The Wellington rugby team, which is often referred to as the Wellington Lions, is a professional rugby team that competes in New Zealand’s Bunnings NPC competition. The side is also affiliated with the Hurricanes Super Rugby Pacific franchise.
Read on to discover more about the Wellington rugby team. On this page you’ll find all the latest news about the team, as well as their upcoming fixtures and recent results. You can also read a detailed history of the side and a breakdown of their current squad.
Brad Shields is back home in Wellington and flourishing for the Lions in the NPC. On Saturday he played the entire 80 minutes in the sixth successful defence of the Ranfurly Sheild - a 56-25 thrashing of Counties Manukau.
Former All Blacks hooker James Parsons believes Wellington can have an NPC dynasty if experienced campaigners stay at the nation’s capital.
The Wellington rugby team, which is often referred to as the Wellington Lions, is a professional rugby team that competes in New Zealand’s Bunnings NPC competition. The side is also affiliated with the Hurricanes Super Rugby Pacific franchise.
Read on to discover more about the Wellington rugby team. On this page you’ll find all the latest news about the team, as well as their upcoming fixtures and recent results. You can also read a detailed history of the side and a breakdown of their current squad.
The history of the Wellington rugby team dates back to 1879, when the Wellington rugby union was formed. However, the modern version of the Wellington rugby team we know today was formed in 1976, when the National Provincial Championship began. Today, this competition is known as the Bunnings NPC.
Since joining the National Provincial Championship in 1976, the Wellington rugby team has been one of the competition’s leading sides. In total, they’ve won the championship four times (1978, 1981, 1986 and 2000). In addition to this, they’ve also won the championship division of the tournament once, in 2017.
Today, the Wellington rugby team plays in the premiership division of the Bunnings NPC. The team plays its home games at Sky Stadium, which has a capacity of 34,500.
Ardie Savea Flanker 7 
Asafo Aumua Hooker 
Caleb Delany Lock 4 
Dane Coles Hooker 
Dominic Bird Lock 
Du'Plessis Kirifi Flanker 7 
Ha'amea Ahio Prop 
Iona Apineru Number 8 
James Blackwell Lock 
James O'Reilly Hooker 
Keelan Whitman Number 8 
Pekahou Cowan Prop 
Sione Halalilo Openside flanker 
Solomona Sakalia Prop 
Tietie Tuimauga Prop 
Vincent Sakaria Prop 
Xavier Numia Prop 
Aidan Morgan Fullback 
Billy Proctor Centre 
Bradley Crichton Fullback 
Connor Collins Scrum half 
Connor Garden-Bachop Fullback 
Hugo Plummer Fullback 
Jackson Garden-Bachop Fly half 
Josh Southall Fullback 
Josh To'omaga Fullback 
Julian Savea Centre 12 
Losi Filipo Wing 
Nehe Milner-Skudder Wing 
PJ Sheck Fullback 
Pepesana Patafilo Centre 
Peter Lakai Fullback 
Peter Umaga-Jensen Centre 12 
Richard Judd Scrum half 
Riley Higgins Centre 13 
Ruben Love 
Siale Lauaki Fullback 
TJ Perenara Scrum half 
Taine Plumtree As you may expect from one of the best teams in the Bunnings NPC, the Wellington squad is packed full of established international players, including All Blacks TJ Perenara, Ardie Savea and Dane Coles.
In addition to this, 20 members of the current Wellington rugby squad are contracted to play Super Rugby. The vast majority of these players represent the Hurricanes, but Pekahou Cowan is contracted to the Waratahs, while Taine Plumtree plays for the Blues and Connor Garden-Bachop represents the Highlanders.
Wellington Lions Rugby Team 
