Wellington (National Provincial Championship)

Wellington (often known as the Wellington Lions) are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Wellington, New Zealand. The union was originally established in 1879, with the National Provincial Championship established in 1976. They now play in the reformed National Provincial Championship competition. They play their home games at Sky Stadium in Wellington. The team is affiliated with the Hurricanes Super Rugby franchise. Their home playing colours are black and gold.

For the Wellington Rugby governing body, see Wellington Rugby Football Union.

Wellington
The official emblem
UnionWellington Rugby Football Union
Nickname(s)Lions
Founded1879 (1879)
LocationThorndon, Wellington, New Zealand
Ground(s)Sky Stadium (Capacity: 34,500)
CEOMatthew Evans[1]
Coach(es)Leo Crowley
Captain(s)Du'Plessis Kirifi
Most appearancesBernie Fraser (121)
Top scorerAllan Hewson (893)
Most triesBernie Fraser (105)
League(s)Bunnings NPC
20221st (Odds Conference)
Champions
Team kit
Official website
www.wellingtonlions.co.nz

Current squad

The Wellington Lions squad for the 2022 Bunnings NPC is:[2][3]

Wellington Lions 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. Ahio and Southall weren't named in the original Wellington squad, but were announced in the side for the quarter-final.[4]
  2. Cowan wasn't named in the original Wellington squad, but was announced in the side for Round 2.[5]
  3. Crichton and Lauaki weren't named in the original Wellington squad, but were announced in the side for Round 1.[6]
  4. Plummer wasn't named in the original Wellington squad, but was announced in the side for Round 5.[7]

Honours

Wellington have been overall Champions on 5 occasions. Their first title was in 1978 and their most recent title was in 2022. Their full list of honours include:[8][9]

National Provincial Championship First Division
  • Winners: 1978, 1981, 1986, 2000
Mitre 10 Cup Championship Division
  • Winners: 2017
Bunnings NPC
  • Winners: 2022

Current Super Rugby players

Players named in the 2022 Wellington Lions squad, who also earned contracts or were named in a squad for any side participating in the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific season.[10][11][12][13][14]

Player Team
Asafo Aumua Hurricanes
Dominic Bird Hurricanes
James Blackwell Hurricanes
Dane Coles Hurricanes
Caleb Delany Hurricanes
Connor Garden-Bachop Highlanders
Jackson Garden-Bachop Hurricanes
Riley Higgins Hurricanes
Richard Judd Hurricanes
Du'Plessis Kirifi Hurricanes
Ruben Love Hurricanes
Aidan Morgan Hurricanes
Xavier Numia Hurricanes
James O'Reilly Hurricanes
Pepesana Patafilo Hurricanes
TJ Perenara Hurricanes
Billy Proctor Hurricanes
Taine Plumtree Blues
Ardie Savea Hurricanes
Julian Savea Hurricanes
Peter Umaga-Jensen Hurricanes

References
  1. "Staff Members". Wellington Rugby. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  2. "Wellington Lions announce 2022 squad for Bunnings NPC". Wellington Rugby (Press release). 11 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
  3. @wgtnrugby (27 July 2022). "PLAYER SIGNING Back in Lions colours for 2022, Lion #1574 Solomona Sakalia!". Retrieved 28 July 2022 – via Instagram.
  4. "Bunnings NPC quarterfinals: Preview and Team Lists". Bunnings NPC. 6 October 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  5. "Bunnings NPC Round Two: Team Lists". Bunnings NPC. 11 August 2022. Retrieved 13 August 2022.
  6. "Bunnings NPC Round One: Team Lists". Bunnings NPC. 4 August 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  7. "Bunnings NPC Round 5: Team Lists". Bunnings NPC. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  8. "National Provincial Championship winners, 1976–2014". Te Ara. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  9. "Mitre 10 Cup". Rugby Heartland. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  10. "Hurricanes 2022 squad announced" (Press release). Hurricanes. 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  11. "Highlanders name squad for Super Rugby Pacific 2022" (Press release). Highlanders. 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  12. "Dane Coles laces up for Hurricanes clash against the Fijian Drua" (Press release). Fijian Drua. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  13. "Hurricanes team named for highly anticipated RD1 clash against the Crusaders" (Press release). Hurricanes. 17 February 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
  14. "2022 Blues squad named" (Press release). Blues. 21 November 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
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