Sideline Conversions 5 October (some rugby news and information to start the week)

Action from the Wellington Pride’s semi-final win over Hawke’s Bay. They are hosting the Northland Kauri at Wellington Stadium at 12.05pm. 

The rugby to watch and follow is thinning, but there is still some to note and follow.

The Hurricanes U16s tournament is this week in Whanganui. We previewed this in the body of our story on Friday HERE but the draw at adjacent fields at WCS for the next three days is:

Monday:

• Division A: Manawatu v Hawke’s Bay White 1.30pm and Wellington v Hawke’s Bay Black 2.30pm
• Division B: Whanganui v Poverty Bay 11.00am and Wairarapa-Bush v Horowhenua-Kapiti 1.00pm

We will look to bring the results of day one to this space later today.

Tuesday:

• Division A: Wellington v Hawke’s Bay White 12.00pm and Manawatu v Hawke’s Bay Black 1.00pm
• Division B: Horowhenua-Kapiti v Whanganui, 11.00am and Poverty Bay v Wairarapa-Bush 11.30am

Wednesday

• Division A: 3 v 4 10.15am and 1 v 211.30am
• Division B: 3 v 4 11.00am and 1 v 2 10.00am

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The Wellington U85kgs play their second representative fixture of three when they meet Waikato in Taihape on Saturday. This is an annual fixture now and has proven close in the past.

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The Wellington Pride are flying the flag in the Women’s NPC Farah Palmer Cup competition, hosting Northland this coming Saturday in Wellington in the Championship final. They are in good form and will be favourites to beat the Kauri and secure the title.

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All three of the lower North Island’s Heartland Championship teams are still in action, all three in the ‘5-8’ Lochore Cup bracket. Horowhenua-Kapiti host Whanganui at Levin in the 6 v 7 semi-final and Wairarapa-Bush travel to play South Canterbury in the 5 v 8 semi-final.

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That’s 10 losses in a row for the Wellington Lions this season, to go with two at the end of last year giving them a 12-match losing streak. If you added their two pre-season losses in July that’s 14 in a row.

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It’s the WRFU Awards this coming Wednesday. Club Rugby will be watching on for the winners of these.

Look out for our annual Best & Fairest winners and Best & Fairest Teams of the Year coming up following the awards.

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It’s all over for the round-robin of this year’s NPC, and for six teams the end of the line for the year. That includes Wellington – more on them just below.

In a wildly unpredictable NPC, Canterbury remain top heading into three weeks of playoffs.

North Harbour had a chance to be top on Sunday but faced ninth placed Bay of Plenty. The Steamers facing coach Richard Watt won. Bay of Plenty was first after the last game of the first NPC in 1976. They won the last game of the 50th.

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Division 1 NPC teams to lose every game in a single season

1977: Marlborough, 0-8*

1990: Southland, 0-10*

1993: Hawke’s Bay, 0-8

1994: Taranaki, 0-8

1995: Southland, 0-8

1996: King Country, 0-8*

1998: Northland, 0-9

2003: Northland, 0-9

2004: Northland, 0-9

2005: Northland, 0-9

2015: Northland, 0-10*

2017: Southland, 0-10

2018: Southland, 0-10

2022: Manawatu, 0-10

2026: Wellington, 0-10

*Didn’t achieve a single point on the championship table.

Southland (1999) and Counties Manukau (2007) also failed to win a game but managed a draw. If other teams lost the whole time, time was lost exploring them.

Northland lost 30 games in a row in Division I between 2002 and 2006 but won the annual promotion-regulation match, which ended in 2006. Southland lost 27 consecutive games between 2016 and 2019. They lost every game in the 2017 and 2018 seasons but conceded fewer points than Wellington in both seasons.

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With Taranaki’s late try the Lions breached the 500 mark for points conceded this season in the NPC.  Their final tally of 502 points – just a shade over 50 per match – is a staggering 136 points (37%) more than next worst Southland (366 points conceded) and a full 294 points (141%) more than top dogs Northland (only 208 points conceded).

Wellington conceded 502 points in 10 games. None of the above all-time losers conceded that many, nor did they concede 50 or more points in a single game five times or 60 three times. Inflation, a charitable soul claimed. However, the Lions leaked 76 tries this season, more than any of these battlers and a single-season record for the province in the NPC. The previous worst was 49 tries in 10 matches in 2014 and 2025. The Lions scored four or more tries in fivgames.

Wellington have lost 12 consecutive games, an all-time Union record, and failed to win a game in a season for the first time since 1884. That year they played only one game against New Zealand, which they lost 0-9 before New Zealand’s tour of Australia. New Zealand in 1884 was the predecessor to what we now know as the All Blacks. In fact, that was the first official “All Blacks” team.

Seven competition points sounds better than one – with the NPC still using the 4-try bonus point rather than Super Rugby’s bonus point for 3 or more tries than the opposition.

The Lions have lost nine consecutive away games and six successive away games, both records.

Wellington won the NPC in 2024, shortly after a Union record 21-game winning streak that included a rare tenure with the Ranfurly Shield. Since 2025, Wellington’s record is three wins in 20 games. They have scored 560 points and conceded 839.

Having gone from champions in 2024 to this two years later, what other instances are there of rugby and sports teams having has similar crashes?

University in 1929-30 is one example. Having won the title in 1928 and then the inagural Jubilee Cup competition in 1929 they fell to dead last in 1930. John Anderson , in his club history book wrote: “It was like falling off the top of the ladder. The rungs flashed past with gathering speed until only the ground terminated the onrush to disaster. Annihilation was complete; the first were last.”

Before the last home loss to Northland 52-28, head coach Trent Reneta said: “Results tell us where we are, not where we’re going. There’s been a lot of internal growth.”

Could be an interesting challenge ghost writing the Chairman’s Report for WRFU Chair Phil Holden for next year’s annual report – a souvenir edition. Charles Dickens’ opening line in a Tale of Two Cities springs to mind as a good introduction.

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It was another poor season for Auckland too, who, since beating Canterbury 36-29 at Eden Park in 2023, have won only nine of 34 matches.  At least Auckland can take heart in the development of New Zealand Under-20 youngsters Rico Simpson and Caleb Woodley. The lineout operated effectively, the second most reliable in the NPC. Hooker Nathaniel Pole and loose forward Che Clark played strongly.

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It’s not only on the field but off it where the Lions struggled to impress the media covering them on Sunday. It wasn’t until midway through the first half that veteran commentator TJ Johnson and his supporting commentators realised that Hugo Plummer wasn’t playing and Dominic Ropeti was at lock. Then sideline commentator Ben Castle made inquiries and announced that Plummer was ruled out on Friday so he was probably sitting at home in Wellington’s northern suburbs. They always highlight a player in the intro to games, and Castle focused on Stanley Solomon but what if it was Plummer and he didn’t come out with the team!

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The New Zealand Schools lost their big match to the Australia U18s on Sunday in Hamilton, 40-33, but it was close throughout and nothing like the big defeat last year. New Zealand led 19-12 at halftime, Australia’s forwards rallying after the break and their bench making a difference later.

This was the Australian U18s fourth consecutive win over New Zealand but they also pick players a year out of school with a season’s senior rugby under their belts and some having played in the Shute Shield and Hospital Cup competitions. The was also a Australian Schools team in this tournament in Hamilton and the the NZ Māori U18s featuring St Pat’s Silverstream’s Ryder Thompson at lock beat them 32-21 on Sunday.

St Pat’s Silverstream’s Fletcher Cooper played a starring role for the NZ Schools with a composed, classy performance and he set up several tries His crosskick out to Westlake BHS’s left wing Matt Fleming (also year 12) a highlight. If the rumours are true that the Warriors are circling that is sad (good for Cooper, but for the rest of us).

Wellington College’s loosehead prop Julius Toimata had an imperial game before being subbed. They were the only Wellington players in the 23 for this match.

The New Zealand Schools have conceded 40, 55, 81, and 38 in their last four defeats to Australia. Before 2023, their highest scores conceded were: 1979: England, 4-23 1992: Ireland, 27-25 2014: Australia, 34-24 1997: Australia, 23-27 The 1979 England Schools team that toured Australia and New Zealand won 12 of 13 games and thrashed New Zealand 23-4 in the “Test” in Pukekohe.

Nigel Melville later became the youngest player to captain England in a senior international against Australia in 1984. The halfback played 13 Tests and has since been a prominent administrator. Other notable internationals were Bristol loose forward Andy Dun and Toby Allchurch (Born in Karachi, Pakistan). All Black and Kiwis league international Dean Kenny and Canterbury fullback and New Zealand cricketer were the most prominent New Zealand players.

The 1992 New Zealand Schools team featured 12 internationals, including 10 future All Blacks. It required two tries from Carlos Spencer in the unusual position of second-five and a last-play, 45m penalty from Jeff Wilson to beat an Irish side that had won seven of eight games on their tour and featured future internationals Anthony Foley, Jeremy Davidson, Jonathan Bell, and Conor McGuiness. Alister Campbell, Ryan Cross, Adam Freier, Julian Huxley, Steve Kefu, David Lyons, George Smith, and Phil Waugh were future Wallabies from the 1997 Australian Schools team that snapped New Zealand’s record 23-game winning streak between 1991 and 1997.

Despite a gallant comeback at Jerry Collins Stadium in Wellington in 2014, Australia failed to beat New Zealand. Izack Rodda was a future Wallaby in the Aussie team that opposed a New Zealand side captained by future All Black Rieko Ioane.

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The Hurricanes have been making announcements thick and fast of all the players coming to Wellington in 2027.

Recent announcements include:

• Fehi Fineanganofo
• Semisi Tupou Ta’eiloa
• Hunter Morrison
• Oliver Haig
• Rohan Wingham
• Bryn Hall

This is great, but just one of these six is from within the region and none are from Wellington where they play all but one of their games. This is all fine if they keep winning but we know what happens to crowds at Wellington if they don’t.

Semisi Tupou Ta’eiloa’s signing announcement came a matter of hours before Ardie Savea announced he is heading to the Blues.

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Remember ‘Rest & Rotation‘ in 2007? Sideline Conversions has been told that the All Blacks are going to be returning to this theme in 2o27. For a start, there is the Anzac Bledisloe Cup test which will keep the leading 30+ players out of Super Rugby for a week or two either side of that. Then it’s all about the Rugby Championship and on to the Rugby World Cup in October and a possible date with the Springboks in the quarter-finals. If South Africa continues to have the wood on the All Blacks in the July tests next year (including the Eden Park record being put on the line again) should the All Blacks look at deliberately losing to the Wallabies in RWC pool play, so as to book a quarter-final match-up with England instead?

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Wainuiomata first-five Ruben Love is out of the remainder of the year as well – so we await his revovery and road back in early 2027.

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