Early season club rugby steps up a gear this weekend

It’s a busy day tomorrow on the rugby fields for most Wellington clubs as preparations continue and squads are finalised ahead of the start of the competition season in a fortnight.

There are several inter-club Premier fixtures around Wellington on the first weekend of autumn, while Poneke travels to New Plymouth to play Tukapa in their annual Zemba Cup match.

It’s a week today to the start of the Manawatu Senior 1 club competition, also a fortnight to Wairarapa-Bush starting and its kick-off tomorrow for the 2024 Horowhenua-Kapiti Ramsbotham Cup competition.

A general short preview of much of the action tomorrow involving in the lower North Island follows below.

Starting with Wellington clubs, last year’s Swindale Shield champions Paremata-Plimmerton and regular modern contenders Old Boys University meet in a multi-squad fixture at Mana College. The Colts, Premier 2 and Premiers are in action with the main game at 2.30pm.

The Paremata-Plimmerton Women also play Oriental-Rongotai Women at Mana College, kick-off 12.00pm.

The Upper Hutt Rams and Oriental-Rongotai Premier squads kick off at Maidstone Park at 1.40pm.

The Wainuiomata and Wellington Axemen squads kick off at Mary Crowther Park at 1.30pm, after both clubs’ Premier 2 and Colts teams meet side by side at the same venue at 12.00pm.

Down at North Park, Petone and Marist St Pat’s kick off at 2.00pm in their Premier squads clash, after the Premier 2 game that goes at 11.30am.

Over at Porirua Park 3 (top field), the Northern United and Tawa Colts, Premier 2 and Premier squads kick off at 1.00pm and 2.30pm respectively.

There are also several pre-season lower grade club and college rugby matches in Wellington tomorrow.

The Hutt Old Boys Marist Premiers are in camp this weekend, although the HOBM Green Colts are away playing the Feilding Yellows Colts.

It appears that Johnsonville join HOBM as having the weekend off playing matches against other clubs.

Further afield, Avalon are heading over the hill to play Carterton, while (as noted above) Poneke are travelling to Taranaki to play the Tukapa Chooks in their recently revived annual Zemba Cup match.

Meanwhile, the Horowhenua-Kapiti Premier club rugby competition kicks off with a blast tomorrow and next Thursday under lights with the opening two rounds.

Tomorrow’s first round Ramsbotham Cup features a replay of last year’s final between Rahui and Shannon (won 23-22 by Rahui) at the Shannon Domain.

The two other matches see Foxton and Levin College Old Boys meet at Easton Park and Levin Wanderers and Waikanae play at Playford Park. Paraparaumu has the bye in the seven-team competition for 2024. All Horowhenua-Kapiti games kick off at 2.45pm, preceded by Premier Reserve curtain-raisers at 1.00pm.

The Manawatu Senior 1 competition kicks off next Friday, with most of the nine clubs not in action tomorrow. Two that are include Old Boys Marist who host the Border club at 1.00pm and Freyberg who are away at Bridge Pa in the Hawke’s Bay.

The Hurricanes are in action tonight in Palmerston North – our column below:

Aisle be Back: Hurricanes v Rebels and the BS