Ethan Webster-Nonu flies in for his match-winning try in home team Paremata-Plimmerton’s 21-17 semi-final win over Nelson Marist on Saturday. This last-gasp try set up an all-Wellington National Club 7s final, with Hutt Old Boys Marist winning 19-12. Photo: Andy McArthur – full gallery at https://clubrugby.smugmug.com/2026/2026-Sevens-/National-Club-7s-Mixed-Gallery-2-inc-presentations-pics/i-jBWknXS
A busy day of rugby in Porirua and Mana on Saturday, with mixed results for the home teams and success for one just over the hill in the Hutt Valley.
It is only pre-season, but the Hurricanes were shut out by the Chiefs 29-0 in their fixture at Jerry Collins Stadium.
Paremata-Plimmerton weren’t able to defend their National Club 7s title, but they gave it their best shot. Their last-gasp semi-final win over Nelson Marist was a thrilling way to make the final where they would meet Hutt Old Boys Marist in the final. The Eagles had been held to a 21-21 draw by Nelson Marist in pool play and came back from 0-12 down to beat Christchurch’s Burnside in their semi-final.
The final was a replay of November’s Wellington club American Ambassador’s Trophy decider and HOBM came out on top with a 19-12 win.
HOBM will host next year’s tournament at around the same date so lock it in – although as someone pointed out it might not be at the Hutt Rec as that is a cricket ground this time of year.
The Middlesex County Wavell Wakefield Cup – a fine trophy, as photographed on Saturday by Dave Lintott.
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This year’s tournament was a good revival after it had been run down for several years, in large part owing to Covid and its after-effects. Here’s hoping it can grow and gain some external sponsorship or backing from NZRU.
A National 15s Club Championship modelled on the First XV ‘Top 4’ would also go well, but the question is when to play it?
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The only thing missing from the National Club Sevens was a scoreboard, especially on field one.
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Did the All Blacks Sevens have a selection presence at the National Club Sevens?
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Player of the National Club Sevens final and one of the leading figures of the tournament, Rupeni Raviyawa scored 37 tries in 40 games for the Feilding First XV over the past two seasons. Feilding, who are coached by former Upper Hutt head Nathan Williams, were second in New Zealand last year and will join National Top Four champions Rotorua Boys’ High School at the Sanix World Youth Rugby Championship in Japan in April.
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Banuve Dretiverata from Burnside was eye-catching at Nationals. He’s been part of the Canterbury Under-16 and Under-19 teams, as well as the Tasman Development team.
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Nelson Marist playmaker Nic Sauira has played 10 NPC games for Tasman. Iva Sauira has four games.
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The tournament’s top try-scorer with 10 tries Corbin Lee spent last season playing for Havelock North’s Colts team that won the Hawke’s Bay Colts Championship. Teammate and scorer of eight tries CJ Mienie plays for Taradale.
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Greytown had a few players playing elsewhere, such as Le’Sharn Reiri-Paku, formerly of Wairarapa College, who was halfback for Havelock North last season and Andrew Tauatevalu who plays for Napier Pirate. Also, Greytown’s Sam Walton-Sexton was playing for Havelock North and Sam Smith for Greytown!
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The Harbour Hawks team from Dunedin had Marist St Pat’s players Preston Moananu and Rique Miln in their line-up.
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Defending champions Paremata-Plimmerton sustained a mid-tournament loss with talisman and Wellington Lions halfback Esi Komaisavai out injured later in pool play. Fears of a serious knee injury were alleviated and it is understood it is a MCL strain.
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Sideline Conversions apologises for mis-identifying the Coast team as being ‘Ngati Porou East Coast’ (as written in our preview on Friday) when it is in fact Coast RFC. They qualified by winning the King Country club sevens in November and right from their opening 12-26 loss to Paremata-Plimmerton were competitive.
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Perhaps most disappointing to us were Manukau Rovers, whom we thought would be one of the leading clubs at the tournament but failed to progress out of their pool.
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Another ‘presentation’ that was made at Ngati Toa Domain on Saturday was the handing over of the Wellington club rugby sevens American Ambassador’s Trophy from last year’s winners Paremata-Plimmerton to this year’s Hutt Old Boys Marist. For various reasons this was not presented in November when they won the WRFU club sevens tournament. It is recommended that sunglasses are required when walking past the HOBM trophy cabinet at their Hutt Rec clubrooms!
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Sideline conversions also found out some more information about player movement and transfers for the upcoming season, and we are starting to collate our spreadsheet for this. Any (confirmed 0nly) information please get in touch.
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Look for the February-March 2026 issue of Rugby News (on sale from today).
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This past weekend marked the start of the 2026 season, although, as always, there is a long lead-in to the start of the club competition’s proper in several weeks.
This coming weekend a revived Kimbolton Sevens tournament was marked down on the schedule, but it is understood this might be off – to be confirmed and if it is on we will look to be there too.
The annual Hurricanes region pre-season Academy Series between Wellington, Manawatu and Hawke’s Bay is on consecutive weekends in Palmerston North on 21 and 28 February. This is played in a ‘game of three halves’ format and the winner is awarded the Sam Doyle Memorial Trophy.
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The Hurricanes’ 29-0 pre-season loss to the Chiefs at Jerry Collins Stadium in Poruria featured five All Blacks in the forwards against one in the first half.
Good crowd at Porirua Park, in the stand and on the back, decked out in Hurricanes colours. The brand is strong. Just as well because we counted just eight of 39 players in the Hurricanes team that currently play for Wellington. There were others in the Chiefs such as Naitoa ah Kuoi.
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The Black Ferns Sevens celebrated Jorja Miller’s 22nd birthday by winning the Australian Sevens for the fourth time, and for the first time in Perth since the event moved west in 2023. Hosts Australia were subbed 29-7 in the final to snap a ten-game winning streak at HBF Park. The Black Ferns Sevens have won 45 out of 57 SVNS finals and 24 out of 34 against Australia. They have won three of four tournaments in the 2025-26 SVNS season, leading the league standings by four points with three tournaments to play. In the last 11 tournaments, the Black Ferns Sevens have won the Cup eight times with a 53-4 record in all matches.
The All Blacks Sevens lost four out of five matches but finished fourth. Frank “The Tank” Vaenuku scored six tries in six matches and looks a serious prospect at 20.
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Gregor Townsend coached his 100th international for Scotland in their 18-15 loss to open the Six Nations against Italy. Though his contract was extended in September 2025 to run until the end of the 2027 Rugby World Cup, pressure might be mounting on his role after a poor Autumn series and a rare loss to Italy. He has won 56 tests overall but never beaten Ireland, South Africa or New Zealand. Could Razor have a role to play in Scotland? Blues coach Vern Cotter is just one Kiwi to have coached the Scots.
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Dane Coles was announced last week as the recent prominent All Blacks player on the panel to select the next All Blacks coach.
It is ‘old news’ now, but a shoutout to the Paraparaumu Soldiers Premier coaching team this season, as below:
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Rest in Peace John O’Regan, after a long illness – always good for some rugby chat on the stairwell or in the lift of the Braemar building on his way up for some ‘fresh air’ on the roof.
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Old Boys University on the move!
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The Hurricanes Poua have signed Black Ferns fullback Renee Holmes, it was announced on Monday morning.
A story we did with her for another website we ran for several years, College Sport Media, was a favourite. At the time she was at Gisborne Girls’ High School, played multiple sports to a high level but was giving rugby a good go, which meant travelling return with her dad Laurie down to Hawke’s Bay during the week to train and on Saturdays to play. This was around the time in 2017 that she made her Hawke’s Bay Tuis debut in the Farah Palmer C Commitment paid off for her.
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