Lyndhurst Park scene – looking very lush as it starts its new year of hosting rugby and is always good for a thriller or two such as last July’s semi-final between Tawa and Johnsonville.
The days are counting down until the start of the 2026 Wellington club rugby competition. Three grades kick off this Saturday, the Premier Swindale Shield, Premier 2 Harper Lock Shield and the Colts competition. All other grades start the following week.
Opening round Swindale Shield matches at a glance are (Premier 2 games are the same teams):
Petone v Tawa, Petone Rec
Old Boys University v Johnsonville, Nairnville Park (Cavubati Bowl)
Upper Hutt Rams v Poneke, Maidstone Park (Alby Makeham Cup and Bill Brien Challenge Cup defence)
Oriental-Rongotai v Paremata-Plimmerton
Northern United v Marist St Pat’s, Porirua Park (Maurice Standish Cup)
Wainuiomata v Avalon, William Jones Park (Tony Waldrom Trophy)
Wellington Axemen v Hutt Old Boys Marist, Hataitai Park
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Look out for our first comprehensive preview of the year to be published on Friday afternoon, preceded by several stories over the next few days including the annual Gains & Losses which is slated for Wednesday. We are still waiting to tie up some loose ends for that one (three to be exact as this is published).
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Can’t wait for your fix? the St Pat’s Silverstream First XV hosts the Feilding High School First XV this Wednesday as college rugby pre-season develops.
Feilding High School met Wellington College on Saturday, Wellington College winning 33-29.
Wellington College were twice 14 points to the good (14-0 and 21-7) against the run of play but Feilding pulled it back to lead 24-21 at one stage in the second half. Wellington College responded with a couple more tries to lead 33-24 before Feilding had the final say but fell short.
Wellington College kicked a couple of first half conversions from the sidelines and that was the difference in the end with both sides scoring 5 tries. Feilding might feel unlucky not to win but with well over a dozen handling errors they literally dropped the ball.
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The 2026 Club Rugby Tipping Competition starts this coming weekend and is now live. If you played last year just enter with your username from last week, or sign up a new account. The link for more for this is at the page above in the menu bar or just go straight to the competition page at: https://www.faceyoursfears.com/games/WGTN2026/join
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A smattering of club pre-season games in Wellington on Saturday, with the majority of clubs staying at home and fine-tuning their preparations before it all kicks off at 2.45pm this coming Saturday.
Sideline Conversions was at at Lyndhurst Park to see home side Tawa take on Christchurch’s Linwood. Johnsonville were also scheduled to play Tawa but it ended up being just these two clubs. Linwood won the game that was played in three spells of 40, 30 and 20 minutes (90 minutes of action) 59-21, although that was misleading because Linwood came up with their Premier squad and Tawa brought on many of their Colts and Premier 2 players in the middle stages when the scoreboard damage was done.
Nevertheless, Linwood, who were 2024 Christchurch champions and beaten finalists in the 84th minute in 2025 in the ‘Gold Watch’ decider, were clinical and organised with outstanding defence. They would go well in Wellington club rugby (although they would have to change jerseys when they play Wainuiomata). They led 21-7 at halftime, before running freely and scoring several tries in the second stanza. For Tawa, Hemi Fermanis was in fine form and is the heart and soul of Tawa’s pack, with others such as Wellington U19s flanker Luke Bidois and Randall Bishop (approaching his 200th game) playing well when they were on.
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Did you know? Tawa has won 150 out of 229 matches and reached the semifinals of the Jubilee Cup nine times since 2013. Tawa won the Jubilee Cup in 2013, 2016, and 2021, and were runners-up in 2024 and 2025.
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The opening round of the Manawatu Hankins Shield resulted in two sizable wins. Old Boys Marist beat Te Kawau 82-5 away at Rongotea, while Varsity opened their defence with a 55-17 win over Kia Toa at home, with first-five Scott Davidson playing his 200th game for the students. The other two results saw Freyberg beating College Old Boys 15-0 and Feilding Yellows defeating Linton 31-20. FOBO with the bye.
Round two in Horowhenua-Kapiti on Saturday, saw Rahui engaged in their second consecutive draw to start the year! They drew 16-16 with Paraparaumu. The other two games saw defending champions Foxton beat Waikanae 43-29 and Wanderers defeat Levin College Old Boys 28-22 in the battle of the Levin teams.
Taradale accounted for M.A.C 52-24 in round two of the Nash Cup in Hawke’s Bay, whilst Napier Old Boys Marist beat Hastings 39-16, Napier Tech defeated Havelock North 53-28 (Malachi Osman hat-trick) and Napier Pirate beat Bridge Pa 87-0 (Drew Berg-McLean try, Sheridan Rangihuna 10 conversions).
The Whanganui club competition starts on 11 April.
Further north, Tukapa bounced back from their pre-season defeat to Pōneke last week to open the Taranaki Premier season with a 21-15 win over Southern, Clifton beat New Plymouth Old Boys 40-31, Coastal beat Inglewood 32-24 and to cap off an action-packed day United (formerly Spotswood United) beat Stratford-Eltham 46-40.
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Defending champions HOBM open round one at the ‘Graveyard’ against the Wellington Axemen. HOBM’s recent record in Round One (noting 2024 when these two teams last met in the season opener):
2017: v Upper Hutt Rams, 23-33
2018: v Upper Hutt Rams, 43-17
2019: v Wainuiomata, 37-19
2020: v Ories, 11-3
2021: v MSP, 3-25
2022: v Norths, 25-10
2023: v Wainuiomata, 15-16
2024: v Wellington, 81-7
2025: v Wainuiomata, 38-15
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Top 10 Most Swindale Shield Wins Since 2020.
Petone 57
OBU 57
Ories 53
Tawa 53
HOBM 49
MSP 49
Upper Hutt 38
Paremata-Plimmerton 36
Norths 34
Johnsonville 32
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When was the last time, if ever, that two of the All Blacks coaching group were from Wellington?
When was the last time, if ever, that the Petone club provided an All Blacks coach?
In answer to the second question, we are thinking that could have been Mark Nicholls who was All Blacks vice-captain on the 1928 tour of South Africa and effectively the backs coach on that tour and the Invincibles tour in 1924/25.
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Tana Umaga playing for Petone in 2007. Tamati Ellison played in this same game, and he is the new NZ Māori team’s coach.
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Muir gets Life Membership of WRFU
Three-time Wellington Axemen Jubilee Cup winning coach and Wellington Lions coach and recent past President of the union Alan Muir was made a Life Member of WRFU at the union’s AGM last Thursday.
Read more HERE
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Meanwhile, the WRFU have moved their administration offices back to Rugby League Park, from NZCIS at Upper Hutt.
The Wellington Lions are also moving back to Wellington Stadium to play in front of 34,500 fans. Chief Executive Tony Giles spoke to Newstalk ZB’s Adam Cooper about this here:
It still doesn’t fully answer the question as to why though.
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Super Rugby Chat
The Blues claimed the inaugural Joeli Vidiri Trophy, an award created to honour the legacy of the Nausori Highlands-born Fijian and All Blacks international winger. Vidiri played a pivotal role in the Blues’ championship victories in the first two Super Rugby seasons in 1996 and 1997. By the time of his retirement in 2001, he held the franchise’s try-scoring record, with 43 tries in 61 appearances. Before students in the “Zoo” at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin began chanting “Waisake Naholo” to the tune of the White Stripes’ classic Seven Nation Army, the Blues had already adapted Eddy Grant’s 1988 anti-apartheid song ‘Give Me Hope Jo’anna’ into ‘Give Me Hope Joeli’ as a tribute to Vidiri. Vidiri scored 56 tries in 71 games for Counties, helping the Steelers make the 1996 and 1997 NPC finals. He died in May 2022, aged 48.
On July 1, 1972, Buller challenged North Auckland for the Ranfurly Shield and lost 35-0 at Okara Park in Whangārei. Winger Dennis Panther, a six-time All Blacks trialist, scored three tries, and 110-game Northland legend Brian Going scored twice. His brother, All Blacks halfback Sid Going, played part of the game in one boot after it fell off and Buller lock Orlando Nahr slipped the boot down the front of his shorts. Nahr played 122 games for Buller and captained his club, White Star, for 16 years, winning the senior championship in 1960, a year after his All Blacks trial. Buller’s captain in 1972, when they won five out of eight games and briefly held the Seddon Shield, was winger Brian Stack, an All Blacks reserve against the British and Irish Lions in 1966. Because he did not get on the field, he is not a capped All Black. Buller has had 12 unsuccessful challenges for the Log o’ Wood. Northland’s Ranfurly record is 17 wins, 33 defeats and a draw in 51 matches. They have had four winning challenges.
The lights went out at North Harbour Stadium during the Highlanders’ 39-19 win over Moana Pasifika. This is not the first time this has happened at North Harbour Stadium. On Anzac Day 2009, the power went out during a game where the Reds beat the Blues 31-24. In 2012, the lights went out at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington during the All Blacks’ 21-5 win over Argentina. In the 2023 Farah Palmer Cup Championship final, won by Northland 32-29 over Manawatū at the Central Energy Trust Arena in Palmerston North, there was a 30-minute power delay. CET is a power company.
Since beating the Blues 27-21 on May 17, 2025, Moana Pasifika have been “lights out” on defence. They have conceded 461 points in nine games, with the opposition reaching a half-century five times. Coach Tana Umaga has been assigned a specific defensive role in the All Blacks. Should these numbers raise concern for the national team?
The Hurricanes have scored 50 or more points in four of their six games this season, something the Crusaders have never done in any of their 15 championship-winning years. The Crusaders’ best is three games with over 50 points in a season. The 2017 Hurricanes also reached 50 points four times, while the 1997 semi-finalists did it three times and the 2016 champions only once. The Bulls, champions in 2010, hit 50 points four times that year. The 2017 Lions, who finished as runners-up, scored over 50 points in four matches, including three in a row. The 2025 Chiefs managed 50 or more points twice and 49 points twice. The first Blues team to win the championship in 1996 scored 40 or more points in seven of their 13 games. The 2002 Crusaders, who were 13-0, scored 40 or more points in four games, including a 96-19 slaughter of the Waratahs in Christchurch
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Shields continues with Hurricanes
Brad Shields has signed a one-year contract extension that will keep him at the franchise until the 2027 Super Rugby Pacific season. The deal means Shields will return to the Hurricanes for an 11th season in what is his second stint with the club, a decade-and-a-half after his debut in 2012.
Since then, the 34-year-old has become the fourth-most capped Hurricanes player with 133 appearances, standing as a key leader and prominent figure within the club.
“I’m super excited to be staying with the Canes for another year, and extremely grateful to the club for the opportunity,” Shields said. “I love where the club* is at, both on and off the field, with the players and management – we are building something very special.
*They can call themselves a club all day long, but the Hurricanes are not a club, they are a franchise or organization.
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The Hurricanes announced on Friday that interim chief executive Tony Philp has been confirmed as the club’s permanent CEO, having been interim chief executive since December.
As noted in Friday’s Aisle be Back column, Gillies and the Hurricanes took out a full-page advertisement in the ‘Post’ newspaper, basically asking people to come along to their games. What does this cost these days? Let’s say $2,500 (probably more). What about spending that money on paying for content? Like player features and profiles on the back page? So readers can get to know the players and promote them that way. We were convinced a couple of years back that was what the Phoenix were doing – getting saturation sports coverage and stories even about the most trivial things like their new signing stubbing his big toe at training, by the journalist who was basically a one-sport reporter. It worked for them though as their supporters knew everything about all the players and what was happening.
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A shoutout to Tawa TV, returning for another year. They are one of several live streaming operations serving supporters’ needs on a Saturday. The Te Upoko radio and feature match commentary show on 1161am and 87.6fm also returns.
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A question: For years OBU’s team song has featured the words “The Basin, the Bridge, and Trapper” referring to their home ground, their base (The Cambridge Hotel), and their Development Officer All Black great Dave “Trapper” Loveridge. But since none of those are current – their home games are split between Nairnville and Rugby League Parks, they’re now based out of Leroy’s on Plimmer Steps, and Loveridge now lives up the coast….. what will they be this year? Perhaps “Nairnville, Leroy’s, and Patches” honouring their long-serving co-manager?
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Wellington Premier club rugby top try scorers 2025:
Esi Komaisavai (Pare-Plim) 20
Herman Seumanufagai (Ories) 13
Louis Northcott (Pare-Plim) 12
Jacob Walmsley (J’ville) 12
Josh Love (UHR) 12
Kapu Broughton-Winterburn (HOBM) 12
Mitchell McLeod (OBU) 12
Wellington club rugby top try scorers 2005:
Julian Tupai (MSP) 12
Ollie O’Leary (Upper Hutt) 11
Daley Harper (Norths) 10
Peato Lafaele (Norths) 10
Micheal Pehi (HOBM) 9
Andre Pakau (Ories) 9
Hirini Robin (Tawa) 9
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The Te Upoko radio show returns this Saturday. 2026 is the 100th consecutive year of community rugby broadcasting in Wellington. The first club rugby match ever broadcast in Wellington was on Saturday, 23 July 1927 (on 2YA), between University and Wellington College Old Boys. The match was played at 2.30pm and broadcast live from Athletic Park. University won the match, 21-11, in front of a reported 9,000 spectators. The Match Day commentator was Chas (Charles) Lamberg. The commemoration is likely to arise on or around the Jubilee Cup Final. More details on their coverage this coming week in Friday’s preview.
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PHOTOS 2026: As well as social media all our photo galleries are put online here: https://clubrugby.smugmug.com/2026
Draws & Results: Please visit the ‘new’ website for this, connected to this one: https://stats.clubrugby.nz/
It is a work in progress, but all data is intact and the ‘old’ stats website still works we just can’t do anything to update it. We will also keep offline records again (like top try scorers and top point scorers etc).
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This column is a collaborative effort, to share news and information and help to keep people informed in one place and also free and open and not behind a paywall please contribute by emailing editor@clubrugby.co.nz or contacting us via social media.
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