Johnsonville Junior Rugby Club

30/08/2026

Armstrong Cup – Final Match Report 🏉

It was a perfect Wellington Sunday morning as the Hawks took the field for their final game of the season, playing in front of a fantastic home crowd at Helston Park.

The Armstrong Cup is an annual fixture between Johnsonville and Masterton Marist, with the trophy honouring the Armstrong family and the legacy of Wayne Armstrong’s father, who originally put the cup forward for competition. It was particularly special to have Wayne himself referee today’s match.

Marist started strongly, but the Hawks’ forwards quickly found their rhythm. Excellent ball retention, physicality and relentless work at the breakdown provided a powerful platform for our masterful backline to work from. The Hawks went into halftime with a commanding lead.

The second half saw the Hawks continue to extend their lead, with plenty of exciting rugby on display. We also got a glimpse of the future, with the Year 7 “South African Bomb Squad” of Caleb and Chops making their mark and showing that the next generation of Johnsonville junior rugby is in very good hands.

Tries today went to Harrison, Kiki, Levi, Honor, Noah, Nixon, Harley and Caleb, bringing the curtain down on a fantastic season in style.

But today was about much more than the result. It was the final chapter of a very special season for a very special group of kids. Led by our skipper Ben McLaughlin — a stoic leader, tireless workhorse and relentless defender — this team has shown incredible talent, but more importantly, they have built something bigger: a culture of brotherhood, sisterhood, friendship and genuine care for one another.

It was a bittersweet day. We are incredibly proud of what this group has achieved, but we’re going to miss seeing them take the field together every week.

A huge thank you to the mums and dads and all the volunteers who make this great club what it is, especially Galu and Ash, who do so much behind the scenes to keep junior rugby thriving.

And finally, to our superstar coaches Ben and Andrew — thank you. Your commitment, guidance and mentorship have been extraordinary. This team couldn’t have asked for better coaches, role models or mentors.

It has been an absolute privilege to be part of the Hawks this season. We leave this season incredibly proud of what this group has achieved and, most importantly, the people they are becoming.

The season may be over, but the future of the Hawks is looking very bright.

Go Hawks…T.Y Out 🥲🙏✊

30/08/2026

Kāhu v Vipers

Gorgeous day for our final match of the season.

Yesterday was a day of reflection as we closed out the season at Helston park playing against our neighbours.

Looking back to when we last faced the vipers back in round 7, it was a great opportunity to showcase just how far the boys have come 9 rounds later and…WOW! What an amazing effort by both teams today! There were committed tackles left, right and centre coupled with roaring bursts through the midfield and down the sideline.
Both teams left the field with smiles on their faces and pride in their eyes.

The Kāhu management team would like to take the opportunity to thank all our supporters over the season and can’t wait to level up again with you next season.

29/08/2026

The Yr 4 Warriors took on the OBU Rhinos today in their final game of the 2026 season, and what a great game it was!

The Warriors have worked hard all season on their passing and support play, and those skills were on full display today. The Rhinos had some quick runners, but the Warriors never gave up and continued to give it their all right till the end.

🏆 New World Players of the Day: Reign & Raven
🏆 Opposition Player of the Day: Cash

What an awesome season it’s been! The Warriors have really come together as a team, and it has been wonderful watching their skills and confidence grow throughout the year. They should all be very proud of themselves 💙🏈

A huge thank you to Sef and Galu for leading, guiding and supporting the team throughout the season. We are so grateful for the time, effort and commitment you have put in each week. The Warriors have been very lucky to have you both as their coaches this year. 🙌🏼

A massive thanks to Tracey our amazing manager who keeps us all turning up at the right time and place each week, keeps us upto date with anything we need to know And also films for the parents who cant make it to all the games 🥰🥰

And finally, thank you to the supporters who have shown up week after week to cheer the Warriors on. Your support from the sidelines is appreciated! 👏🏼

Until next year — UP THE WAHS! 💙🏈

29/08/2026

And that’s a wrap for a first year playing tackle and what a season we’ve had!
I have loved coaching these kids and watching them learn and grow throughout the season.

29/08/2026

The mighty Johnsonville Taniwha were at home this morning for their last game of the season. Squaring up with our old mates the OBU Dragons.

The sun was out and Pukehuia Park and the field was in top notch condition. An absolute cracking game of running tackle rugby played out for us all to enjoy.

The two teams have been playing each other for many season so it was really cool to see how far their skills and confidence have built up. It was fast and furious but always fair and played in amazing spirit. So many textbook tackles and fierce competition for the ball at the breakdown made it an exciting game to watch. Some really great passing and awesome offloads led to some beautiful tries. Real team play was showed by both teams making this game such a choice way to sign off on 2026.

Angus McCaw was an absolute weapon in the rucks and fearless with his defence today. He also ran really hard with the ball all morning. Very deserving of our Taniwha PoD.

Theo was everywhere on attack and showed off plenty of his skills to fool the opposition and score some fantastic tries. He was recognised by OBU and walked away with their PoD ribbon.

Hamish got stuck in as always both with his tackling off much bigger players and running super hard with the ball in hand. Well worthy of our All Star of the week award.

I think the Taniwha might just have the best support crew in all of Wellington. Much love to all of our beloved family and friends on the sidelines. It was fantastic to have so many there today to cheer on the team for their last hit out!

Mean haka too lads! Taniwha for life!

Thanks plenty coaches JB and Si

24/08/2026

See you all at Prizegiving!
Heads up our Year Hawks now play at 11.30 ⏰️

End of season is upcoming 😫

But lets celebrate the awesome season we have had 🎉🎉

🏅Prizegiving for Nursery upto year 4 is at 9am-10am
🏆 and our year5 upto year 8s are 10.15-11.45am.

Stick around because at 12pm our Year 8 Hawks take on Masterton Marist for the battle of the Armstrong cup for their final game in their Johnsonville Junior colours 💙🏉

22/08/2026

Our Johnsonville Taniwha were finally back at home this morning to match up with the Oriental Rongotai Magpies.

Helston Park was in fantastic condition with the sun shining as well. We bit of wind across the field but nothing that could prevent an epic game of tackle rugby playing out.

These teams have been battling each other for a few seasons now so it was cool to see familiar faces squaring up on the paddock. Some great skills were shown by both teams making for a really even contest. Solid tackling and brilliant breakdown work meant the ball was fought for hard. Magic passing and some real pace out wide led to lots of awesome tries for all to enjoy. An entertaining game to watch played in such lovely spirit made it a pleasure for all involved.

Huge effort today from our main man Mace with plenty of run away tries to boot. This led to him taking home our Taniwha PoD.

Max put in a big shift making tackles, contesting in the rucks and running it straight. Well deserving of our all Star of the week.

Freddie gave it his all with a tireless work rate out there. Lots of tackling and a nice try to help secure the PoD from Ories.

Cheers to our ever present and super enthusiastic sideline. You are the glue that holds the Taniwha together and JB and I can’t thank you enough.

Taniwha forever! Up the AB’s in the morning!

22/08/2026

Y3 KĀHU vs BRAVEHEARTS

The Kāhu took on the Wellington Bravehearts for the first time this year on a sunny but windy Helston park.

The boys were made to work hard against a strong defensive team but showed a lot determination on attack with the ball in hand and some great running out in the open. There will definitely be a few sore bodies with some strong tackles on defence.

The boys have come a long way from season start showing teamwork and growth in their individual skills. Looking forward to our last game of the season next week at home versus Newlands !

⭐ New World Player of the Day: Ardie – For showing grit and resilience and getting back up after a couple of hard knocks !

⭐ Opposition Player of the Day: Rereahau – Recognised for his hard tackling and strong carries on attack with a number of tries!

🍔 Burger King Player of the Day: Luca – for his awesome running on attack and all round effort on defence !

🥧 Puku Pie Supporter Award: Andrew (Ruaan’s Dad) – Thank you for the additional halftime oranges !

Go Kāhu! 🏉

22/08/2026

The Year 4 Warriors took on the Wellington Axemen Tuataras at Hataitai Park this morning in a great game of rugby! 💪🏼🏉

The Warriors’ defence and tackling were put to the test as the Axemen had some strong and fast runners. But the Warriors never gave up and made tackle after tackle.

There was awesome support play on display, and it’s great to see the players continuing to build on their passing and teamwork.

🏆 Hell Pizza Player of the Day – Sione for his impressive tackles throughout the game
🏆 New World Player of the Day – Enzo for a great all-round game
🏆 Team Player Award – Cash for good support play and teamwork
🏆 Opposition Player of the Day – Enzo was acknowledged by the Axemen for stopping to check on an Axemen player when they were injured. Great display of good sportsmanship Enzo! 👏🏼
🥧 Puku Pies Supporter of the Week went to D’Rae’s dad, Darren, who is always on the sideline cheering the team on and giving plenty of positive support. Thanks, Darren! 💙

One game to go for the season. Up the Wah’s! 🏈💙