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Rugby to roar this weekend, with College Finals, Representative and U85kg matches and Lions at home

Leo the Lion and the British Isles lions mascot at Athletic Park ahead of their match in 1966. Wellington won 20-6. This photo has nothing to do with the preview below, but we found it in our archives so here it is. 

  • By Scott MacLean & Adam Julian.

Updated: Rugby is spread over two days this weekend, so it is fair to say there is lots on. A preview of all the action involving Wellington teams and teamlists at the bottom, below.

College

The local part of the season all-but comes its conclusion this weekend, culminating in the Premiership Final on Sunday morning when unbeaten Wellington College meets St Pats Silverstream in the season decider, being played as the curtainraiser to the Wellington vs Taranaki NPC game that afternoon.

The two sides have had rather different roads to this point since the holiday break. Silverstream have blown out their Town brethren twice in that time, straddling an even more emphatic win over Paraparaumu. In contrast, Wellington College struggled past HIBS on the resumption, were comfortable against Tawa, and were given an examination by Scots in the semi-final before passing it with colours. The Traditional clash between the two came out at Silverstream two months ago where College snatched a 27-24 win courtesy of a late 40m drop-goal by Archie Sims.

There are several match-ups to watch which could prove decisive. Stream’s Thompson Tukapua (117) and College’s Sims (109) are the leading points scorers in the Premiership and the two seem likely to face off in the respective #10 jerseys on Sunday, with Tukapua reverting to the pivot after playing that Traditional clash at fullback and looking for redemption after his own herculean effort in last year’s match came to nought when his kick to tie the game clanked off the upright.

Set piece was a big factor in that earlier match, with College’s Harry Law disrupting Silverstream’s lineout at will. His combination with hooker Dan Hawes on their own throw will be critical, and while Silverstream’s hooker Jericho Wharehinga and locks Preston Moananu and Samuel Thompson have scored plenty of tries they’ll want to get their lineout right. The loose also shapes as a decisive contest with the two opensides – College’s Ollie Church and Stream’s captain Drew Berg-McLean – both in fine form while College’s Year 11 No.8 Z’Kdeus Schwalger (son of former All Black John) and Stream’s Elijah Solomona (younger brother of former Silverstreamer and current Upper Hutt Ram standout Emmanuel) will be counted on to get their sides over the gain line; the former will be out to show that age doesn’t matter and the latter to redeem himself after getting needlessly sent-off in the Traditional.

Kick-off is at 11:15am.

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Before the Premiership final however there’s a host of finals to be played tomorrow, with most of these being held at Silverstream and largely marking a return to a single venue for these which last took place before Covid became a thing in our lives.

Silverstream are well-represented here, and could make a clean sweep of the major finals across the weekend. In the Premier grades tomorrow, their 2nd XV will face off against their Wellington College counterparts in the Premier 2 final for the Murray Jensen Cup in a rare final between unbeaten teams with the pair having drawn 12-all in their round-robin match, and their 3rd XV will contest the Premier 3 final for the Paul Cameron Cup against the St Bernard’s 2nd XV after both won close matches last weekend.

The Premier 4 final for the Onslow Cup is taking place back in the city at Evans Bay as it’s being contested by the two St Pats Town teams with the Colts XV clashing with the Seniors XV.

The age grade finals are headlined by the Under 15 Division 1 final for the Father Gus Hill Cup. Silverstream are the top qualifiers here as well, having gone unbeaten this season so far including two wins over their opposition tomorrow, St Pats Town, and will go in as favourites but they will need to be wary of underestimating their opponents. Couple of players in the Silverstream side with good bloodlines to keep an eye on are fullback Troy Waldrom – son of Wellington Lion, Hurricane, and England international Thomas – and blindside flanker and captain Bezalel Fereti, whose mum is Wellington Pride captain and former Black Fern Jackie Patea-Fereti.

In the three other U15 finals Rongotai and Aotea Blue meet in the Division 2 game for the Ross Findlay Cup, Bishop Viard and Silverstream Blue will contest the Division 3A decider, and Aotea White and the Town U14s will play out the Division 3B final.

There is also one other match, which sees St Bernard’s meet the combined St Pats Town-Scots side in the Under 65kg Division 3 final.

Schedule:
10am:                   Under 15 Division 1, Silverstream vs Town, Silverstream #1
Under 15 Division 2, Rongotai vs Aotea Blue, Silverstream #4

11:30am:             Under 15 Division 3A, Bishop Viard vs Silverstream Blue, Silverstream #3
Under 65kg Division 3, St Bernard’s vs Town/Scots, Silverstream #5

1pm:                     Premier 3, Silverstream 3rd XV vs St Bernard’s 2nd XV, Silverstream #2
Under 15 Division 3B, Aotea White vs Town U14s, Silverstream #5
Premier 4, Town Colts vs Town Seniors, Evans Bay Park

2.30pm:               Premier 2, Silverstream 2nd XV vs Wellington College 2nd XV, Silverstream #1

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Completing the week’s news on the College front, St Mary’s retained their Girls Premiership title for yet another year with a 27-14 win over a plucky Sacred Heart side at Porirua Park on Wednesday night.

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Under 85kg National Club Cup

The region also has two matches in the National Club Cup on tomorrow. One is the repeat of the Paul Potiki Shield final with the champion Tawa Ducks hosting the OBU Scallywags at Lyndhurst, while the other pits Avalon against Division Two winners Wellington at Fraser Park. Both matches are 2pm kickoffs.

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Representative

A massive weekend in store at the representative level. First up tomorrow is the Wellington Pride, who are in Hawera to face Taranaki in the Farah Palmer Cup Championship. The Pride had some wobbles against Tasman but ultimately pulled away, and tomorrow is a chance to cement combinations against one of the competitions strugglers before the big clash with Manawatu next Sunday. The Pride Development side is also in action, heading to Palmerston North and a meeting with Manawatu B.

On the Men’s side there’s two matches at home, both at 1pm. The Centurions will be found at Rugby League Park for their annual clash with the Taranaki Development side, while one of the more-eagerly anticipated clashes of this part of the year takes place at Ngati Toa Domain with the Wellington Māori and Wellington Samoans meeting.

Update: The two teams meet for the inaugural Connor Garden-Bachop Taonga, after the recently deceased local player with ties to both teams and to the Wellington region.

The Wellington Fijians are also in Palmerston North, facing Manawatu Pasifika, while the Wellington U19s go south for a match against their Canterbury counterparts in Christchurch ahead of their Central Region campaign starting next week.

Sunday afternoon sees the Wellington Lions in action, also against Taranaki, and at Porirua Park. The clash between the last two NPC champions promises much and hopefully it delivers. Both come in on the back of impressive opening wins, albeit with both profiting from some curious refereeing decisions, so each will be looking to put down a marker with another one here.

The Heartland Championship gets underway tomorrow as well. Horowhenua-Kapiti are away in Oamaru against North Otago, while Wairarapa-Bush are on home turf at Memorial Park against Thames Valley. Some familiar faces at 8-9-10 for Horo-Kap, with HOBM pair Mika Alaifatu and Brandyn Laursen either side of Pare-Plim’s Esi Komaisavai. Alaifatu and Komaisavai are on full debut for the side, along with recent Pare-Plim prop Ted Northcott. Tawa’s Luke Walmsley is on debut for the Bush in a side that includes former and recent Wellington players Bruce Kauika-Petersen (Petone & Norths), Charles Mataitai (Avalon), Soli Malatai (Upper Hutt), and Ambrose Curtis (Ories).

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Teams (as advised to us):

Wellington Lions

  1. Xavier Numia (Ories)
  2. Penieli Poasa (Ories)
  3. PJ Sheck (Tawa)
  4. Hugo Plummer (Tawa)
  5. Teofilo Paulo (HOBM)
  6. Brad Shields (Petone)
  7. Du’Plessis Kirifi (Norths)©
  8. Peter Lakai (Petone)
  9. Kyle Preston (OBU)
  10. Jackson Garden-Bachop (Norths)
  11. Pepesana Patafilo (Tawa)
  12. Peter Umaga-Jensen (Wainuiomata)
  13. Billy Proctor (MSP)
  14. Julian Savea (Ories)
  15. Ruben Love (Wainuiomata)

 

  1. Leni Apisai (Pare-Plim)
  2. Yota Kamimori (Japan)
  3. Siale Lauaki (Tawa)
  4. Caleb Delany (OBU)
  5. Dominic Ropeti (Ories)
  6. Sione Halalilo (Ories)
  7. Callum Harkin (OBU)
  8. Tjay Clarke (Petone)

Wellington Pride

  1. Angelica Schwencke (Petone)
  2. Valini Vaka (Poneke-OBU)
  3. Tess Woldring (Petone)
  4. Jackie Patea-Fereti (Petone)©
  5. Joanah Ngan-Woo (Ories)
  6. Anyis Drossaerts-Lake (Norths)
  7. Sophie Irving (Poneke-OBU)
  8. Sinead Ryder (Ories)
  9. Milly Mackey (Petone)
  10. Keira Su’a-Smith (Petone)
  11. Harmony Kautai (Petone)
  12. Monica Tagoai (Petone)
  13. Shakira Baker (Pare-Plim)
  14. Drenna Falaniko (Petone)
  15. Bille Va’a (Wainuiomata)

 

  1. Paige Misky (Norths)
  2. Roimata Parata (Pare-Plim)
  3. Octavia Nanai-Iafeta (Avalon)
  4. Fauna Rimoni (Wainuiomata)
  5. Te Raukura Leafe (Petone)
  6. Sophia Ropeti (Ories)*
  7. Fa’asua Makisi (Ories)
  8. Ivana Samani (Ories)

 

Wellington U19s

  1. Israel Time (Well. Coll/HOBM)
  2. Semurana Fepulea’I (Scots/Ories)
  3. Faenza Snowdon (HVHS/Petone)
  4. Finn O’Sullivan (Well. Coll/OBU)
  5. Lennox Easthope (Silverstream/Petone)
  6. Harry Irving (Scots/OBU)
  7. Braith Ingram (Gisborne BHS/Petone)
  8. Taufaeteau Kaufonongo (Hastings BHS/MSP)
  9. Jayde Burns (Town/Norths)
  10. Elysium Tolova’a-Stanley (Town/MSP)
  11. Jacob Kennedy (Well. Coll/Johnsonville)
  12. Brodee Tetevano (HIBS/HOBM)
  13. Josh Semu (Well. Coll/Ories)
  14. Emery McGill (Hato Paora/Petone)
  15. Jacob Denyer (Silverstream/Tawa)

 

  1. To’e Lokeni (Bishop Viard/Wellington)
  2. Alexander Hewitt (Silverstream/Upper Hutt Rams)
  3. Marley Fretton (Rongotai/ Pare-Plim)
  4. Blaine Knapman (Silverstream/Upper Hutt Rams)
  5. Marcus Alexopoulos (HVHS/Petone)
  6. Thoma Takeuchi (Well. Coll/OBU)
  7. Josh Leafa-Paki (St Bernards/Wainuiomata)
  8. Meta Afamasaga (Tawa Coll/Tawa)

 

Wellington Centurions

  1. Senio Sanele (Upper Hutt Rams)
  2. Leon Tuiloma (Upper Hutt Rams)
  3. Bradley Crichton (Norths)
  4. Lipa Saveatama (Tawa)
  5. Jack Riley (OBU)
  6. Conner Tuifao (Petone)
  7. Dougal Perrers (OBU)
  8. Jeremiah Avei-Collins (Norths)
  9. Keanu Kotuhi (Wainuiomata)
  10. Sam Clarke (Pare-Plim) ©
  11. Chicago Doyle (Ories)
  12. Tofuka Paongo (OBU)
  13. Elijah Maene-Lokeni (OBU)
  14. Pose Tuilaepa (Ories)
  15. Tom Maiava (Ories)

 

  1. Louie Calvert (OBU)
  2. Gareth Ward-Allen (OBU)
  3. Matolu Petaia (Tawa)
  4. Ben Tuiomanufili (HOBM)
  5. Jacob Walmsley (Johnsonville)
  6. Malo Manuao (OBU)
  7. Ty Poe (OBU)
  8. Jake Wetere (Johnsonville)
  9. Kazuki Kato (Japan)

 

Taranaki Development

  1. Josh Tate-Iwikau (Clifton)
  2. JJ Pokai (NPOB)
  3. Toby Burkett (NPOB)
  4. Shay Smith (Southern)
  5. Luka Cassidy (Coastal)
  6. Sage Walters-Hansen (Clifton)
  7. Rhodes Featherstone (Inglewood)
  8. Rowan Slater (NPOB)
  9. Jade Taylor (Southern)
  10. Jack Parker (NPOB)
  11. Mason Milham (NPOB)
  12. Mason Porteous (Tukapa)
  13. Jona Mataiciwa (Clifton)
  14. Kusi Drauna (Coastal)
  15. Obey Samate (Stratford/Eltham)

 

  1. Harry Hansen (Stratford/Eltham)
  2. Dylan Skipworth (Southern)
  3. Marika Parker (Stratford/Eltham)
  4. Joel Williamson (NPOB)
  5. Walter Cole (Southern)
  6. Roman Fa’amausili
  7. Ben Dufficy (Coastal)
  8. Levi Reweti (Clifton)
  9. Waata Wharawhara

 

Wellington Māori 

  1. Evan Bishop (Tawa)
  2. Damien Henare (HOBM)
  3. Geordie Bean (OBU)
  4. Klein Salmon (Norths)
  5. Xavier Tavai (Norths)
  6. Tane McMillan-Parata (Pare-Plim)
  7. Hemi Fermanis (Tawa)
  8. Blake Love (OBU)
  9. Declan Hay (Ories)
  10. Randall Bishop (Tawa)
  11. Rewiti Katene Leat (Tawa)
  12. Jarrod Adams (Petone)
  13. Jackson Wright (OBU)
  14. Te Manawa Staples-Rei (Pare-Plim)
  15. Toby Kennett (Norths)

 

  1. Kristian Barber (Ories)
  2. Danny Herewini (Pare-Plim)
  3. Matt Jacobs (Wainuiomata)
  4. Hawaiki Eden
  5. Rory Woollett (Petone)
  6. Jimmy-Lee Hongara (Poneke)
  7. Connor Sharrock (Tawa)
  8. Caleb Robson (Poneke)

 

Wellington Samoans

  1. Laurence-Jarel Lim (OBU) Leauva’a Vailoa Faleata
  2. Jonty Bird (Ories) Malifa Safotu
  3. Josiah Tavita-Metcalfe (Norths) Satalo Falealili
  4. Ruperake Oloapu (Ories) Tufulele Safune
  5. Siale Siale (Poneke) Leauva’a
  6. Daniel ‘DJ’ Taoipu (Poneke) Fasito’outa Fogapoa
  7. Alex Fidow (Pare-Plim) Malifa Safotu
  8. James Tuiatua (Wellington) Matatufu Fasito’outa [C]
  9. Devon Sopoaga (Poneke) Saleimoa Nofoali’i Ti’avea Aleipata
  10. Solomona Uelese (Tawa) Solosolo Vaimoso
  11. Fereti Soloa (HOBM) Moata’a Apia
  12. Emmanuel Solomona (Upper Hutt Rams) Sagone Vaivase Uta
  13. Ethan Webster-Nonu (Pare-Plim) Iva Fasito’otai
  14. Herman Seumanufagai (Ories) Tufulele Malie Palauli
  15. Campbell Cowie (Wainuiomata) Vaivase Tai

 

  1. Christian Semu (Ories) Malie Ti’avea Lalomalava
  2. Malagamaali’i Alapati Soke (Petone) Fa’atoia Ulutautogia Lalomalava
  3. David Taoipu (Poneke) Fasito’outa Fogapoa
  4. David Leota-Johnson (Ories) Leififi Lalovaea
  5. Tana Maene-Lokeni (OBU) Levili Tutuila Aleipata Leulumoega
  6. Grayson Whitman (MSP) Gataivai
  7. Ben Tuiatua (Wellington) Matatufu Fasito’outa
  8. Iosefo Aukusitino (MSP) Matatufu Sapapali’I Falealupo Mauga o Vaea

 

Wellington Pride Development

  1. Barbra Taumoli (Ories)
  2. Faith Vaoliko-Seu (Norths)
  3. Faythe Finau (Norths)
  4. Mele Kupa-Cummings (Pare-Plim)
  5. Autumn Royal (Petone)
  6. Alex Delves (Pare-Plim)
  7. Cannon Hakaraia (Wainuiomata)
  8. Amiria Hanapia (Wainuiomata)
  9. Trinity Keith (Poneke-OBU)
  10. Te Arani Te Puni (Pare-Plim)
  11. Hana Te Puni (Pare-Plim)
  12. Madi Gold (Petone)
  13. Kim Lammers (Poneke-OBU)
  14. Tia Brown (Petone)
  15. Arene Landon-Lane (Norths)

 

  1. Megan Tulili (Poneke-OBU)
  2. Lesieli Tuangalu (Norths)
  3. Trish Tavita (Pare-Plim)
  4. Charlynn Tuiatua (Wainuiomata)
  5. Caitlyn Stowers (Poneke-OBU)
  6. Lynda Rabeni-Vatuloka (Petone)
  7. Naliah Tolova’a (Ories)

First XV Premiership Final teams:

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