Wellington Lions to meet Manawatu in final match of 2020 on Saturday

• By Peter Marriott and Steven White

The Wellington Lions and the Manawatu Turbos resume their long-established rivalry after a two-year hiatus and contest the Coronation Cup when they meet on Saturday afternoon at Wellington Stadium.

This fixture goes back to 1887 when Wellington enjoyed what was then a reasonably comfortable 11-0 victory.

Prior to the start of the NPC/ITM Cup era in 1976, Wellington and Manawatu had met 67 times, of which Wellington won 45, Manawatu 15 and there were seven draws including three in a row 1948-50.

The Coronation Cup inter-union trophy that the two sides are also playing for on Saturday was presented by the Arnott family to the Manawatu Rugby Union in the Queen’s coronation year of 1953. For many seasons the two unions played an annual Queen’s Birthday fixture for the Coronation Cup.

Both sides are playing to avoid the wooden spoon in the respective Premiership and Championship divisions.

Wellington’s record against Manawatu in the National Provincial Championship (NPC) competition is played 26, Wellington has won 18 (69.2%), Manawatu eight, and none have been drawn.

The results of those matches are as follows:

Year	Venue	Won by	Score
1976	Palmerston North	Manawatu	23-13
1977	Wellington	Wellington	15-12
1978	Palmerston North (RS)	Manawatu	13-6
1979	Wellington	Wellington	16-10
1980	Palmerston North	Wellington	15-9
1981	Wellington	Wellington	28-10
1982	Palmerston North	Manawatu	28-9
1983	Wellington	Wellington	16-15
1984	Palmerston North	Wellington	24-9
1985	Wellington	Wellington	28-9
1986	Palmerston North	Wellington	33-13
1987	Wellington	Wellington	56-24
1988	Palmerston North	Wellington	30-15
2006	Palmerston North	Wellington	11-3
2007	Wellington	Wellington	37-7
2008	Palmerston North	Wellington	36-13
2009	Wellington	Wellington	43-15
2010	Palmerston North	Manawatu	36-24
2011	Wellington	Manawatu	31-25
2012	Palmerston North	Wellington	30-11
2013	Wellington	Wellington	42-15
2014	Wellington	Manawatu	27-21
2015	Wellington	Manawatu	39-33
2016	Palmerston North	Manawatu	50-28
2017	Palmerston North	Wellington	41-29
2018	Palmerston North	Wellington	49-7

Manawatu played in Division 2 of the NPC from 1989 to 2005 inclusive.

Wellington and Manawatu met in both sides’ respective first match in the then new NPC competition established in 1976. The date was 7 June and Manawatu was the first-ever side to beat Wellington in an NPC match.

Wellington and Manawatu first met in a first-class match at Wellington on 22 June 1887. Wellington won 11-0 scoring four tries. Since then the two sides have played a total of 87 matches, Wellington has won 61 to Manawatu’s 20. There have been six draws.

The record between Wellington and Manawatu in all NPC matches played on Wellington home grounds is:

Year	Won by	Score
1977	Wellington	15-12
1979	Wellington	16-10
1981	Wellington	28-10
1983	Wellington	16-15
1985	Wellington	28-9
1987	Wellington	56-24
2007	Wellington	37-7
2009	Wellington	43-15
2011	Manawatu	31-25
2013	Wellington	42-15
2014	Manawatu	27-21
2015	Manawatu	39-33

Of the 12 matches played in Wellington, Wellington has won nine and Manawatu has won three including the last two years in succession, both by a margin of six points.

Wellington has previously been beaten at home in three successive matches by two teams namely Counties Manukau (in 1977, 1979 and 1981) and Otago (in 2001, 2003 and 2005). Otago also had an earlier sequence of W D W and W between 1991 and 1997 which was only separated from their three wins in a row by a Wellington victory in 1999.

However, two matches ago, Tasman outdid Counties Manukau and Otago by winning their fourth successive match against Wellington (in 2014, 2015, 2018 and 2020), at Wellington home venues.

Wellington’s record in all home matches is played 234, won 168 (71.8%), lost 62, and drawn four.

Wellington has conceded a total of 1131 tries in all NPC matches: that is 565 at home and 566 away from home.

Wellington has scored 892 tries in all home matches played.

Wellington’s aggregate of 360 points in home matches against Manawatu is made up of 50 tries, 35 conversions, and 21 penalties.

Manawatu’s aggregate of 214 points against Wellington, in Wellington, is made up of 26 tries, 19 conversions, 18 penalties and one drop goal. That single drop goal in Wellington was kicked by Aaron Cruden in 2011.

Wellington’s overall record in all NPC matches is played 466, won 291 (62.4%), lost 163, and drawn 12.

Manawatu’s overall record in all Division 1 NPC matches is played 288, won 114 (39.6%), lost 165, and drawn nine.

Manawatu’s overall record in the last 10 years (apart from 2014) has been disappointing and their results since 2011 have been as follows:

Year	P	W	L	D	Division
2011	11	7	4	–	Championship
2012	10	3	7	–	Championship
2013	10	4	6	–	Championship
2014	12	10	2	–	Championship
2015	10	3	7	–	Premiership
2016	10	4	6	–	Championship
2017	10	4	6	–	Championship
2018	10	3	7	–	Championship
2019	11	4	7	–	Championship
2020	9	1	8	–	Championship
Totals	103	43	60	–

Since 2011 Manawatu has won just 41.7% of all its matches played.

Manawatu defeated Hawke’s Bay 32-24 in the Championship Final of 2014 (having lost to the same team in the Final of 2011). They were promoted to the Premiership Division in 2015 but lasted just one year before being demoted back to the Championship Division for 2016, where they have remained ever since.

In all NPC matches against Manawatu, Wellington has aggregated 709 points made up of 99 tries, 62 conversions, 41 penalties, and two drop goals.

One try will take Wellington’s tally to 100 against Manawatu which will become the 11th side in the NPC to concede a century of tries to Wellington. Those which have gone before are:

Team	Tries
Canterbury	150
Taranaki	146
Waikato	145
Northland	140
Bay of Plenty	134
Otago	134
Southland	128
Counties Manukau	119
Auckland	115
North Harbour	101

Above: Jackson Garden-Bachop on the charge when the two teams met in Palmerston North in 2017. Wellington won 41-29.

Wellington has kicked just one penalty goal in their last four matches against Manawatu, and none at Wellington since 2014.

In all NPC matches against Wellington, Manawatu has aggregated 473 points made up of 58 tries, 37 conversions, 41 penalties, and three drop goals.

Manawatu has kicked no penalty goals in their last three matches against Wellington.

Wellington has scored four tries or better in NPC matches against Manawatu on 14 occasions, including six times at Wellington.

Wellington has twice failed to score a try against Manawatu: in 1978 and 1982. On both occasions the match was played at Palmerston North.

Manawatu has scored four tries or better in NPC matches against Wellington on just five occasions including once (2015) at Wellington.

Manawatu has twice failed to score a try against Wellington: in 1980 and 2006. On both occasions the match was played at Palmerston North.

Wellington’s record for most tries in a match against Manawatu is nine, at Wellington in 1987, and Palmerston North in 2018.

Manawatu’s record for most tries in a match against Wellington is eight, at Palmerston North in 2016. The most tries they have scored at Wellington is five: in 2015.

The record for most tries scored in a NPC match by a Wellington player against Manawatu is four, by Mike Clamp at Palmerston North in 1984.

The record for most tries scored in a NPC match by a Manawatu player against Wellington is four, by Antonio Kiri Kiri, at Palmerston North in 2016.

The record for most penalties in a NPC match by Wellington against Manawatu is four, at Wellington in 1985.

The record for most penalties kicked by a Wellington player in a NPC match against Manawatu is three, by Allan Hewson at Palmerston North in 1980 and Wellington in 1985, John Gallagher at Palmerston North in 1986, Jason Woodward at Palmerston North in 2012 and Wellington in 2014, and Lima Sopoaga at Wellington in 2013.

The record for most penalties kicked in a NPC match by a Manawatu player against Wellington is five, by Otere Black at Wellington in 2014.

Wellington’s two drop goals against Manawatu were kicked by Brian Cederwall and Allan Hewson, the last one, by Hewson, back in 1982.

The most points scored by a Wellington player in a NPC match against Manawatu is 24 (one try, seven conversions and two penalties), by John Gallagher at Wellington in 1987.

The most points scored by a Wellington player in all NPC matches against Manawatu is 61, by Allan Hewson.

The most points scored by a Manawatu player in a NPC match against Wellington is 22 (one try, one conversion and five penalties), by Otere Black at Wellington in 2014.

The most points scored by a Manawatu player in all NPC matches against Wellington is 50, by Otere Black.

Doug Rollerson scored in all four ways for Manawatu at Palmerston North in 1976 (two tries, one conversion, two penalties and one drop goal). He scored 19 of Manawatu’s 23 points.

Wellington’s highest score in a NPC match against Manawatu is 56, at Wellington in 1987. In all first-class matches against Manawatu, Wellington’s highest score is 69 when they won 69-3 in a non-NPC match at Wellington on 23 May 1990. Interestingly, the current Australian Wallaby Coach Dave Rennie, was a member of the Wellington side that day.

Manawatu’s highest score in all matches against Wellington is 50, at Palmerston North in 2016.

Wellington’s record in MITRE 10 Cup matches played so far in 2020 is:

Versus	Venue	Result	Score	Halftime
Waikato	Hamilton	Lost	28-53	Behind 21-23
Auckland	Auckland	Won	39-21	Ahead 29-14
Bay of Plenty	Wellington	Won	32-10	Ahead 12-10
Canterbury	Christchurch	Lost	26-31	Behind 12-18
Otago	Wellington	Lost	34-35	Ahead 20-13
North Harbour	Wellington	Won	25-20	Behind 12-13
Counties Manukau	Pukekohe	Won	53-20	Behind 11-13
Tasman	Porirua	Lost	3-19	Behind 0-11
Hawke’s Bay (RS)	Napier	Lost	18-34	Behind 6-27

Wellington has been behind at halftime in their last four matches. The last time they trailed at the break in four successive matches was back in 2016. They won three of those matches.

Wellington has scored 258 points this year made up of 35 tries, 25 conversions and 11 penalties. The point scorers are:

Player	T	C	P	DG	Pts
Naitoa Ah Kuoi	2	–	–	–	10
Vince Aso	3	–	–	–	15
Teariki Ben-Nicholas	3	–	–	–	15
Alex Fidow	1	–	–	–	5
Vaea Fifita	3	–	–	–	15
Connor Garden-Bachop	1	–	–	–	5
Jackson Garden-Bachop	1	23	11	–	84
Wes Goosen	3	–	–	–	15
Kemara Hauiti-Parapara	1	–	–	–	5
Ruben Love	1	–	–	–	5
Aidan Morgan	–	2	–	–	4
Xavier Numia	1	–	–	–	5
James O’Reilly	3	–	–	–	15
Pepesana Patafilo	1	–	–	–	5
Billy Proctor	2	–	–	–	10
Trent Renata	1	–	–	–	5
Ardie Savea	1	–	–	–	5
Julian Savea	2	–	–	–	10
Tyrone Thompson	2	–	–	–	10
Kaliopasi Uluilakepa	1	–	–	–	5
Peter Umaga-Jensen	2	–	–	–	10
Totals	35	25	11	–	258

Wellington has scored their points against opposition sides as follows:

Versus	T	C	P	DG	Pts
Waikato	4	4	–	–	28
Auckland	6	3	1	–	39
Bay of Plenty	5	2	1	–	32
Canterbury	4	3	–	–	26
Otago	4	4	2	–	34
North Harbour	3	2	2	–	25
Counties Manukau	7	6	2	–	53
Tasman	–	–	1	–	3
Hawke’s Bay	2	1	2	–	18

Wellington has conceded 243 points made up of 29 tries, 19 conversions and 20 penalties

Opposition sides have scored their points against Wellington as follows:

Versus	T	C	P	DG	Pts
Waikato	5	5	6	–	53
Auckland	3	3	–	–	21
Bay of Plenty	1	1	1	–	10
Canterbury	4	1	3	–	31
Otago	5	2	2	–	35
North Harbour	3	1	1	–	20
Counties Manukau	2	2	2	–	20
Tasman	2	–	3	–	19
Hawke’s Bay	4	4	2	–	34

The tries scored by Wellington during each quarter are:

Minutes
1-20	21-40	41-60	61-80
6	11	7	11

 Wellington has scored 17 first half tries and 18 second half tries.

The tries conceded by Wellington during each quarter are:

Minutes
1-20	21-40	41-60	61-80
9	6	7	7

Wellington has conceded 15 tries in the first half and 14 in the second half.

One of the tries conceded by Wellington in the first quarter was scored by Nathan Vella, after just 33 seconds.

The tries scored and conceded by Wellington in each match are:

Versus	For	Against
Waikato	4	5
Auckland	6	3
Bay of Plenty	5	1
Canterbury	4	4
Otago	4	5
North Harbour	3	3
Counties Manukau	7	2
Tasman	–	2
Hawke’s Bay	2	4
Totals	35	29

 The points scored by Wellington in each half are:

Versus	First Half Points	Second Half Points
Waikato	21	7
Auckland	29	10
Bay of Plenty	12	20
Canterbury	12	14
Otago	20	14
North Harbour	12	13
Counties Manukau	11	42
Tasman	0	3
Hawke’s Bay	6	12
Totals	123	135

 Wellington scores an average of 13.7 points in the first half and 15.0 points in the second half.

Wellington scores an average of 28.7 points in a match.

The points conceded by Wellington in each half are as follows:

Versus	First Half Points	Second Half Points
Waikato	23	30
Auckland	14	7
Bay of Plenty	10	0
Canterbury	18	13
Otago	13	22
North Harbour	13	7
Counties Manukau	13	7
Tasman	11	8
Hawke’s Bay	27	7
Totals	142	101

 Wellington concedes an average of 15.8 points in the first half and 11.2 points in the second half.

Wellington concedes an average of 27.0 points in a match.

Wellington has used 34 players in its nine matches played to date. Nine of them have made their first-class debut for Wellington.

One yellow card has been issued: to Xavier Numia, in the match against Bay of Plenty.

Of the total 725 minutes of playing time so far, Billy Proctor has played the most (712 minutes) closely followed by Jackson Garden-Bachop with 711 minutes and then James Blackwell with 705 minutes.

Just four players have started all nine matches: James Blackwell, Vaea Fifita, Jackson Garden-Bachop and Billy Proctor. Two others, namely Teariki Ben-Nicholas and Tyrone Thompson have appeared in all nine but Thompson has come off the bench a record eight times.

Of the current playing squad seven have previously scored at least one try against Manawatu. They are:

Player	Tries
James Blackwell	1 (2018)
Alex Fidow	1 (2017)
Jackson Garden-Bachop	1 (2017)
Wes Goosen	1 (2016)
Mateaki Kafatolu	1 (2018)
Trent Renata	1 2017)
Julian Savea	2 (2009 and 2017)

In addition, Garden-Bachop has kicked eight conversions for a total of 21 points and Renata has kicked two conversions for a total of nine points. Every one of the above points were scored in matches played at Palmerston North.

Garden-Bachop’s eight points in the previous match against Hawke’s Bay took his total in all matches for Wellington to exactly 600. He has scored those points year-by-year as follows:

Year	Matches	T	C	P	DG	Pts
2013	1	–	–	–	–	–
2014	7	1	–	–	–	5
2015	10	2	9	4	–	40
2016	11	2	32	16	–	122
2017	12	3	47	11	–	142
2018	11	1	28	10	–	91
2019	12	–	28	19	1	116
2020	9	1	23	11	–	84
Totals	73	10	167	71	1	600

Manawatu’s record in MITRE 10 Cup matches played so far in 2020 is:

Versus	Venue	Result	Score	Halftime
Northland	Whangarei	Lost	26-43	Behind 20-22
Otago	Palmerston North	Lost	25-36	Behind 8-14
Auckland	Auckland	Lost	12-50	Behind 5-26
Counties Manukau	Pukekohe	Lost	30-36	Ahead 20-12
Canterbury	Palmerston North	Lost	10-34	Behind 0-10
Bay of Plenty	Palmerston North	Lost	35-53	Behind 21-38
Hawke’s Bay (RS)	Napier	Lost	12-47	Behind 12-28
Southland	Feilding	Won	24-12	Ahead 17-7
Taranaki	Feilding	Lost	19-35	Behind 6-12

Manawatu has scored 193 points this year made up of 29 tries, 15 conversions and six penalties. The point scorers are:

Player	T	C	P	DG	Pts
Nigel Ah Wong	2	–	–	–	10
Jamie Booth	2	–	–	–	10
Adam Boult	1	–	–	–	5
Stewart Cruden	1	5	–	–	15
Johnny Galloway	1	–	–	–	5
Shamus Hurley-Langton	1	–	–	–	5
Tyler Laubscher	1	–	–	–	5
Josiah Maraku	1	–	–	–	5
Liam Mitchell	2	–	–	–	10
Aaron Smith	2	–	–	–	10
Kyle Stewart	1	–	–	–	5
Sam Stewart	2	–	–	–	10
James Tofa	3	–	–	–	15
Micaiah Torrance-Read	1	–	–	–	5
Te Rangatira Waitokia	2	–	–	–	10
Drew Wild	3	–	–	–	15
Bryn Wilson	1	–	–	–	5
Ben Wyness	2	10	6	–	48
Totals	29	15	6	–	193

Manawatu has scored their points against opposition sides as follows:

Versus	T	C	P	DG	Pts
Northland	2	2	4	–	26
Otago	4	1	1	–	25
Auckland	2	1	–	–	12
Counties Manukau	5	1	1	–	30
Canterbury	2	–	–	–	10
Bay of Plenty	5	5	–	–	35
Hawke’s Bay (RS)	2	1	–	–	12
Southland	4	2	–	–	24
Taranaki	3	2	–	–	19

 Manawatu has conceded 346 points made up of 49 tries, 37 conversions and nine penalties

Opposition sides have scored their points against Manawatu as follows:

Versus	T	C	P	DG	Pts
Northland	6	5	1	–	43
Otago	5	4	1	–	36
Auckland	8	5	–	–	50
Counties Manukau	5	4	1	–	36
Canterbury	5	3	1	–	34
Bay of Plenty	7	6	2	–	53
Hawke’s Bay (RS)	7	6	–	–	47
Southland	2	1	–	–	12
Taranaki	4	3	3	–	35

The tries scored by Manawatu during each quarter are:

Minutes
1-20	21-40	41-60	61-80
8	9	2	10

 Manawatu has scored 17 first half tries and 12 second half tries.

The tries conceded by Manawatu during each quarter are:

Minutes
1-20	21-40	41-60	61-80
4	18	14	13

 Manawatu has conceded 22 tries in the first half and 27 in the second half.

The tries scored and conceded by Manawatu in each match are:

Versus	For	Against
Northland	2	6
Otago	4	5
Auckland	2	8
Counties Manukau	5	5
Canterbury	2	5
Bay of Plenty	5	7
Hawke’s Bay (RS)	2	7
Southland	4	2
Taranaki	3	4
Totals	29	49

 The points scored by Manawatu in each half are:

Versus	First Half Points	Second Half Points
Northland	20	6
Otago	8	17
Auckland	5	7
Counties Manukau	20	10
Canterbury	0	10
Bay of Plenty	21	14
Hawke’s Bay (RS)	12	0
Southland	17	7
Taranaki	6	13
Totals	109	84

 Manawatu scores an average of 12.1 points in the first half and 9.3 points in the second half.

Manawatu scores an average of 21.4 points in a match.

The points conceded by Manawatu in each half are as follows:

Versus	First Half Points	Second Half Points
Northland	22	21
Otago	14	22
Auckland	26	24
Counties Manukau	12	24
Canterbury	10	24
Bay of Plenty	38	15
Hawke’s Bay (RS)	28	19
Southland	7	5
Taranaki	12	23
Totals	169	177

 Manawatu concedes an average of 18.8 points in the first half and 19.6 points in the second half.

Manawatu concedes an average of 38.4 points in a match.

When Wellington and Manawatu last met, at the Central Energy Trust Arena in Palmerston North on 23 September 2018, Wellington won the match 49-7. They led 25-0 at halftime: the referee was Cameron Stone of Taranaki.

The point scorers for both sides were:

Wellington (49)		Manawatu (7)
Ben Lam (2)	Tries	Brice Henderson
Thomas Waldrom
Mateaki Kafatolu
Thomas Umaga-Jensen
James Blackwell
Asafo Aumua
Isaia Walker-Leawere
Peter Umaga-Jensen
Trent Renata (2)	Conversions	Sam Malcolm

The Wellington starting XV was:

No	Player
1	Tolu Fahamokioa
2	Asafo Aumua
3	Jeffery To’omaga-Allen
4	James Blackwell
5	Isaia Walker-Leawere
6	Galu Taufale
7	Mateaki Kafatolu
8	Thomas Waldrom
9	Kemara Hauiti-Parapara
10	Jackson Garden-Bachop
11	Ben Lam
12	Thomas Umaga-Jensen
13	Matt Proctor (c)
14	Losi Filipo
15	Wes Goosen

All eight substitutes came off the bench: Greg Foe, Joel Hintz, Will Mangos, Xavier Numia, James O’Reilly, Sheridan Rangihuna, Trent Renata and Peter Umaga-Jensen. As it turned out, Foe and Rangihuna never played another game for Wellington.

The first try of the match was scored by Thomas Waldrom after just five minutes. Jackson Garden-Bachop had a horror day with the boot failing with all six conversion attempts. Two of them hit the upright.