Waikato (National Provincial Championship)

Waikato (often known as the Waikato Mooloos) are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Hamilton, New Zealand. The union was originally established in 1921, with the National Provincial Championship established in 1976. They now play in the reformed National Provincial Championship competition. They play their home games at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton in the Waikato region. The team is affiliated with the Chiefs Super Rugby franchise. Their home playing colours are red, yellow and black.

For the Waikato Rugby governing body, see Waikato Rugby Union.

Waikato
The WRU official emblem
UnionWaikato Rugby Union
Nickname(s)Mooloos
Founded1921 (1921)
LocationWhitiora, Hamilton, New Zealand
Ground(s)FMG Stadium Waikato (Capacity: 25,000)
CEOCarl Moon[1]
Coach(es)Ross Filipo
Captain(s)Mitch Jacobson and Ayden Johnstone
Most appearancesIan Foster and Graham Purvis (148)
Top scorerMatthew Cooper (1,604)
Most triesBruce Smith (70)
League(s)Bunnings NPC
20222nd (Odds Conference)
Quarterfinalist
Team kit
Official website
www.mooloo.co.nz

Current squad

The Waikato Mooloos squad for the 2022 Bunnings NPC is:[2]

Waikato Mooloos squad

Props

Hookers

Locks

Loose forwards

Halfbacks (scrum-halves)

First five-eighths (fly-halves)

Midfielders (centres)

Outside backs

(c) Denotes team captain, Bold denotes player is internationally capped, REP denotes a replacement squad player.
  1. Anae Ah-Sue wasn't named in the original Waikato squad, but was announced in the side for Round 1.[3]
  2. McCurran and Tuhakaraina weren't named in the original Waikato squad, but were announced in the side for Round 2.[4]

Honours

Waikato have been overall Champions on three occasions, winning the titles in 1992, 2006 and 2021. Their full list of honours include:[5][6]

National Provincial Championship Second Division North Island
  • Winners: 1980
National Provincial Championship Second Division
  • Winners: 1986
National Provincial Championship First Division
  • Winners: 1992
Air New Zealand Cup
  • Winners: 2006
Mitre 10 Cup Championship Division
  • Winners: 2018
Bunnings NPC Premiership Division
  • Winners: 2021

Current Super Rugby players

Players named in the 2022 Waikato Mooloos squad, who also earned contracts or were named in a squad for any side participating in the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season.[7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]

Player Team
Hamilton Burr Chiefs
Liam Coombes-Fabling Highlanders
Mosese Dawai Highlanders
George Dyer Chiefs
Samipeni Finau Chiefs
Luke Jacobson Chiefs
Mitch Jacobson Chiefs
Ayden Johnstone Highlanders
Sefo Kautai Brumbies
Jack Lam Moana Pasifika
D'Angelo Leuila Moana Pasifika
Anton Lienert-Brown Chiefs
Rhys Marshall Highlanders
Laghlan McWhannell Chiefs
Ollie Norris Chiefs
Simon Parker Chiefs
Cortez Ratima Chiefs
Xavier Roe Chiefs
Bailyn Sullivan Hurricanes
Samisoni Taukei'aho Chiefs
James Tucker Blues
Solomone Tukuafu Chiefs
Quinn Tupaea Chiefs
Gideon Wrampling Chiefs

References
  1. "WRU Staff & Board". Waikato Rugby. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  2. "2022 Waikato Bunnings Warehouse NPC Squad Announced" (Press release). Waikato Rugby. 21 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  3. "Bunnings NPC Round One: Team Lists". Bunnings NPC. 4 August 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  4. "Bunnings NPC Round Two: Team Lists". Bunnings NPC. 11 August 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  5. "National Provincial Championship winners, 1976–2014". Te Ara. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  6. "Mitre 10 Cup". Rugby Heartland. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  7. "Gallagher Chiefs named to face Moana Pasifika at Mt Smart Stadium" (Press release). Chiefs. 17 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  8. "Highlanders named for Round 3 trip to the Capital" (Press release). Highlanders. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  9. "Highlanders name squad for Super Rugby Pacific 2022" (Press release). Highlanders. 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  10. "Gallagher Chiefs named to face Crusaders in rematch of 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa Final" (Press release). Chiefs. 9 March 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  11. "Gallagher Chiefs squad announced for 2022" (Press release). Chiefs. 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  12. "Gallagher Chiefs welcome crowds back to FMG Stadium Waikato, team named to face Crusaders" (Press release). Chiefs. 23 March 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  13. "Brumbies announce 2022 Super Rugby Pacific squad" (Press release). Brumbies. 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  14. "Moana Pasifika community celebrates historic first Super Rugby squad". Moana Pasifika (Press release). 22 November 2021. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  15. "Moana Pasifika team named for home game against Blues" (Press release). Moana Pasifika. 28 March 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  16. "Hurricanes 2022 squad announced" (Press release). Hurricanes. 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  17. "2022 Blues squad named" (Press release). Blues. 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.