New Club Finals Format

The Wairarapa Bush 2025 Premier Rugby Competition is set for TWO blockbuster weekends of grand final rugby at Trust House Memorial Park on the artificial turf and the introduction of quarterfinals.

In a revamp of the 2025 Season, the Lane Penn Cup Finals Day will be contested by the two top finalists of the pool rounds (based on seedings from 2024) plus final footy for the respective 2nd, 3rd and 4th placings of each pool all at one venue, Trust House Memorial Park.

There is added incentive for all teams to make the grand finals days regardless of their of finishing pool play as there are points being carried over the Moose Kapene Round.  Therefore, any team who is not in the main final still have a chance to take points from the Lane Penn competition into the Chris “Moose” Kapene competition. There are penalties for any team who do not front including a match day fine.

The Lane Penn Final Day gate takings and all commercial revenue for the day will go to the Brian Lochore Rugby Foundation which so far has granted $7,000 to young promising players and coaches since 2021.

The Lane Penn Cup competition start Saturday 5 April and the finals day at Trust House Memorial Park will be held on Saturday 2 May.

The Chris “Moose” Kapene Cup will be contested by 8 Premier teams and commence the following week after the Lane Penn Final.

In a new initiative, a new quarter-final format has been introduced which will see the top 2 teams after the round robin having a week off and going straight to the semi-finals while teams ranked 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th will play a quarter-final match to advance to the semi-finals.

The 8 Premier teams to contest both competitions are, Eketahuna, Carterton, Masterton Red Star, Marist, Martinborough, Greytown, Pioneer and East Coast.