For two consecutive seasons, the Pakuranga United Rugby Club’s (PURC) U21 men have finished their campaign at the top of the ladder.
This year was a bit more spectacular than last however, with their win on Saturday marking their 12th consecutive victory- a faultless, unbeaten season.
They will be confident as they gear up for the top trophy in U21 club rugby, competing for the Arthur Bayliss Cup, a cup that they fell agonizingly short of in 2022, going down to Marist 20-6.
The season didn’t end so sweet for the PURC premier men and premier development men however, both losing to strong Ponsonby sides.
Despite missing out on contention for their second Gallagher Shield victory, the PURC premier men will have a semi-final of their own this weekend as they are favourites for the Jubilee Trophy (silverware for fifth place).
After their fifth-place finish in regular season, the premier men will host Papatoetoe in the Jubilee Trophy semi-final and, should they win, will play either Suburbs or College Rifles in the final.
With the PURC premier development men also finishing in fifth place after their season, they will compete for the Peter Fatialofa Cup as they face College Rifles in their semi-final.
PURC Weekend Results 08-07-23
PURC Premier Men vs Ponsonby
HT: PURC 3 – Ponsonby 14
FT: PURC 3 – Ponsonby 33
Other Premier Men Results:
Marist 5 – University 47
College Rifles 5 – Manukau Rovers 31
Eden 24 – Papatoetoe 27
Otahuhu 12 – Suburbs 23
Waitakere City LBD – Grammar TEC WBD
Auckland Club Rugby Premier Men Standings
| PLACE | TEAM | PLAYED | WON | DRAWN | LOST | POINTS | + / – | |
| 1 | MANUKAU ROVERS | 12 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 56 | + 462 | |
| 2 | PONSONBY | 12 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 54 | + 195 | |
| 3 | GRAMMAR TEC | 12 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 48 | + 288 | |
| 4 | UNIVERSITY | 12 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 48 | + 273 | |
| 5 | PAKURANGA | 12 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 39 | + 226 | |
| 6 | SUBURBS | 12 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 35 | + 23 | |
| 7 | COLLEGE RIFLES | 12 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 30 | – 27 | |
| 8 | PAPATOETOE | 12 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 27 | – 94 | |
| 9 | WAITEMATA | 12 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 26 | + 51 | |
| 10 | MARIST | 12 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 17 | – 204 | |
| 11 | OTAHUHU | 12 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 11 | – 321 | |
| 12 | EDEN | 12 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 8 | – 250 | |
| 13 | WAITAKERE CITY | 12 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | – 622 |
PURC Premier Reserve Men vs Ponsonby
FT: PURC 25 – Ponsonby 36
PURC U21 Men vs Waitemata
FT: PURC 19 – Waitemata 12
Pakuranga Rugby Fixtures 15/07/23:
Arthur Bayliss Cup Semi Final 1 – PURC U21 Men vs Manukau Underdogs U21 Men – 1pm (Bell Park).
Peter Fatialofa Cup Semi Final 1 – PURC Premier Development Men vs College Rifles Premier Development Men – 1pm (Lloyd Elsmore Park, Field 5).
Jubilee Trophy Semi Final 1 – PURC Premier Men vs Papatoetoe Premier Men – 2:45pm (Bell Park).
