College Finalists found, MSP Internationals win Reserve Grade Division 2 title, Centurions win at Whanganui

Wellington College were pushed hard by Rathkeale College in their Premiership First XV final today. They will meet St Pat’s Silverstream in next week’s final. More below. Photo: Andy McArthur.

• By Steven White, Scott MacLean & Adam Julian

Wellington College and St Pat’s Silverstream will meet in next weekend’s Premiership final at Porirua Park following contrasting semi-final wins today.

Wellington College did enough to beat Rathkeale College 17-0 at home, while Silverstream reversed their narrow recent round-robin loss to St Pat’s Town to win 51-24 at Evans Bay Park.

The Marist St Pat’s Internationals defeated the OBU Mixed Veges 33-5 in the Reserve Grade Division 2 Final, while next week’s Division 1 finalists have been found.

Meanwhile, there was success for one of three Wellington men’s representative teams that took the field today, with the Wellington Centurions beating the Whanganui Heartland Championship squad 50-28. The Wellington Māori missed out 15-66 to Wairarapa-Bush at Maidstone Park and the Wellington Lions went down 31-34 to Auckland in their second round NPC affair at Western Springs.

A round-up from today, including some games we covered, below:

Club

The MSP Internationals are this year’s Alan Seerup Cup Reserve Grade Division 2 second round champions. They beat the Mixed Veges 33-5 in the final inside the cage at Ian Galloway Park this afternoon.

The Division 1 John Davies Cup semi-finals saw the Pōneke Ruffnuts defeat the Wellington Axemen in one semi-final. The Ruffnuts will meet the Johnsonville Cripples who beat the  19-12 over the OBU Righteous Pink Ginners 19-12 in the other semi-final. .

Two Wellington sides marched on in today’s round of matches in the Under 85kg National Club Cup.

The all-capital clash at HW Shortt saw Paremata-Plimmerton into the last 16, as they defeated Eastbourne 54-5 with fullback Ryan Carter scoring a hat-trick. Poneke are also through, though only after a hard-fought 36-29 win over New Plymouth Old Boys in the “Jeremy Hargreaves Bowl” match in Waverley. Both sides scored five tries, but the reliable boot of Max Rodgers was the difference. Tawa make it three Wellington teams moving on, after MSP defaulted to them.

For HOBM though, it was the end of the road as they were beaten 50-14 by New Plymouth’s Tukapa in Whanganui.

In other matches defending champions High School OB from Christchurch had their match forfeited by Timaru Celtic, while there was something of an upset as Waihora were beaten 7-22 by Darfield. Up north Auckland champions the Uni Slugs exited, beaten 21-10 by Karaka, while in the battle of previous winners Pakuranga beat Eden 27-10. The team with the best name in the game, the Morrinsville Majestic Pukeko, are also gone after going down 19-24 to Silverdale.

College

St Patrick’s College Silverstream refuses to surrender its Premiership title without a mighty fight, storming into a 10th consecutive final by overwhelming St Patrick’s College Town 51-24 as the visiting third-placed semi-qualifier at Evans Bay Park.

For the third consecutive year, their opponent will be Wellington College, which has not won a title since 2016. Unblemished Wellington battled past rugged Rathkeale 17-0 in an unconvincing display that featured only two first-half tries: to second-five Benjamin Faitala and No.8 Z’kdeus Schwalger.

Though Wellington beat Silverstream 26-17 on June 10, it’s the Catholics that might be charging home like Kiwi on the last corner of the 1983 Melbourne Cup.

For just the second time against Town in a semi-final, Silverstream posted a half-century, reversing a shock 38-36 loss in the annual Old Boys Cup a fortnight ago. Despite lapses in discipline, three bombed first-half tries, and difficulty defending the rolling maul and retrieving kickoffs, Silverstream was a cut above Town, never trailing and outscoring the hosts seven tries to four. The closest it felt was 35-24 with 10 minutes left.

First-Five Fletcher Cooper set the early tone with a converted try, icing earlier incisions from bully blindside Ryder Thompson and immense hooker Jahaan Hunt. Cooper entered the match with 216 points for the season. With his fifth consecutive haul of more than 20 points, he passed his own single-season record for the most points by any player in a single year for Silverstream, which opened in 1931. In 2025 he scored 234 points, passing a 36-year-old record of 233 held by future All Black Simon Mannix. The Year 12 has 237 this year despite missing five weeks with a hand injury.

Cooper’s fingerprints were all over Silverstream’s most startling passages. A towering bomb that possibly dropped with sleet on it was gathered by lock Bronson Martin in the first half, while a cheeky, shallow restart was collected by whippet winger Troy Waldrom at the start of the second half to make it 27-12. Waldrom was toxic, scoring another try and dropping a Cooper grubber with vacant real estate ahead.

On several occasions Town were punished for a lacklustre kick-chase. Jaxon Ropitini was a shredder from fullback, and his well-deserved try traversed 60 metres.

Town’s beefy lineout drive saw 128kg No.8 Nelsson Tiumalu twice punish Silverstream transgressions, but lightning winger Zac “Zoom” Kimmis, who has 34 tries in 43 games, was starved of the pigskin.

Every time Town threatened to rally, a mistake or Silverstream brilliance thwarted hopes. A third lineout try to 96kg hooker Herman Tuiatua was the blueprint for a revival until Silverstream’s bulky reserves delivered knockout blows. Tries to front rowers Kristian Joshua Leaupepe Sua and Donald Mar had affable coach Karl Davis grinning from ear to ear.

Town’s season ends with a 10-4 record. They scored 99 tries, 46 by forwards. With 18 capped players and 17 departing Year 13s, they face a sizable rebuild. The last time Town beat Silverstream twice in the same season was in 2010. That year, Town, featuring future All Black Matt Proctor, won 18 of 21 games. These included a special 125th Anniversary fixture and the annual Old Boys Cup match against Silverstream. They lost the Premiership final to Silverstream 21-13.

Combined, Wellington and Silverstream have won the Premiership 22 times since its inception in 1979. The final started in 1993 and they have faced each other ten times for five wins apiece, though Silverstream has won the last three. Silverstream has never won a hat-trick of titles. Wellington won five on the bounce between 2004 and 2009.

In end-of-season matches amongst the remaining sides Scots reversed last week’s lost to St Bernard’s with a 36-34 win, Wairarapa College were 38-15 winners over Hutt International in the middle of Trentham racecourse, and Rongotai beat Mana 24-6.

In Premier 2 the top-qualifying Silverstream 2nds were 48-14 winners over Kapiti, but that margin did not reflect the effort the coasters gave where they more than held their own for the first 30 minutes. It took a full quarter-hour for the free-scoring Streamers to crack the Kapiti line through lock Tyrone Tupou, but the visitors soon responded through Taylor Dickey. Stream would extend their lead when captain Bailey Ross and then Jayden Williams scored, but again Kapiti came back and Cooper Howell did enough to get the ball on the line. This was somewhat notable as it was the first time Silverstream had conceded two tries in a CSW match this season.

Kapiti’s resolve was finally dented right on halftime when Ross crossed for his second, and then Tupou joined him with a double after the resumption. Replacements Brayden Gemmill and Tommy Nation got their names on the scoresheet, as did winger Daniel Ferguson with the last score of the match. Flanker Ross was massively impressive for the home side, with first-five Joel Rostedt controlling play. Kapiti’s stadouts were halfback and captain Riley Dickey, and tireless No. 8 Tevita Dromunavula.

Silverstream will face their Town counterparts in next week’s final after Town were surprisingly strong 43-12 winners over an Aotea side who may still have been feeling the effects of the illness that saw them have to default last week. In their end-of-season games the Wellington College 2nds beat Hutt Valley HS 15-12, Paraparaumu edged out the Silverstream 3rds 34-29, and Tawa got their second win in beating Porirua 36-24.

Next week’s Premier 3 final will see Wellington College’s U16 Gold squad take on Wainuiomata High after two pulsating matches. College beat their Town U16 counterparts 22-21, while Wainuiomata drew at William Jones Park 15-all with Naenae College but proceed as the higher-qualifier.

The flagship Under 15 Division 1 grade will feature the same two schools as the Premiership final will. Silverstream easily accounted for Town, running in 10 tries in a 62-0 win, while it was much closer in town as Wellington College had to survive a spirited Scots side to win 21-17 with only late error perhaps denying the Strathmore side a win against the odds.

The Under 65kg final will be between Silverstream and Hutt Valley HS, after the latter upset top-qualifiers Wellington College Black.

In the two finals that were played today, Wellington College lifted the Under 55kg David Scott Cup by beating Silverstream 52-12, and the St Pats Town Dooley’s XV won Premier 5 with a 17-10 win over Wellington College’s U16 Black squad.

Representative

After a false start last weekend, the Wellington Centurions started their short campaign with a 50-28 win over the Whanganui Hearttland Championship squad at Cooks Gardens this afternoon.

The People’s Lions ran in eight tries, four in each half, and they led 22-14 at halftime.

The Centurions won comfortably on the scoreboard, but the home side was always within striking distance, and the way these Heartland teams play, it could easily have been much closer.

The visitors started the game strongly, and ran in their first try after seven minutes to Petone hooker Kaleb Saxon. Three minutes later, they went ahead 12-0 when halfback Esi Komaisavai ducked through the forwards from a lineout near halfway and sprinted the rest of the way to the tryline.

The home side then scored two tries, both after penalties and lineouts in the far corner, and they led 14-12 inside 20 minutes.

The Centurions went big with their scrum in the first half, resulting in back-to-back tries to left wing Jacob Kennedy to close out the scoring for that spell.

Just before halftime, the Centurions were almost in for their fifth try after winning a tighthead scrum when fullback Luke Kapene made a run for the righthand corner and passed inside to right wing Tom Maiava but the ball was knocked down.

Whanganui had a great chance early in the second half to set up an attack inside the 22 but a penalty kick for the line failed to find touch. The Centurions ran it back up to the other end of the field, and after a concerted build-up, fullback Kapene scored to make it 29-14.

The home side then launched themselves straight back on to attack and after a minute of possession, centre Sakaraia Soqonakalou scored a well-deserved team try to close the gap to 29-21.

At this point, both teams rung the changes and brought on their substitutions. The Centurions carried a nine-man bench, and two players that came on – Dawson Smith and Luke Bidois – made big plays that resulted in consecutive tries that sealed the game.

Both tries were somewhat against the run of play. The first saw replacement first five Smith field a Whanganui kick in centre field on his own side of halfway and place a return kick of pinpoint accuracy to the corner flag for a 50/22 and a Centurions lineout in the corner and their next try through the forwards.

The second was as a result of a on-on-one turnover at ruck time by replacement flanker Luke Bidois inside their 22, following two successive big Whanganui scrums and a period of Whanganui ascendancy as their substitutes including former Ories prop Jonty Bird injected themselves. From the next play, the Centurions kicked down field for territory and the chasing players led by Connor Tuifao won a penalty for the defender not releasing the ball. This this set up another attacking lineout in the corner, and they came up with another powerful forwards try to make it 43-21.

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Once more, Whanganui hit straight back when a replacement prop Renato Tikoisolomone stormed through a hole in general play and scored to close the gap to 43-28.

With just over 10 minutes to play, the visitors rallied hard and after 70 seconds of keeping the ball alive, flanker Connor Tuifao scored in the corner. Smith kicked the sideline conversion to bring up the half century and there was no further scoring until referee Johnston from Taranaki blew fulltime.

This was the Centurions’ sixth straight win in this corresponding match over Whanganui, and was a lot more competitive than last year’s 41-0 result at the Hutt Rec.

The much-maligned Wellington Lions were beaten for a fourth consecutive time in their second match of the 2026 NPC against Auckland 34-31 at Western Springs, snapping a four-game win streak against Auckland.

Down 34-31 with the clock at fulltime, Wellington had a penalty directly in front of the sticks 20m from goal. Instead of shooting for three to force golden point extra time, Wellington opted for a lineout.

Almost two dozen phases of toil followed, earning another penalty in a handy spot. Wellington again chose the lineout, and replacement hooker James O’Reilly threw the ball into Auckland hands.

It was a cruel end to O’Reilly’s game. In the 67th minute, he had a fervent case of white line fever, combining with former HIBS teammate Logan Henry in an exhilarating dash from halfway down the speedway track sideline to score the visitors’ fifth try and take a 31-29 lead.

However, veteran midfielder Pita Ahki ultimately scored the winning try with the ninth lead change in the 76th minute, capitalising on an overlap caused by Callum Harkin’s yellow card.

At one stage, Wellington led 26-17. Isi Saumaki carried powerfully, and Du’Plessis Krifi, playing second five-eighth for the first time in his 185th first-class game, memorably set up Japanese winger Reo Matsushita. Blindside Dominic Ropeti (15 carries, 13 tackles, 6 lineouts) was rewarded for his toil with the four-try bonus point after 46 minutes.

Wellington was guilty of discipline lapses, and the hosts’ young back three of Cohen Norrie, Payton Spencer and Rico Simpson, who scored two tries, were livley as was halfback Issak Fines-Leleiwasa, who also scored a try keeping Auckland in touch.

An outstanding tap, kick, chase and regather from a penalty at the Wellington 22 by former All Black Stephen Perofeta sparked a move that led to a try for replacement prop Ben Ake and a 27-26 lead.

Wellington rallied again with the O’Reilly try but are struggling to catch a break. A niggly fixture against a vastly improved North Harbour at Hnry Stadium on Thursday night awaits the languishing Lions, who last lost four in a row in 2014.