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Updates Tuesday: The opening day of the Hurricanes U16s tournament was in Hastings on Monday, with both Wellington teams winning their Division A Don Broughton Cup fixtures.
Wellington Gold beat Hawke’s Bay A 17-10 and Wellington Black defeated Manawatu 10-8.
In Division B Saracens Cup matches, Wairarapa-Bush beat Ngati Porou East Coast 29-0 and Poverty Bay overcame Horowhenua-Kapiti 20-7. Whanganui had the bye.
The tournament continues today and Thursday.
Update 2: Tuesday U16 tournament results:
Hurricanes U16 tournament Day 2 / Round 3 results and draw for Thursday's Finals Day. pic.twitter.com/0N0YlAdtM7
— ClubRugby (@ClubRugby) September 26, 2023
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The major news this week is off the field. The Wellington Rugby Football Union is holding a Special General Meeting on Wednesday at 6.00pm at the Hutt Old Boys Marist clubrooms. This follows the AGM earlier this year when no finances were presented. So presumably this will be to ‘open the books’.
It could be well worth going along, and it is understood a livestream of this is being proposed for those that can’t make it.
This also coincides with the appointment last week of new WRFU Chief Executive Tony Giles. He joins after spending a decade in the same role at New Zealand Softball, having formerly been a club rugby player in the Hawke’s Bay and in a short stint overseas. Presumably he will be across any curveballs thrown at him related to the above meeting this week.
Back on the field, the Wellington Lions are back at home hosting the Hawke’s Bay Magpies in the ninth round of the National Provincial Championship. This match is scheduled for 2.05pm on Saturday at Wellington Stadium, so the scene is set for a big crowd and an exciting match.
The Lions have already secured top spot for the following week’s quarter-finals, but they need to win their 22nd straight game and eighth defence of this tenure to lock the Ranfurly Shield away for the summer.
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The Centurions U18s play the Waikato Harlequins U18s in Turangi this coming Saturday.
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In the Heartland Championship, Whanganui host Horowhenua-Kapiti in a feature ‘Hurricanes region’ clash. Whanganui are playing to secure their place in the top four Meads Cup, while Horowhenua-Kapiti are playing for pride only.
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In their 21-game win streak, the Wellington Lions have restricted a third of opponents (7) to a solitary try or less.
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Reports received last week (but not verified) that Upper Hutt Rams captain Toby Crosby is moving codes to rugby league and joining the Warriors on a development contract. A great loss to the local game and to rugby if this is true.
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A try for Crosby’s Upper Hutt Rams teammate Salesi Rayasi in his 50th match for Auckland. In fact, Auckland’s only try of the match as they lost 18-16 to Taranaki in driving rain in New Plymouth on Saturday night.
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Alapati Leiua made his return to Porirua Park on Sunday, where it all began for him at Northern United in 2008. The former Porirua College student came off the bench for North Harbour against the Lions.
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Marist St Pat’s has appointed former Black Ferns Sevens coach Sean Horan as the Club’s new Director of Rugby.
He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the club with an extensive professional coaching resume that also includes a successful stint as the Bay of Plenty NPC head coach and more recently as the head coach of China’s Olympic Women’s Sevens programme. In his five-year stint as the Black Ferns Sevens coach Sean led the team to three out of the first four World Sevens Series titles and won the Rugby World Cup Sevens in Moscow in 2013; the side also won the Olympic silver medal in Rio in 2016.
Along with his coaching credentials, Sean is a former MSP Premier Men’s captain and Jubilee Cup winner.
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Lions flanker Brad Shields was penalised on Sunday for carrying the ball up into North Harbour’s 22. Something about leading with the other arm into the tackle.
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Two interesting signings by the Fijian Drua last week, both losses to local rugby in Palmerston North. Backs Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula and Waqa Nalaga both heading to Suva, at least for the duration of the Super Rugby season. Armstrong-Ravula was raised in Queensland and attended St Andrew’s College in Christchurch and is a man of the rugby world. His father is Fijian-Kiwi and his mother is Tongan-Samoan.
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It was Canterbury’s turn to win this year’s Crusaders trial, Canterbury beating Tasman 30-28 on Saturday. Canterbury also scored 30 points against Tasman breaking their run of 29 in four consecutive games.
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Kapiti’s Ben O’Keeffe with the whistle in yesterday morning’s mammoth RWC showdown between Ireland and South Africa.
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So the All Blacks play Ireland in their upcoming RWC quarter-final [likely]. Some say prospects for that game are similar to Stephen from Ireland’s sentiments in the clip here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFCvg8uokZc
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The North Harbour No. 8, Cameron Suafoa, would go well in the Swindale Shield.
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Bundee Aki the Man of the Match in the Irish win. Would he make the All Blacks? Or, better question, would he have prospered in the All Blacks like he has in Ireland?
Bundee Aki (Ireland) and Damian de Allende (Springboks) each ran 112 metres, opposing each other at second-five in Ireland’s 13-8 win over the World Champions.
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A pair of Heartland Championship 75th game milestones this past Saturday, with both Whanganui’s Dane Whale and Horowhenua-Kapiti’s Aaron Lahmert reaching the mark.
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Tony Hunter, a long-standing member and player of the Hutt Valley Marist Rugby Club and supporter of Hutt Old Boys Marist, recently passed away. Tony was a Player and a Team Manager for many years at Hutt Valley Marist. Tony was part of the Hutt Valley Marist 1961 Junior 1st side which won promotion to Senior “B”. And was in the 1st Senior Second side of 1962. Tony continued playing until the early 1970’s with many of his contemporaries.
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A solid return to the NPC by Aaron Cruden on Sunday for Waikato. The former Manawatu and Hurricanes All Blacks scored two tries and 20 points against Otago in a 47-7 win. Otago are a shell of their former selves, and at 12th and 14th on the standings, perhaps them and Southland could merge in the future?
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Hawke’s Bay’s Lincoln McClutchie has become the first player to reach a century of points for the year with 100 points to his name so far in the NPC. Wellington’s Aidan Morgan is fifth on the list with 77 points.
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Losi Filipo is now quietly the second highest try scorer in the NPC. The Petone right wing now has seven tries, one fewer than Northland’s Heremaia Murray. Filipo has scored five tries in his last three games.
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St Mary’s College and Petone centre Justine McGregor came off the bench and lent a nice assist for a try in her international debut on Saturday, in the Black Ferns XV’s win over the Samoa XV.
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A debut off the bench late in the game for Scots College captain Harry Irving, for the New Zealand Barbarians Schools team against the NZ Schools team. The NZSS team won 57-22. It is understood that Irving is joining Poneke next year.
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Watching the rugby league semi-final on Saturday night, it is easy to see its mass appeal. Fast-paced and exciting, unlike rugby which is a dirge by comparison. We have been living under a rock obviously for not noting this earlier, but a belated congratulations to former St Pat’s Silverstream five-eighth Rocco Berry who has been playing centre for the Warriors most of the year.
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Wales: 40 v Australia: 6
Australia is out of the Rugby World Cup at the group stage for the first time. Their record overall is 43-13. Wales has 29 wins in 47 World Cup matches.
They have only won five of 17 RWC games against Rugby Championship opposition since 1987, with two against Argentina (1991 and 1999) and two against Australia (1987. 2019 and 2023).
Wayne Barnes holds the record for most internationals (107), Rugby World Cup games refereed (23) and most tournament appearances (5).
James Slipper equalled George Gregan as Australia’s most capped Rugby World Cup player in his 20th match.
Warren Gatland has the most Rugby World Cup victories of any head coach with 17 (26 games), Eddie Jones is second with 15 (20 games). Gatland has only beaten Australia three times in 13 Tests.
Warren Gatland has 99 internationals wins, 76 with Wales, 18 with Ireland and five with the British & Irish Lions.
Wales’ biggest win against Australia previously was 28-3 in 1975 in Cardiff. Australia’s previous biggest loss at the World Cup was 16-40 against England in the 2019 quarter.
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Tonga missed a staggering 47 tackles in their 45-17 defeat to Scotland. Wales made a tournament record 253 tackles against Fiji.
Former Wellington Axemen Vaea Fifita was also red-carded for Tonga against Scotland.
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Winger Henry Arundell scored a record-tying five tries for England in his Rugby World Cup debut as debutant Chile was sliced apart 71-0 on Saturday. Josh Lewsey achieved the same feat against Uruguay when England beat them 111-13 in Perth in 2003. Rory Underwood scored five in a 58-23 win against Fiji in 1989 and Douglas Lambert scored five in a 41-13 win against France in 1907. Lambert’s record of five tries in a Test was a Tier I record until Marc Ellis scored six tries for New Zealand against Japan in the 1995 Rugby World Cup.
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The two England v Canada women’s Test matches will be broadcast only on the RFU’s YouTube channel, after failing to find a TV broadcaster. The BBC were offered the rights for free but turned them down. England beat Canada 50-24 in the first Test. England has won all six Tests this season. Centre Helena Rowland and fullback Ellie Kildunne scored two tries each. Lucy Packer was captain of England and scored a try from openside.
