates in their school sides all year and now opposing each other. There...