Rugby will fill morning, noon and night in Wellington

Rugby will take centre stage for thousands of people in Wellington on Saturday with club finals day followed by the All Blacks test against South Africa.

The sidelines and stands will be full at the Petone Recreation Ground where a record nine club rugby finals will be played.

Just hours later Westpac Stadium will be at capacity when the All Blacks take on South Africa in a repeat of last year’s thrilling Rugby Championship Test.

However, the attention will be away from the stadium for the best part of the day when 11 different clubs will be represented across the nine finals, the first of which kicks off at 11am.

It promises to be a day fit for family fun with the Petone Recreation Ground a liquor ban area.

The finals day is a day to celebrate rugby and the achievements of the teams and players which will appeal to all ages.

There will be the Mitre 10 Kids’ Area at the southern end of the ground while there will also be spot prizes and a bouncy castle for extra entertainment.

There will be plenty of food and refreshments available with EFPOS available at the ground.

Headlining the day is the Jubilee Cup final in the men’s premier grade and the women’s Tia Paasi Memorial Cup final.

Wainuiomata will appear in just their second ever Jubilee Cup final, and their first since 2014, when they take on top qualifiers Northern United, beaten finalists from last season.

The Jubilee Cup final will kick-off at 2.30pm on the No 1 ground following the Tia Paasi Memorial Cup final between defending champions Northern United and Oriental Rongotai.

The two sides met in last year’s thrilling final and have already clashed three times in 2019 with Oriental Rongotai holding a two-one win advantage.

The Hardham Cup final between Old Boys University and Marist St Pats is scheduled to start at 2pm on the No 2 ground.

Supporters wishing to get to the Petone Recreation Ground are advised to get there early to avoid congestion. 

The best entrance for the public will be off Udy St and through the Weltec entrance on Buick St.

The remaining finals in the women’s, premier reserves, first grade and colts competitions are also expected to be close and entertaining matches featuring teams from Paremata-Plimmerton and Marist St Pats (Women’s Division Two Izzy Ford Trophy); Petone and Northern United (Ed Chaney Cup); Marist St Pats and Upper Hutt Rams (HD Morgan Memorial Cup); Hutt Old Boys Marist and Old Boys University (John E Kelly Memorial Cup); Avalon against Upper Hutt Rams (Vic Calcinai Memorial Cup) and Avalon v Stokes Valley (Johnsonville Centennium Cup).

Those six finals will also be played at the Petone Recreational Ground.

For those who cannot make it to the ground the Tia Paasi Memorial Cup final and Jubilee Cup final will be live streamed on Wellington Rugby’s Facebook page.