
Above: The sixth and latest Club Rugby jigsaw puzzle has just dropped – the Heartland Championship one.
Our first news in briefs, happenings and titbits column of the year.
As has been the case previously, the intention is that this column will come out on Mondays every week throughout the rugby year, as we set up the week ahead and recap the weekend just gone.
It is a collaborative effort, so if you have news or to contribute and help us out regularly or occasionally please sing out.
We are re-starting tentatively, but as the rugby starts then we ramp up with it!
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The Wellington and wider club rugby community has some very sad news – but we are refraining from sharing it for now until it is out there on other channels.
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A tale of two teams from the just completed Perth leg of World Rugby’s SVNS Sevens series.
The New Zealand men’s team finished ninth at the tournament, beating Kenya 19-12, failing to make it into the Cup quarterfinals earlier on Saturday. Argentina beat Australia 41-5 in the men’s final.
New Zealand are seventh on the men’s standings on 20 points behind three-way joint series leaders Fiji, Argentina and Spain on 48.
Australia defeated New Zealand 28-26 to win the women’s title.
New Zealand lead in the women’s competition, with 56 points, two clear off Australia.
Sevens action resumes in Vancouver over the weekend of 21-23 February.
That will be followed by Hong Kong, Singapore and Los Angeles, completing the series in May.
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Why do commentators on the SVNS circuit feel obliged to apologise every time bad language is heard in a team huddle. What do they expect and are we really that offended anymore?
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At what point does the name ‘All Blacks’ get dropped from the sevens team?
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Away from the rugby, there was a report on the weekend (paywalled so we can’t share it) saying that World Rugby has been burning through money like water on the sevens circuit. Now they have to tighten their belts and there are gaping holes in some areas where previously there were multiple people doing the same job, such as not a single editorial staffer on the ground covering the tournament in Perth on the weekend.
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Michaela Brake (nee Blyde) was in fine form at the Perth Sevens, scoring four tires in semi-final demolition of France and twice in the final against Australia. The Warriors- bound sevens superstar has scored 254 SVNS tries, just two short of the all-time record. In the summer she married Olympic rowing eight champion from Tokyo 2021 Michael Brake. Olympic champions who are married include. Dana Zátopková and Emil Zatopek in athletics. Cyclist Sir Jason Francis Kenny is the holder of most Olympic gold medals (7) and medals (9) for a British athlete. He married Laura Kenny who also won five goal medals. Megan Rapinoe and Sue Bird from the Rio 2016 gold medal winning USA Olympics soccer team are married. Andre Aggasi and Steffi Graf in tennis are married.
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Super Rugby pre-season is now underway. All fixtures at a glance are below (Hurricanes games highlighted)
Fri 24 Jan: Fijian Drua v RFCLA – Churchill Park, Lautoka
Sat 25 Jan: NSW Waratahs v NSW Pacifica – Eric Tweedale Stadium, Sydney
Fri 31 Jan: Moana Pasifika v Highlanders – The Oval, North Harbour Stadium, Albany
Fri 31 Jan: Crusaders v Blues – Kirwee Rugby Club, Kirwee
Fri 31 Jan: Queensland Reds v Bristol Bears – Ashton Gate Stadium, Bristol
Sat 1 Feb: NSW Waratahs v ACT Brumbies – Bowral Rugby Club, Bowral
Sat 1 Feb: Chiefs v Hurricanes – Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth
Thu 6 Feb: Highlanders v Crusaders – Rugby Park, Invercargill
Fri 7 Feb: ACT Brumbies v Western Force – Marist College Canberra
Fri 7 Feb: Queensland Reds v Ulster – Kingspan Stadium, Belfast
Fri 7 Feb: Hurricanes v Blues – William Jones Park, Wainuiomata
Sat 8 Feb: Chiefs v Moana Pasifika – Navigation Homes Stadium, Pukekohe
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The Hurricanes open their 2025 season this coming Saturday with a match against the Chiefs in New Plymouth. The game kicks off at Yarrow Stadium at 2.oopm and presumably will be streamed by the Chiefs for those wanting to watch. Although an early season road trip would be a good idea.
The Crusaders have sold all 3,000 tickets for their novel pre-season match against the defending champions Blues at the rural Canterbury location of Kirwee (population 1180) this coming Friday.
The Hurricanes – Blues game the following Saturday at Wainuiomata at 3.00pm should be a big day, and we will be fascinated to see how they do this logistically and what sort of crowd they are expecting and how many will be able to fit in to the ground.
Then it’s on to the first match of the competition the following week against the Crusaders away and then against the Fijian Drua in Napier in their first home match on 22 February. First match in Wellington is on 1 March against the Blues.
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Local photographer Peter McDonald attended Hurricanes training last Thursday to study form and fitness and first-five prospects, and take a few photos. It was interesting to see TJ Perenara in these shots, as we thought he was in Japan? Perenara in left of shot below.
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The Te Upoko o te Ika broadcast commentary team returns for the 10th year in 2025, continuing a tradition that which first began in 1927. Stay tuned or in this case posted for more.
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The inaugural Paremata-Plimmerton pre-season Mana Island Challenge.
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The Chiefs confirmed on Friday that loose forward Wallace Sititi is facing an extended recovery period following successful knee surgery completed last week.
The 22-year-old had meniscus surgery on his right knee and is not expected to have much on-field involvement in the 2025 DHL Super Rugby Pacific season as a result.
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Kids go free again at all Highlanders home matches this season.
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Condolences to the friends and family of Tim Reddish on his recent passing.
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