Sideline Conversions 23 March (some rugby news and information to start the week)

Monday morning edition: Inside a fortnight to the start of the Wellington club rugby season starting up, while other Hurricanes region club competitions will also be in full swing by Easter Weekend.

A look at some selected pre-season games below – as always come back here on Friday for a confirmed list of these and other games and a preview:

• Upper Hutt Rams v Marist St Pat’s, Maidstone Park
• Oriental-Rongotai v Old Boys University, Rongotai College
• Tawa v Linwood, Lyndhurst Park
• Paremata-Plimmerton v Kaierau, Venue TBC
• Manawatu Senior A Hankins Shield Round 1: Feilding Yellows v Linton Army /Freyberg v College Old Boys / Varsity v Kia Toa / Te Kawau v Old Boys Marist
• Also: Hurricanes v Reds, Wellington 4.35pm (Saturday) / Hurricanes Development Hunters v Blues, Wellington 2.00pm (Saturday).

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A number of pre-season matches were contested on Saturday.

Pōneke travelled to New Plymouth and beat home team Tukapa 29-26 in a thriller, holding on under their posts to secure victory in the 83^rd minute. Marist St Pat’s sailed to Nelson and lost 60-42 to Nelson Marist in a points fest.

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A cancellation of a pre-season fixture on Saturday between Kia Toa and Oriental-Rongotai. This was by Kia Toa, ahead of the Manawatu Senior A Hankins Shield competition starting this coming Saturday and their opening match being against defending champions Varsity who are coming off two hard games against OBU and Waikato University. Ories will be keen to get their pre-season game in this Saturday against OBU.

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A rollicking opening afternoon of Horowhenua-Kapiti Premier Ramsbotham Cup Cup matches on Saturday in perfect conditions along the coast. At Paraparaumu, the home side missed out to last year’s champions Foxton 26-47 and at Otaki, home side Rahui and visitors Levin College Old Boys drew 14-14. At Waikanae, the home team beat Levin Wanderers 35-19.

Waikanae came back from 8-19 down to score 27 unanswered points, after a late first half sin binning was a catalyst for Levin Wanderers to score two tries just before halftime. The Levin visitors then went very close to scoring in the scoreboard corner just after the break, which would have put them up 24-8. Instead, Waikanae rallied and looked to up their tempo and keep play away from the bigger Wanderers forwards. They took control and came home strongly.

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Club Rugby is busy offline collating several pre-season stories to start dropping soon. The first of these, the ‘School Leavers to Watch’ article, will likely be published and promoted later this week. All clubs have been contacted for input. Please bookmark this website and return often, starting soon.

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The Wellington College First XV defended the Steve Letica Cup against the Old Boys University Green Colts at Boyd Wilson Park on Friday evening. Letica was a former Wellington College player in the mid 1960s who went on to become a Junior All Black but was struck down with leukemia which ended his life at a young age.

Wellington College hosts Feilding High School this coming Saturday in the first of its inter-school matches for 2026. The match is set down for an 11.30am kick-off at Rugby League Park.

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Wellington Premier competition structure update

Sideline Conversions understands that last week’s vote by clubs to retain the status quo of 14 Premier teams for the next three years or reduce the number to 12 was split down the middle 7/7 amongst those stakeholders that casted votes (Stokes Valley, the Centurions WRRA and WSSRU all abstained).

An established club subsequently changed their vote and the option for 14 teams has now passed 8/6.

Clubs now have until Tuesday this week to vote on how that competition structure will look, with two options:

1. A full Swindale Shield round (13 rounds), then a 7-7 teams split second round to the Jubilee Cup and Hardham Cup with semi-finals finals. So that is a 21-match season for the finalists and continuing well into August.
2. Two seven team pools for the first round with four crossover games and one points table used. So that’s 10 first round matches. This to be followed by the 7-7 split second round. So that is a 17-match competition season for the finalists and ending at the end of July (the same length as now).

What are your thoughts?

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The opening round of Hawke’s Bay Premier Nash Cup rugby on Saturday saw four comfortable wins. Defending champions Taradale eased past Havelock North 46-24, Napier Tech beat Bridge Pa 73-0, Napier Old Boys Marist beat Napier Pirate 35-10 and Hasting beat M.A.C. 51-33.

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The Hurricanes beat the Highlanders for the 10th straight time on Friday night.

Wing Fehi Fineanganofo scored a hat-trick and halfback Cam Roigard scored twice in an eight-tries-to-one affair. This was the Highlanders’ heaviest defeat since their 70-26 thrashing by the Brumbies 30 years ago.

The Hurricanes have yet to play the Crusaders, the Chiefs, the Blues or the Brumbies, but with such a high margin of victory against another New Zealand team then they these other sides will need to be wary of them in contests coming up.

Peter Marriott will have a bumper Hurricanes ‘Stat Attack’ this week, check back here tomorrow.

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The Hurricanes Hunters beat the Highlanders Development team (the Jacobites?) 38-27 in their Super Rugby Development fixture in the early game in Dunedin on Friday. It was 12-12 at halftime.

Stanley Solomon played fullback for the Highlanders team and Quinten Holland (brother of Fabian Holland) played his first game in 18 months after serious injury. Could he be an All Black to0?

As is the case with these matches, no coverage or additional information anywhere to be found, but one observation looking at the line-ups is that Petone might be rubbing their hands together with the prospect of Riley Higgins (Hurricanes) and Solomon (Highlanders) playing a run of club rugby matches soon. Unless Solomon joins a Dunedin club for a few games (or gets picked up to play for the main team). Ngane Punivai is another player that could get some game time with Petone.

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The Club Rugby Tipping Competition is back for 2026.

This has just finished being set up so start signing up or activating your username from last year at

https://clubrugby.nz/wp/tipping-competition/ 

More details to come soon.

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The New Zealand U20s naming is imminent.

It could come out any day, following their camp and set of internal games last week in Taupo.

This team goes to South Africa later in April, which is a great tour and good for the players, but it also means a whole lot of the best young guys in New Zealand won’t be playing much if any club rugby until later in the winter.

Will be interesting to see how many, if any, Wellington players make this team.

There should be a handful of Manawatu and Hawke’s Bay guys.

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The Black Ferns team will be announced at 10.00am this morning.

Lookout for a new Wellington player and another international out of St Mary’s College to be named. UPDATE: Justine McGregor has been selected in this squad as an outside back, along with Wellington’s other player, Ayesha Leti-L’iga.

They play three internationals in April, against the USA in Sacramento on the 11th, against Canada in Kansas City on the 17th and against Australia on the Sunshine Coast on the 25th.

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Congratulations to Vernon Bason on his debut.

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Since April 19, 2025, Cam Roigard’s teams have lost only two of the 15 matches he has played. In the Hurricanes’ 50-7 thrashing of the Highlanders in Dunedin, he extended his run of tries in consecutive matches against the Southerners to five.  The Hurricanes’ biggest score against the Highlanders was 56-20 at McLean Park in Napier on June 5, 2015, the day legendary All Blacks captain and Pourira hardman Jerry Collins died. The Highlanders rallied to beat the Hurricanes in that year’s final, but that possibility in 2026 seems remote. There was an alarming regression from the promise of the first four matches. Ethan De Groot was dismantled by All Blacks teammate Patolsi Tosi in the scrums. The Highlanders have so many lock injuries, they might soon be looking for answers on Speights bottle caps. The Highlanders’ biggest loss at home was 60-20 against the Blues in 2023.

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Great to see former Old Boys University Jubilee Cup winner and Highlanders co-captain Hugh Renton return to Super Rugby Pacific in the Highlanders 7-50 loss to the Hurricanes. In his first game since April 19, 2024, Renton topped the tackle count with 19. Perhaps his most memorable moment was accidentally shoulder-barging Australian referee Angus Gardner in the second half. The Highlanders won their first six games under Gardner’s whistle. In the eighth game he officiated for the Southerns, they upset the British and Irish Lions 23-22 in 2017. Since then, they have lost 3 of their last 14 with Gardner as referee. At least it is not as bad as their record under Steve Walsh, where they won 2 of 23 games. Walsh was the referee who penalised Wellington heavily (22-4) in the infamous 2001 Ranfurly Shield challenge defeat to Canterbury (31-29). Wellington actually had a reasonable record under Walsh: 16 wins and seven defeats.

Hugh Renton on Injuries: “I ruptured both groins and needed surgery for both abdominal attachments. I also had a hernia that required surgery. In addition, I had fractures in my pelvis and pubic symphysis, a floating bone, broken cartilage, and bone spurs. I had surgery to clear the fractures and damaged cartilage, and the surgeon used a micro drill on each bone to help new cartilage form.”

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Wonderful scenes as fans took to the field at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin after the Hurricanes v Highlanders round six Super Rugby Pacific clash. Even the Highlanders, who’d been beaten 50-7, stayed to converse with the crowd.

Why are excited, awe-stricken children in Wellington treated like caged chickens, forced into claustrophobic, isolated areas? Sport belongs to the fans, not to health-and-safety zealots or corporate drones. The best example was in the NRL when the crowd, despite warnings of penalties, invaded the field to celebrate Alex Johnson breaking the NRL try scoring record. Even the Aussie Prime Minister was on the paddock. Affectionate pitch invasions are a long-standing tradition in Australian sport for unusual milestones, such as kicking 100 goals in an AFL football season.

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Prop James Slipper, 36, passed four-time Crusaders title-winning prop Wyatt Crockett as the most capped Super Rugby player of all time by making his 203rd appearance in the Brumbies 33-24 win against the Chiefs in Canberra. His 52 minutes against the Chiefs were typically solid. He was the equal-leader for tackles midway through the first half, with a vital stop on All Blacks halfback Cortez Ratima a highlight. The Brumbies scrum was sturdy, and an Excoet missile cleanout helped Hudson Creighton score a try.

Only Rugby World Cup-winning All Blacks Crockett (147), Sam Whitelock (134), and Owen Franks (123) have won more Super Rugby matches than Slipper’s 122. Crockett won four of his five clashes with Slipper. A member of the 2011 Reds championship team, Slipper has beaten all 18 sides in the competition’s history. This segued into a record-breaking 151-Test Wallabies career in which he beat all 18 countries he played at least once, matching the achievement of international rugby’s greatest winner, Richie McCaw (148 Tests, 131 wins). Though it has not been a golden era for the Wallabies, Slipper won half of his 22 Tests against the Springboks, which compares favourably with George Gregan, who holds the Australian record with 14 wins in 30 Tests against the four-time World Champions. McCaw won 20 of his 26 Tests against South Africa. Slipper is Wallaby #843. There were 152 Wallabies selected over his career (2010-2025).

Springboks legend Jaque Fourie scored at least one try against all of the 16 counties he beat in his remarkable career (71 Tests, 32 tries, 53 wins), which included a 2007 Rugby World Cup triumph. Daisuke Ohata, who scored a world record 69 tries in 58 Tests for Japan, scored at least one try against 20 different countries, but unlike Fourie, didn’t score against or beat every opponent.

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The 2026 season hasn’t reached its halfway point yet, but the Hurricanes have opted for continuity and surety by appointing Clark Laidlaw Head Coach for the 2027 season. At the same time, Jason Holland is departing for the Blues.

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RIP Chuck Norris – it was once said that he could win a Jubilee Cup final taking on the opposition on his own.

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Front Row chat

Canterbury’s head of community rugby, Michael Sheat, conceded publicly this week that there is a shortage of front rowers, telling the New Zealand Herald: “We are aware there are some clubs that are light on front-row players, but aren’t aware of any that are critical in terms of being able to field a team. All clubs are constantly working on increasing their depth in this area.”

What is the situation in Wellington? Rugby at a Premier level cannot be played without specialist front-row players – and, to a degree, qualified reserves. There are national provisions (Domestic Safety Law Variations or DSLVs) for playing with reduced numbers, but Premier grades must start with at least a nominated tighthead prop, loosehead prop and a hooker. If they name a full squad of 22, they must have at least five players trained in the front row.

Should DSLVs be extended into Premier Rugby? Should front-rowers be allowed to be used as rolling subs? How would a rolling subs rule be implemented to ensure fairness? For example, the roating of a weaker prop in unfavourable parts of the field could be deliberate.

What about this pre-season result from Auckland/North Harbour: North Shore 62 – Ponsonby 12.

Ponsonby conceded 50 plus points for just the second time in their 2,000 plus games.

Ponsonby has won 52 Auckland senior championships and produced 48 All Blacks. The next best total of championships is University with 19. North Shore are the defending North Harbour champions heading into the new season.

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Who remembers this, from the ‘Today in History’ files:

23 March 2020: The Covid-19 pandemic sees New Zealand move to Level 3 lockdown status, forcing the postponement of all rugby in New Zealand until further notice. The club season is scheduled to start in a matter of days but will now be on hold indefinitely. It will not be until mid-June that the revised season kicks off as players, officials and supporters alike are restricted to their houses and local areas throughout April and May.

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PHOTOS 2026: As well as social media all our photo galleries are put online here: https://clubrugby.smugmug.com/2026 

This column is a collaborative effort, to share news and information and help to keep people informed in one place and also free and open and not behind a paywall please contribute by emailing editor@clubrugby.co.nz or contacting us via social media.