Wainuiomata and Old Boys University remain unbeaten in the third round of the Premier competitions

Wainuiomata are on top of the 2019 Jubilee Cup standings after the opening three weeks after a hard-fought win over Poneke, and they turn to face Petone next week with a semi-final spot firmly in their sights.

Wainuiomata beat Poneke 18-13 in tough conditions at Kilbirnie Park on a gloomy, drizzly day of Premier club rugby around Wellington.

They were joined in the winners’ column by Hutt Old Boys Marist and Northern United who also had impressive round three Jubilee Cup wins over Oriental-Rongotai and Petone respectively.

HOBM defeated Ories 39-27 at the Polo Ground, while Norths beat Petone 22-10 at Jerry Collins Stadium.

In the Hardham Cup, Old Boys University won the feature match of the round, beating Marist St Pats 20-10 at Evans Bay Park and winning the Bill Brien Challenge Trophy.

The Wellington Axemen annexed their second straight bonus point win at home at Hataitai Park, beating the Avalon Wolves 38-8, while the Upper Hutt Rams held off a stern challenge from Paremata-Plimmerton to win their encounter 24-19 at Maoribank Park.

Tawa and Johnsonville return from their byes in the Jubilee Cup and Hardham Cup this weekend.

Of note, Northern United (Jubilee Cup) and Old Boys University (Hardham Cup) have the byes in next weekend’s fourth round.

Wainuiomata capitalised on Poneke's errors to score first half tries to lock Matt Jacobs from a lineout drive and halfback Uale Mai from a close-range dart. Poneke replied just before the interval with a try to centre Levi Harmon to trail 7-15.

The run of play remained tight after the break and Poneke first five-eighth Pakai Turia kicked two penalties to close the margin to 13-15, before a solitary penalty to Wainuiomata fullback Josh Robertson-Weepu closed out their win.

HOBM wing Fereti Soloa scored the first of his two tries and lock David Filipo crossed to put HOBM up 15-7 over Ories. Wing Nash Fiso-Vaelei scored a third try for the Eagles to extend this lead to 22-7. Ories scored out-wide through wing Reuben Va’a to close the gap to 22-12. From there they came back to draw level 22-22 early in the second spell. But HOBM wing Soloa ran 70m for a decisive try to put the Eagles in front 27-22 and then pulled clear from there to win.

Norths right wing Junior Time-Taotua scored the game’s first and last tries in their 22-10 win over Petone, the Villagers’ third loss to start the second round. He latched on to a well-weighted kick ahead by first five-eighth Eli Moata’a and later fielded a kick in general play and ran 50 metres to score what would be the match-winner.

These two tries and the power of Norths tight forwards were the difference in a rugged contest, that saw Norths clear out to a 17-0 lead and Petone to then come back to 17-7 at halftime though a try to flanker Jarrod Hrstich from a lineout drive, and then 17-10 with an early second half penalty. The run of play remained tight and willing throughout the remainder of the contest, with Time-Taotua’s second strike the only other scoring.

In a tight match at Evans Bay Park, the OBU Goats held a 7-5 lead over MSP at halftime, following a 15th minute try to MSP flanker James Tuia and then a try from a lineout drive to OBU No. 8 Teariki Ben Nicholas. MSP lost midfielder Isaia Petelo to the sin-bin late in the first half, and OBU went on to extend their lead to 13-7 midway through the second spell with two penalties. OBU left wing Trevahn Ta’ufo’ou would score the winning try later in the second half.

The Upper Hutt Rams went out to a 12-0 lead over Paremata-Plimmerton, extending this to 19-7. But Paremata-Plimmerton came back to draw level 19-19 with 15 minutes still to play. A tight fourth quarter tussle ensued, before the Rams worked their way up field and scored the winning try with a few minutes to play.

The Wellington Axemen scored all their early points to wing Ollie Marshall, through two unconverted tries and to penalties to see them go up 16-0 later in the first half. Avalon Wolves halfback Jordan King kicked a penalty to close the gap to 16-3, but a third Marshall penalty put the Axemen up 19-3 at the break. The Axemen then extended their lead with two more tries to go 31-3 up. Avalon right wing Jayson Aquila scored their only try, before the Axemen sealed victory with their final try of the afternoon to centre Eeremia Tapsell.

In Women’s matches, it was Oriental-Rongotai that won the feature match of the round – but only just. Northern United scored four tries but were unable to convert any of these and Ories prevailed 21-20. Ories No. 8 and captain Joanah Ngan-Woo player her 100th game for the side.

Petone defaulted to the Old Boys University Impalas in the other scheduled women’s top tier fxture, while hooker Jane Bryce scored a hat-trick and kicked goals in scoring 29 points in MSP’s 83-0 win over Wainuiomata/Avalon. Centre Paige Va’auli scored a double and has now scored 14 tries in nine games this year.

Hutt Old Boys Marist defeated Poneke 30-0 with Agnes Faraimo scoring a brace in the other tier 2 Izzy Ford Cup fixture this weekend.

The Colts Division 1 John E Kelly Cup is shaping as the closest of them all this year, with four teams all locked on 10 points after the conclusion of this weekend’s third round set of matches.

Defending champions OBU Green beat Marist St Pats 41-19 on the St Pat’s Artificial, while HOBM Green edged Ories 15-14 at the Polo Ground, Tawa beat Paremata-Plimmerton 24-3 and Petone snapped a deadlock to score the match-winning try on fulltime in beating Norths 23-18 in the early game on Jerry Collins Stadium.

Poneke continue to set the pace in Colts Division 2 Vic Calcinai Memorial Trophy, defeating Wainuiomta 62-14, while the Upper Hutt Rams overcame Johnsonville 46-12 and the Wellington Axemen won for the second time this season in beating Avalon 25-10.

The Axemen’s Premier Reserve side grabbed their first win of the year, beating Avalon 38-12 in the third round of the HD Morgan Memorial Cup. In the same grade, MSP’s second XV maintained their long-running winning streak, holding off OBU 12-8. The Upper Hutt Rams made it three from three in beating Paremata-Plimmerton 38-12.

In the Premier Reserve Ed Chaney Cup, Norths kept their winning record going in the second round by beating Petone 19-14 on the top field at Porirua Park. Poneke beat Waiuiomata 66-17 and Ories beat HOBM 36-12 in the early match at the Polo Ground.

In the U85kg Restricted Grade the HOBM Howlers beat Wests by default to clinch second, the Johnsonville Terrahawks finished third after defeating MSP 51-14, while Paraparaumu beat Wellington 26-25 and Eastbourne beat the Scallywags 50-0 in their fixture.

The Poneke Ruffnuts beat the Upper Hutt Rams Pirates by default to collect the Reserve Grade Division 1 Mike Copeland Trophy, while the Paremata-Plimmerton Punters beat the Wests Mixed Veges 45-7 to seal the Reserve Grade Division 2 spoils.