Ross BrownProvisional
Saturday 29 August 20262:30pm to 4:30pm
Vogeltown Park, NPOB
Taranaki Community Rugby
Community Rugby
Baker Tilly Staples Rodway Junior Festival
Three tournaments. Four zones. One weekend at Stadium Taranaki.
Upcoming
2026 trials
Trials run by zone. Find your zone, note the date, turn up ready to play. If your child is at a Taranaki primary or intermediate school, they are eligible.
Heads up. 2026 dates are provisional and still to be confirmed. We will update this page the moment they are locked in.
Not sure which zone you are in? Ask your school sport coordinator.
Next trial
Friday 21 August 2026
Ross Brown trials, South zone. 10:00am to 1:00pm at TSB Hub, Hawera.
Show me
Not sure which zone you are in?
North
To be confirmed with Taranaki Rugby.
Central
To be confirmed with Taranaki Rugby.
West
To be confirmed with Taranaki Rugby.
South
To be confirmed with Taranaki Rugby.
North 3 trials
Conrad SmithProvisional
Saturday 29 August 20262:30pm to 4:30pm
Vogeltown Park, NPOB
Michaela BlydeProvisional
Friday 21 August 20262:00pm to 4:00pm
Vogeltown Park, NPOB
Central 2 trials
Ross BrownProvisional
Saturday 22 August 202610:00am to 12:00pm
TET Stadium, Inglewood
Conrad SmithProvisional
Saturday 22 August 202610:00am to 12:00pm
TET Stadium, Inglewood
Michaela Blyde Tournament trials run in the North and South zones only.
West 2 trials
Ross BrownTo be confirmed
To be confirmed
To be confirmed
Conrad SmithTo be confirmed
To be confirmed
To be confirmed
West trial dates are still being confirmed. Check back here, or get in touch and we will let you know as soon as they land. Michaela Blyde Tournament trials run in the North and South zones only.
South 3 trials
Ross BrownProvisional
Friday 21 August 202610:00am to 1:00pm
Friday 28 August 202611:00am to 1:00pm
Friday 4 September 202611:00am to 1:00pm
TSB Hub, Hāwera
Conrad SmithProvisional
Friday 4 September 20268:30am to 10:30am
TSB Hub, Hāwera
Michaela BlydeProvisional
Saturday 22 August 202610:30am to 12:00pm
Friday 28 August 202610:30am to 12:00pm
TSB Hub, Hāwera
Cannot make your zone trial? Talk to your school sport coordinator or contact us. We would rather move a kid than lose one.
Upcoming
The 2026 festival weekend
Confirmed. This is the 2026 draw. Every game, time and field is below.
Draw supplied by Taranaki Rugby.
Stadium Taranaki
New Plymouth, Taranaki
Three days, three tournaments, four zones, and a full draw across two fields. Every zone plays every other zone, so nobody travels for one game. Bring a chair, bring the whānau, bring your voice.
Prizegiving is Sunday at 3:00pm on Field 1.
The full draw
Friday
25 September 2026
Pool play from 3:00pm
3:00pm
Ross Brown
Central v West
3:00pm
Conrad Smith
Central v West
4:15pm
Ross Brown
North v South
4:15pm
Conrad Smith
North v South
Saturday
26 September 2026
Pool play from 10:30am
10:30am
Ross Brown
West v South
10:30am
Conrad Smith
Central v North
12:00pm
Ross Brown
Central v North
12:00pm
Conrad Smith
West v South
1:30pm
Michaela Blyde
North v South
Sunday
27 September 2026
Team photos from 10:00am, games from 11:00am
11:00am
Ross Brown
Central v South
11:00am
Conrad Smith
North v West
12:15pm
Michaela Blyde
North v South
12:15pm
Ross Brown
North v West
1:45pm
Conrad Smith
Central v South
3:00pm
Prizegiving, Field 1
Team photos, Sunday morning
All team photos are taken on Sunday morning before the first game. Get your team to the photo point five minutes early, in full kit.
10:00am
Conrad Smith North
10:05am
Conrad Smith West
10:10am
Ross Brown South
10:15am
Ross Brown Central
10:20am
Michaela Blyde South
10:25am
Michaela Blyde North
10:30am
Conrad Smith Central
10:35am
Conrad Smith South
10:40am
Ross Brown North
10:45am
Ross Brown West
Times and fields are as supplied by Taranaki Rugby. Anything that changes gets posted here first.
Who plays what
Three tournaments run across the weekend. Here is who is in each one.
Ross Brown ShieldNorth | Central | West | South
Ross Brown Shield
Years 7 and 8, open weight
Years 7 and 8, at primary or intermediate school, open weight. Four zones: North, Central, West and South. First played in 1976. The oldest silverware on the weekend.
Conrad Smith TournamentNorth | Central | West | South
Conrad Smith Tournament
Years 7 and 8
Years 7 and 8. Previously the Under 55kg grade. Four zones since 2024, which means more kids get a game. Named for Conrad Smith. Over 100 caps for the Hurricanes, 94 for the All Blacks.
Michaela Blyde TournamentNorth | South
Michaela Blyde Tournament
Under 13 girls
Under 13 girls. North and South. Named for Michaela Blyde, who grew up here. Two Olympic gold medals and over 100 caps for the Black Ferns Sevens.
Our partner
Backed by Baker Tilly Staples Rodway
Proud Partners of the Ross Brown, Conrad Smith and Michaela Blyde tournaments
Look at any photo from the weekend and they are in it. On the jerseys, on the sideline, behind every team that gets its hands on a trophy. Baker Tilly Staples Rodway back Taranaki junior rugby so that hundreds of kids across four zones get a proper representative weekend, every September, right here at home.
Last year
2025 winners
Clifton Rugby Club, Tikorangi. 12 to 14 September 2025.
Ross Brown Shield
To be confirmed
2025 result to come
Conrad Smith Tournament
To be confirmed
2025 result to come
Michaela Blyde Tournament
To be confirmed
2025 result to come
Last year
The 2025 weekend
Four zones, three tournaments, three days at Clifton.
Last year
How the 2025 weekend ran
Every zone played every other zone across the three days. This is exactly how it ran.
Clifton Rugby Club, Tikorangi
See the 2025 draw
Friday 12 September 2025
3:00pm
Ross Brown
Central v West
3:00pm
Conrad Smith
Central v West
3:00pm
Michaela Blyde
North v South
4:15pm
Ross Brown
North v South
4:15pm
Conrad Smith
North v South
Saturday 13 September 2025
10:30am
Ross Brown
West v South
10:30am
Conrad Smith
Central v North
12:00pm
Ross Brown
Central v North
12:00pm
Conrad Smith
West v South
Sunday 14 September 2025
11:00am
Ross Brown
Central v South
11:00am
Conrad Smith
North v West
11:30am
Michaela Blyde
North v South
12:15pm
Ross Brown
North v West
12:15pm
Conrad Smith
Central v South
1:30pm
Prizegiving, Field 1, or the Clifton clubrooms if wet
Heritage
Since 1976
The Ross Brown Shield was first played for in 1976 by teams from the four home zones of the Northern Taranaki Primary Schools Rugby Union. The idea was simple. Once the Taranaki team had been picked, there were still plenty of boys who deserved another crack at representative rugby. So they made one.
In 1977 South Taranaki joined, and the four zones we still play today were set: North, West, Central and South.
Two men got it off the ground. Dave McColl, who was Primary Schools Rugby Union Chairman and a TRFU executive member at the time, and Ross Brown, the Taranaki rugby name who donated the trophy. From that start it has grown into one of the most prestigious events on the province's rugby calendar.
Fifty years on, the same weekend now carries three tournaments and a lot more kids, including every girl who pulls on a Michaela Blyde jersey.
The two who started it
Dave McColl
Primary Schools Rugby Union Chairman and TRFU executive
Ross Brown
Donated the trophy the whole thing is named after
1976
49
4
3
Ross Brown Shield honours board
Every winner since 1976.
North
South
Central
West
Highlight a zone
1976
Coastal
1977
Central
1978
Central and South
1979
North
1980
Central and South
1981
Central
1982
West
1983
Central and West
1984
Central
1985
West
1986
Central
1987
North
1988
North
1989
South
1990
South
1991
West
1992
West, Central and South
1993
Central
1994
North
1995
Central
1996
North
1997
West and South
1998
South
1999
West
2000
South
2001
South
2002
West
2003
North
2004
South
2005
West
2006
North and South
2007
Central
2008
South
2009
Central
2010
South
2011
South
2012
South
2013
North
2014
South
2015
North
2016
Central
2017
North
2018
South
2019
North
2020
North
2021
North
2022
North
2023
West
2024
Central
2025
To be confirmed
What they play for
Every game has a player of the day. At the end of the Ross Brown tournament we name a player of the tournament.
That one is not about who scored the most. It goes to the player who shows teamwork and sportsmanship, who carries themselves properly on and off the field, and who lifts the players around them.
Six tournaments have been shared: 1978, 1980, 1983, 1992, 1997 and 2006. The 1992 shield went three ways. And the very first winner, in 1976, was Coastal, a zone name that has since come off the map.
Thank you
This event runs on volunteers. The Taranaki Rugby Referees Association, every coach, manager and tournament administrator, and the families and friends who get kids to fields all over this province, every weekend, in all weather. Thank you.
Common questions
Who can play?
Ross Brown and Conrad Smith are for Years 7 and 8 at a primary or intermediate school. Ross Brown is open weight. Michaela Blyde is for Under 13 girls.
How do we get in a zone team?
Turn up to your zone trial. Dates are at the top of this page.
Which zone are we in?
It goes off your school. If you are not sure, ask your school sport coordinator or get in touch with us.
What does it cost?
To be confirmed.
Where do we go on the weekend?
Stadium Taranaki, New Plymouth. Two fields, three days.
Can we come and watch?
Yes. Bring a chair. Prizegiving is Sunday at 3:00pm on Field 1.
More community rugby
Baker Tilly Staples Rodway, Proud Partners of the Taranaki Junior Festival