UPDATE: For Wellington club rugby draws 2020 visit Draws & Results in the menu tab above or click HERE
Mark down Saturday 21 March for the first day of club rugby in 2020 – the opening day of Autumn.
The shadows will be lengthening and the days getting shorter, but that means one thing in Wellington: the Swindale Shield.
The WRFU has released the draw for the first round of the 2020 season – and it is an exciting prospect.
The union’s 14 Premier clubs will commence battle for just seven places in the Jubilee Cup.
In the Premier competition, reigning Swindale Shield champions Hutt Old Boys Marist will line up against Scott Waldrom’s Avalon Wolves at Fraser Park in one of seven opening matches.
Round one also sees two feature matches with a clash between beaten 2019 Jubilee Cup semi-finalists Tawa and Oriental-Rongotai at the soon-to-be revamped Lyndhurst Park, alongside a repeat of the 2019 Hardham Cup final between Marist St Pats and Old Boys University at for the Jack Lamason Memorial Trophy Evans Bay Park.
Petone hosts HOBM for the coveted McBain Shield in round three on Saturday 4 April.
Fans will eagerly wait for round six to see the highly anticipated repeat of the 2019 Jubilee Cup final when Wainuiomata host Northern United at William Jones Park.
In the Premier Reserve competition, reigning Harper Lock Shield and HD Morgan Memorial Cup champions Marist St Pats will kick off their title defence against Old Boys University at Evans Bay Park.
The first round of the Harper Lock Shield sees a repeat of the 2019 Ed Chaney Cup final between Northern United and Petone at Porirua Park, with the final round seeing a repeat of the tight 2019 HD Morgan Memorial Cup final between the Upper Hutt Rams and Marist St Pat’s.
A success of previous years that will continue is the bye round during the Jubilee and Hardham Cup competitions.
Key features of the Swindale Shield include:
- 21 March home and away start
- Clubs are split into two pools based on their results at the end of 2019
- Clubs play a total of ten matches; six against the other teams in their pool as well as four crossover matches
- Clubs will not play three other clubs in the Swindale Shield, same as 2019
- The crossover matches were decided by a set formula that removed the need for clubs to pick who they did/didn’t want to play. The formula makes it as equitable as possible for all clubs when playing crossover matches
- One overall points table so clubs and fans know where their team stands in the race for the Jubilee Cup
- The season has no mid-week or double-header rounds
The draw is below at a glance. or visit HERE
