Club rugby to heat up on back of stormy weather week

Leaders Oriental-Rongotai are back at home this Saturday against Tawa, as are Old Boys University who are back in OBU colours and back at Rugby League Park to host Paremata-Plimmerton. Photo: Tane Nathan.

• By Scott MacLean and Steven White

Winter weather has definitely arrived in the capital this week, and while the forecast for tomorrow is brighter than the past couple of days it’s effect will be felt on the fields around the region.

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Round 5 teamlists: At this story link here: https://clubrugby.nz/wp/2025/05/02/wellington-club-rugby-swindale-shield-round-5-teamlists/

Tipping Competition: Enter your tips by Saturday 2.30pm at:  https://www.faceyoursfears.com/games/WGTN2025/join  make your picks by 2.30pm Saturday. It is not too late to join up, there are two ‘wildcard’ rounds so you can quickly catch up or play the spoiler role. There are some mid-round spot prizes coming (to be finalised shortly).

Podcast: Listen to the Round 5 preview with 100-game Premier referee Jamie Fairmaid on the @Tackld podcast covering community and grassroots sport in Wellington  on Spotify at https://open.spotify.com/episode/3cHrbUBj9qwbXAmO6CeOoP?si=thfpvoOKQwq5VB6h9lb8MQ

Radio Commentary. This Saturday, the E Tū Whānau Footy Show comes from Kilbirnie Park in the fixture between Pōneke and Johnsonville. On air from 2.00pm Catch all the action on Te Upoko Radio – 87.6FM in the central city, 1161AM across the region, or stream it on iHeart Radio, the Whare Kōrero app, and online at www.teupoko.nz.

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Draws & Results website. These pages and all historical information 2005-24 at at https://clubrugby.co.nz/wellington/games-results.php?competition=71&season=22&Submit=Go  Access to our administration pages remains elusive (although we did have an update yesterday issues were being worked through).

• For Draws & Results please visit this page here: https://clubrugby.nz/wp/2025-wgtn-club-live-scores/
• For this week’s line-ups please visit the article link here: https://clubrugby.nz/wp/2025/05/02/wellington-club-rugby-swindale-shield-round-5-teamlists/

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Premier Swindale Shield

Only one team remains unbeaten in the Swindale Shield, and after their comeback last week Oriental Rongotai return to their Polo fortress. It won’t be an easy return however, with third-placed Tawa the visitors in what shapes as the game of the round. Tawa’s sole defeat so far came at the hands of the only other team ahead of them – Petone – and would like nothing more than to move closer to the top, but the Magpies have been the standard so far for good reason.

The home side make just two personnel changes; Samson Alaimoana rejoins the forward pack while Johnny Maiava is at centre and joins brother Tom in the backline. Sione Halalilo lurks on the bench to provide impact. Tawa are able to call on Hugo Plummer this week, and he joins prop Robb Carr and No.8 Matolu Petaia as players coming into their pack. The backline oozes experience with James So’oialo and Randall Bishop back in the starting side and joining Nigel Hunt, Faraimo Nofoaiga, and Belgium Tuatagaloa. Another veteran, Hemi Fermanis, is in line for his first outing of the year from the bench.

Next stop west is Evans Bay, where home side Marist St Pat’s have pulled themselves back into the fray with wins the past two weeks, but with their Old Timers Day’ being their fourth home game in five rounds they’ve got a run of away matches yet to come. Second-placed Petone are the visitors, and the Villagers will be looking for a quick response after losing at the death at Maidstone last week.

The hosts have stuck their faith in the same starting XV as last week with Isaia Petelo again leading the side from midfield and youngsters Cazna Sale and Preston Moananu looking to be prominent again up front. Petone have the services of TJ Clarke this week as he works his way back from injury, and he’s joined in the backline by Losi Filipo who has been released to play by his Moana Pasifika side. Coaches Green and Prouting have rotated their resources up front with Conley Alexander, Kafa Katao, Sam Thomson, and Teddi Hern all starting after being on the bench last week.

Across Evans Bay Parade on Kilbirnie Park, Poneke find themselves joint-third after a strong start to the season and dreams of returning to the Jubilee rounds are truly alive. Johnsonville make the journey across town and will have spent the week wondering how they let a 19-5 lead slip against Wainuiomata. A win here two years ago started their run to third in the Swindale and they’ll believe that’s possible again.

The Tuifao-Galuvao brothers are in from the start again, with Noah looking to repeat last weeks try scoring efforts, while their only other change has Dominic Ririnui-Sipa back in on the wing for Isaiah Opai. The Taoipu brothers David and DJ continue their partnership with Italian Luca Bellucci in the loose. The Hawks make a swag of changes. They’ll be glad to get Anthony Pettett and Regan Herbert back but lose livewire openside Louis Magalogo with the latter replaced by former Wellington College player Charlie Barton. In the backs skipper Finlay Sharp pushes into midfield with Niall Delahunt at fullback and Yuu Kurihara in the #10 jersey this week.

The fourth game in the city is at Rugby League Park, where Old Boys-University return after last week’s trip to their Ian Galloway grazing block. Like MSP, they play their fourth at home already, but unlike them, they find themselves in the depths of 12^th on the ledger and without a win and desperately need to turn it around. Their opponents are the team they succeeded as Swindale winners in Paremata-Plimmerton, who themselves turned around their late loss a fortnight ago to MSP to comprehensively account for HOBM and will still consider themselves contenders to reclaim the silverware.

The Maene-Lokeni brothers return for the Goats tomorrow with Tana in the loose and Elijah in midfield. Jackson Wright switches to the wing to make way, while Gareth Ward-Allen continues at No8 for another week. The visitors have just one change to their starting XV; Trent Livesey drops back to the bench for Te Whero Werahiko with Alex Fidow moving to the blindside, while Swindale-winning captain Tane McMillan Parata makes his season bow from the bench.

Moving out to the Hutt Valley, two of the great community clubs of the province meet at William Jones Park when Wainuiomata hosts Norths. The home side grabbed a morale-boosting win over Johnsonville to follow their Easter one over Wellington, while Norths’ own bright start has been brought to a halt with heavy defeats the past two matches. Perhaps a game you can expect plenty of points in.

Halfback Keanu Kotuhi starts his 50^th match for the side, who’s only backline change is the inclusion of Hurricanes squad member Daniel Sinkinson at fullback. Up front Daniel Fiso moves to loosehead to accommodate Lorenzo Pili at hooker, and the ageless Teru Time is at No8 in place of Brayden Soi. Norths look to match fire in the loose with their own ageless figure Faifili Levave joining Jeremiah Avei-Collins and Luca Rees, while Jermaine Collins goes from halfback to midfield and Toby Kennett from midfield to fullback.

Likely plenty of head-scratching this week at the Hutt Rec as Hutt Old Boys Marist processed the manner of their defeat to Pare-Plim in their home opener last Saturday. They get a chance to hit the re-set button as Wellington come to the Nest and while the Axemen haven’t tasted victory yet, their overall improvement so far suggests that may not be far away; can they deliver a stunning result tomorrow?

It’s little surprise the Eagles make a swag of changes. David Filipo returns to the starting side for his 150^th match for the club with Brett Manaia and Noah Krijnen also coming into the pack with Lions halfback Nui Muriwai getting the start. A rejigged backline puts Kapu Broughton-Winterburn at centre and Phelan Rona at fullback. James Tuiatua moves into hooker for Wellington tomorrow and Will Cosgriff is at halfback in their usual round of changes, but one intriguing name in their teamlist is former St Pat’s Town captain Jordan Chapman on the blindside and seemingly back in town after a stint in rugby league in the Canberra Raiders system.

Lastly, neighbours Avalon and the Upper Hutt Rams clash at Fraser Park. Avalon’s long winless run continued last week, but they gave Tawa plenty in the early going and if they can maintain that they could be a chance. The Rams however are deserving of their place on the ladder so far and their late win over Petone is strong evidence of their credentials; they’ll be warm favourites here.

As of writing we didn’t have Avalon’s team. It’s a welcome back to Premier rugby for Rams lock Neva Apineru after nearly six years battling injuries, and he lines up alongside former Wolf Gelu Apineru in the engine room. It’s not a surprise that they’re amongst a host of changes to their side, but if things do get out of hand there’s plenty of experience on the bench for them to call upon.

As usual, there’s several interclub trophies in play tomorrow:

• MSP and Petone contest their Bill Elvy Cup. Originally from Canterbury, Bill Elvy was a capped All Black when he joined Petone in the late 1920’s. The connection to MSP comes from his son Norm who played for both Marist and St Pats Old Boys, and grandson Martin who turned out for MSP. Petone are the holders.
• Poneke and Johnsonville play for their Galu Taufale Shield. A legend of Samoan rugby in the capital, Wellington Lions rep Taufale started his Premier career with Johnsonville and concluded it with Poneke with a few seasons for Wests in between. With records inexact, it’s estimated he played over 250 Premier matches across all three clubs. Inaugurated last year, it’s held by Poneke.
• The Alf Keating Memorial Trophy is the prize for Wainuiomata and Norths. Keating played his rugby at both clubs and the trophy was put in play by his family following his passing. Wainuiomata are the holders.
• Avalon and Upper Hutt play for their Harper Vine Trophy. Taita’s Tammy Harper and Upper Hutt’s Bob Vine had an intense on-field rivalry over the course of their playing careers and would often seek each other out. Donated by their families, it’s held by Upper Hutt.

All seven matches are at their usual 2.45pm kick-off time.

The Swindale Shield points table heading to round 5 matches tomorrow.

Premier 2 Harper Lock Shield

There’s a couple of potential crackers in the early timeslot tomorrow, with joint-leaders Petone at fifth-placed MSP at Evans Bay, while Ories in sixth host a resurgent Tawa at Polo. The other joint-leader, OBU, welcome Pare-Plim to Rugby League Park with Poneke hosting Johnsonville at Kilbirnie with both coming off big wins last Saturday. HOBM are at home for the visit of Wellington, Wainuiomata and Norths both look to rebound when they meet at William Jones, and bottom-side Upper Hutt look to get off the mark when they visit Avalon at Fraser Park.

All seven matches are at 1.00pm.

Women’s Rebecca Liua’ana Trophy

There’s a definite top-four/bottom-four look to the draw tomorrow. Both Oriental Rongotai and Petone have perfect records so far, and both are on the road tomorrow. Ories head north to face Norths at Porirua Park, while Petone head into the eastern suburbs to face Marist St Pat’s on Kilbirnie Park #3. At the other end of the table Wainuiomata are at home on William Jones against Paremata-Plimmerton with Avalon scheduled to host Poneke at Fraser Park.

All matches are at their usual 11.30am time.

Colts Paris Memorial

Colts action resumes after last weekend’s break. The feature clash here gets main billing on the Hutt Rec with HOBM facing Tawa in a clash of the joint-leaders. The Upper Hutt Rams host Poneke at Maidstone with MSP and Norths meeting at Kilbirnie Park. Ories look for their first win when they Pare-Plim at Polo, with the fifth match seeing Johnsonville taking on OBU at Helston. Petone enjoy an extended break with the bye.

All matches here are timed for 1.00pm.

Under 85kg JC Bowl

One of two unbeaten sides through four rounds, leaders and defending champions the Tawa Ducks make the jaunt out to HW Shortt Park to face fellow feathered side the Eastbourne Gulls. The OBU Scallywags ship pulls into Ian Galloway Park where they’ll host Pare-Plim, HOBM are on the Hutt Rec to welcome Wellington, and MSP and Avalon meet at Kilbirnie Park. The second unbeaten side is Johnsonville, and they have the bye this time around.

All these matches are at 2.45pm

College

The college season gets underway tomorrow with the weight and age grades casualties of the weather. Last year’s top four First XVs return to the Premiership by right, and all are in action tomorrow. Wellington College hosts Napier Boys’ for their regular clash for the Amner Cup at 1.00pm (preceded by the 2^nd XVs and U15A matches), while Scots hosts Town in a pre-season hit-out at 11.30am. Silverstream are on the road, playing Hastings Boys’ in Palmerston North.

Locally, sixteen sides will be vying to join those four in the 10-team Premiership for 2025. In the four “Top 8” matches Hutt International hosts Tawa and Paraparaumu welcomes St Bernard’s matches between sides who were there last year, while Rongotai faces Hutt Valley High. The fourth is an all-Wairarapa affair as Wairarapa College meets newcomers Rathkeale. Three of the “Second 8” clashes are in the Porirua Basin as Aotea hosts Upper Hutt/Heretaunga, Porirua does likewise with Kapiti, and Mana welcomes neighbours Bishop Viard. The fourth sees Taita facing Newlands/Onslow.

Elsewhere

Manawatu’s Hankins Shield reaches round four. Leaders Kia Toa are at the Arena to face Old Boys Marist while also unbeaten Massey are at home for a crunch clash with Feilding Yellows. Feilding Old Boys-Oroua have a second home game in the town this season when they host Te Kawau, while Linton Army are back from the bye to visit Freyberg. College Old Boys has this week’s bye.

Foxton and Rahui are the two unbeaten sides through five rounds in Horowhenua-Kapiti and they meet tomorrow at Foxton’s Easton Park. Down the road there’s the Levin derby at the Domain between Wanderers and College Old Boys, while Shannon heads to Waikanae. Leaders Paraparaumu have the bye this round.

Over in Wairarapa-Bush it’s first-round finals time. Holders Martinborough and defending union champions Carterton meet for the Lane Penn Cup under the lights at Memorial Park at 5pm. All eight Premier sides are at that venue with winless pair Eketahuna and Pioneer starting the day off at 1.00pm, followed at 2.35pm by Greytown and Marist on the turf and East Coast and Masterton Red Star out the back.