{"id":32192,"date":"2026-08-07T13:13:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T01:13:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/?p=32192"},"modified":"2026-08-07T13:13:07","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T01:13:07","slug":"college-semi-finals-u85kg-and-reserve-grade-club-rugby-representative-games-this-saturday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/2026\/08\/07\/college-semi-finals-u85kg-and-reserve-grade-club-rugby-representative-games-this-saturday\/","title":{"rendered":"College semi-finals, U85kg and Reserve Grade club rugby, representative games this Saturday"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Above: Action from the Wellington Centurions v Whanganui match last year, with the Centurions winning 41-0 at the Hutt Rec. The two sides meet at Cooks Gardens tomorrow in the Centurions&#8217; first game of the year and Whanganui&#8217;s last before the Heartland Championship gets underway next weekend. Photo: Kinetic Images.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>\n\t\t<style>\n\t\t\t#wpls-logo-showcase-slider-1 .wpls-fix-box,\n\t\t\t#wpls-logo-showcase-slider-1 .wpls-fix-box img.wp-post-image{max-height:250px; }\n\t\t<\/style>\n\n\t\t<div class=\"wpls-wrap wpls-logo-showcase-slider-wrp wpls-logo-clearfix wpls-design-1 \" data-conf=\"{&quot;slides_column&quot;:4,&quot;slides_scroll&quot;:1,&quot;dots&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;arrows&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;autoplay&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;autoplay_interval&quot;:3000,&quot;loop&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;rtl&quot;:&quot;false&quot;,&quot;speed&quot;:800,&quot;center_mode&quot;:&quot;false&quot;,&quot;lazyload&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wpls-logo-showcase logo_showcase wpls-logo-slider  sliderimage_hide_border \" id=\"wpls-logo-showcase-slider-1\" >\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wpls-logo-cnt\">\n\t<div class=\"wpls-fix-box\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.roblawmax.co.nz\/\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-post-image\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/rmax24.jpg?fit=220%2C120&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" \/>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div><div class=\"wpls-logo-cnt\">\n\t<div class=\"wpls-fix-box\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.geeksonwheels.co.nz\/locations\/wellington-computer-repair\/\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-post-image\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/images.jpg?fit=296%2C170&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" \/>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div><div class=\"wpls-logo-cnt\">\n\t<div class=\"wpls-fix-box\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/thecallcentre.co.nz\/\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-post-image\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/TCC-Logo-400x260-1.jpg?fit=400%2C260&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" \/>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div><div class=\"wpls-logo-cnt\">\n\t<div class=\"wpls-fix-box\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.partnersfinance.co.nz\/\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-post-image\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/part2.jpg?fit=300%2C195&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" \/>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong>By Scott MacLean &amp; Steven White<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em><strong>Friday lunchtime edition:<\/strong><\/em> Plenty of rugby on tomorrow for supporters to watch tomorrow, with the Premiership semi-finals at Wellington College and Evans Bay Parks two matches to follow closely. There is also the Reserve Grade Division 2 Final and Division 1 semi-finals, U85kg knockout games and representative matches.<\/p>\n<p>The weather forecast in Wellington and lower North Island is for dry, cool conditions.<\/p>\n<p>A look at what is happening below.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>College<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This weekend we turn the spotlight onto the College game as they hit the final fortnight of the year.<\/p>\n<p>The feature games are the two <strong>Premiership<\/strong> semi-finals, which for afficionados of the game are conveniently both in the city, and timed so that it will be possible to catch most of both matches. First up at 1.00pm are unbeaten Wellington College hosting Rathkeale College, with the top seeds looking to repeat last weeks win over the Wairarapa side. That\u2019s followed at Evans Bay Park at 2.30pm the clash between St Pat\u2019s Town and Silverstream, with Town having earned hosting rights in part to their win over their brethren in last month\u2019s pulsating Traditional clash.<\/p>\n<p>The winners will move on to next Sunday\u2019s final at Porirua Park.<\/p>\n<p>In <strong>Premier 2<\/strong> heavyweights the Silverstream 2nds are again top qualifiers and they host Kapiti in their semi-final, while the Town 2nds raise the curtain at Evans Bay against Aotea.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>U15s Division 1<\/strong> semi-finals have Silverstream and Wellington College hosting Town and Scots respectively.<\/p>\n<p>There are two grade finals being played tomorrow. The true lightweights of the <strong>Under 55kg<\/strong> grade sees <strong>Wellington College <\/strong>face <strong>Silverstream<\/strong> for the David Scott Cup, while the <strong>Premier 5<\/strong> final has <strong>Wellington College\u2019s U16 Black<\/strong> side taking on the <strong>Town Dooley\u2019s XV<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Club<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Just four matches remain in the club season, with three of those tomorrow. The one with silverware attached is the <strong>Reserve Grade Division<\/strong> <strong>2<\/strong> final, which sees old rivals the <strong>Mixed Veges<\/strong> and <strong>MSP Internationals<\/strong> do battle in the Ian Galloway cage for the Alan Seerup Cup.<\/p>\n<p>Also on are the two Division 1 semi-finals. After having last weekend off, the top qualifying Poneke Ruffnuts are at home on Kilbirnie Park where they will face neighbours Wellington and not Pare-Plim, after the latter admitted a player eligibility breach in last Saturday\u2019s quarter-final. In the other match the Johnsonville Cripples take on the OBU Righteous Pink Ginners up at Helston Park.<\/p>\n<p>________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Under 85s Club Cup<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Four Wellington sides in action in round two of the national lightweights competition this weekend. After having a bye into this round, <strong>Eastbourne<\/strong> take the field tomorrow when they host <strong>Paremata-Plimmerton<\/strong> at HW Shortt Park. The other two Wellington sides are both on the road, heading away to take on Taranaki opposition. <strong>HOBM<\/strong> face the Tukapa Bantams at Whanganui\u2019s Kaierau club, while <strong>Poneke<\/strong> go further north to face the New Plymouth Old Boys Half-Pints in Waverley.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tawa<\/strong> were due to host <strong>MSP<\/strong>, but the latter have withdrawn.<\/p>\n<p>In two other matches of note tomorrow, former winners Pakuranga and Eden clash, and there\u2019s a heavyweight contest when Auckland champions the University Slugs head down the motorway to face the Karaka Razzlers.<\/p>\n<p>________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Representative<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>While plenty of attention tomorrow will fall on the <strong>Lions <\/strong>clash with Auckland at Eden Park and particularly how Du\u2019Plessis Kirifi goes in the #12 jersey, there\u2019s four other teams in action as well.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>Wellington<\/strong> <strong>Pride<\/strong> women head up to Pahiatua for a preseason hit-out against Hawke\u2019s Bay, the <strong>Wellington Centurions <\/strong>finally get on the field has they provide preseason opposition for Whanganui at Cooks Gardens, while the only game in Wellington sees <strong>Te Upoko Wellington M\u0101ori<\/strong> face <strong>Wairarapa-Bush<\/strong> who appear over the group illness that saw their match last week against the Centurions cancelled.<\/p>\n<p>The Centurions kick-off at Whanganui at 1.00pm while Wellington M\u0101ori take to the field at Maidstone Park at 2.00pm.<\/p>\n<p>The <strong>Wellington Fijians<\/strong> are also in action tomorrow in Whanganui, kicking off at Cooks Gardens against the Whanganui Barbarians at 10.30am.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Horowhenua-Kapiti<\/strong> complete their Heartland preparations with a match against the Manawatu Development side at Massey University, while the U21 Development Series for the four Heartland provinces concludes with a double header in Bulls on Saturday and Sunday. Wairarapa Bush look to retain their crown from last season.<\/p>\n<p>Like the Lions, the <strong>Manawatu Turbos<\/strong> will be hoping to bounce back from a first round NPC loss. They host the Southland Stags in Palmerston North on Sunday at 5.05pm.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Team lists (as provided\/seen)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Lions:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Jake Turnbull (Import)<br \/>\n2. Penieli Poasa (Ories)<br \/>\n3. Samuela Tawake (Import)<br \/>\n4. Caleb Delany \u00a9 (OBU)<br \/>\n5. Hugo Plummer (Tawa)<br \/>\n6. Dominic Ropeti (Ories)<br \/>\n7. Sione Halalilo (Ories)<br \/>\n8. Matolu Petaia (Tawa)<br \/>\n9. Riley Williams (Import)<br \/>\n10. Callum Harkin (OBU)<br \/>\n11. Reo Matsushita (Japan)<br \/>\n12. Du\u2019Plessis Kirifi (Norths)<br \/>\n13. Divad Palu (Import)<br \/>\n14. Isi Saumaki (Tawa)<br \/>\n15. Cam Burgess (MSP)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>16. James O\u2019Reilly (HOBM)<br \/>\n17. Sekope Lopeti-Moli (Import)<br \/>\n18. Alex Hewitt (Upper Hutt)<br \/>\n19. Johnny Falloon (OBU)<br \/>\n20. Murphy Taramai (Upper Hutt)<br \/>\n21. Logan Henry (Petone)<br \/>\n22. Piri Paraone (Petone)<br \/>\n23. Jordan Soli (Ories)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Wellington Centurions <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1.Senio Sanele (Upper Hutt Rams)<\/p>\n<ol start=\"2\">\n<li>Kaleb Saxon (Petone)<\/li>\n<li>Bradley Crichton (Northern United)<\/li>\n<li>Ben Tuiomanufili (HOBM)<\/li>\n<li>Jack Riley (OBU)<\/li>\n<li>Connor Tuifao (Petone)<\/li>\n<li>David Leota-Johnson (Ories)<\/li>\n<li>Brayden Soi (Wainuiomata)<\/li>\n<li>Esi Komaisavai (Paremata-Plimmerton)<\/li>\n<li>Jacob Waikari-Jones (Petone)<\/li>\n<li>Jacob Kennedy (Johnsonville)<\/li>\n<li>Ietitaia Campbell (Upper Hutt Rams:<\/li>\n<li>Caleb Robson (HOBM)<\/li>\n<li>Tom Maiava (Ories)<\/li>\n<li>Luke Kapene<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ol start=\"16\">\n<li>Conley Alexander (Petone)<\/li>\n<li>Harry Rankin (Petone)<\/li>\n<li>Jade Langi (Upper Hutt Rams)<\/li>\n<li>Archie Treadwell (Wellington Axemen)<\/li>\n<li>Mitchell Shields (OBU)<\/li>\n<li>Daniel Tafili (Ories)<\/li>\n<li>Luke Bidois (Tawa)<\/li>\n<li>Finlay Hagen (MSP)<\/li>\n<li>Dawson Smith (Upper Hutt Rams)<\/li>\n<li>Viliame Rarasea (MSP)<\/li>\n<li>Waylon Tuhoro-Robinson (HOBM)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><strong><em>\n\t\t<style>\n\t\t\t#wpls-logo-showcase-slider-2 .wpls-fix-box,\n\t\t\t#wpls-logo-showcase-slider-2 .wpls-fix-box img.wp-post-image{max-height:250px; }\n\t\t<\/style>\n\n\t\t<div class=\"wpls-wrap wpls-logo-showcase-slider-wrp wpls-logo-clearfix wpls-design-1 \" data-conf=\"{&quot;slides_column&quot;:4,&quot;slides_scroll&quot;:1,&quot;dots&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;arrows&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;autoplay&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;autoplay_interval&quot;:3000,&quot;loop&quot;:&quot;true&quot;,&quot;rtl&quot;:&quot;false&quot;,&quot;speed&quot;:800,&quot;center_mode&quot;:&quot;false&quot;,&quot;lazyload&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wpls-logo-showcase logo_showcase wpls-logo-slider  sliderimage_hide_border \" id=\"wpls-logo-showcase-slider-2\" >\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wpls-logo-cnt\">\n\t<div class=\"wpls-fix-box\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.roblawmax.co.nz\/\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-post-image\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/rmax24.jpg?fit=220%2C120&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" \/>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div><div class=\"wpls-logo-cnt\">\n\t<div class=\"wpls-fix-box\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.geeksonwheels.co.nz\/locations\/wellington-computer-repair\/\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-post-image\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/images.jpg?fit=296%2C170&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" \/>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div><div class=\"wpls-logo-cnt\">\n\t<div class=\"wpls-fix-box\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/thecallcentre.co.nz\/\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-post-image\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/TCC-Logo-400x260-1.jpg?fit=400%2C260&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" \/>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div><div class=\"wpls-logo-cnt\">\n\t<div class=\"wpls-fix-box\">\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.partnersfinance.co.nz\/\" target=\"_self\">\n\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-post-image\"  src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/part2.jpg?fit=300%2C195&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" \/>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Above: Action from the Wellington Centurions v Whanganui match last year, with the Centurions winning 41-0 at the Hutt Rec. The two sides meet at Cooks Gardens tomorrow in the Centurions&#8217; first game of the year and Whanganui&#8217;s last before the Heartland Championship gets underway next weekend. Photo: Kinetic Images. By Scott MacLean &amp; Steven&#8230;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32196,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5,60,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-club-rugby","category-college-rugby","category-latest-club-rugby-news","category-representative-rugby"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Centurions-v-Whanganui-1.jpg?fit=915%2C583&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbDiON-8ne","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32192","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32192"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32192\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32202,"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32192\/revisions\/32202"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32192"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32192"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/clubrugby.nz\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32192"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}