[Updated] Lions to open 2024 NPC against Auckland for Fred Lucas Cup on Friday

The Wellington Lions open their 2024 National Provincial Championship season with an away fixture against Auckland at Eden Park on Friday night.

The Lions won their fifth NPC Division 1/Premiership title in 2022 but missed out by a solitary point in their semi-final to Hawke’s Bay in last year’s semi-final meeting.

Wellington and Auckland have a rivalry like almost no other in New Zealand provincial rugby, so victory for either side on Friday night will represent a positive step forward to reclaiming NPC glory for both.

The Lions and Auckland will also be opening the season contesting one of several coveted inter-provincial trophies they play for most years, playing for the Fred Lucas Memorial Trophy.

Lucas was a 1920s Auckland All Black and captained Auckland to victory over the British and Irish Lions in 1930 and was a post-war All Black selector.

The Lions are holders of the Fred Lucas Cup, having won it the last time these two unions met in regular season play almost four years ago. On that day at Eden Park, the Lions won 39-21, running six tries and all through the backs.

The Lions also won their previous match on Eden Park against Auckland, winning 34-15 in 2019 and scoring 19 unanswered points in the second half.

Peter Umaga-Jensen scored tries in each of these two games – his try in that 2019 match coming after just 45 seconds after the opening whistle.

The Lions won their third straight match over Auckland in the 2022 NPC Premiership semi-final, when they prevailed 54-19 in Wellington and then went on to beat Canterbury to lift the title. Of the squad’s current players, Asafo Aumua, Ruben Love, TJ Perenara (all now with the All Blacks), Julian Savea, Jackson Garden-Bachop, Pepesana Patafilo and Riley Higgins (2) scored tries.

LIONS TEAM NAMING

Wellington Lions team to take on Auckland:

1. Xavier Numia – Oriental-Rongotai
2. Penieli Poasa – Oriental-Rongotai
3. Siale Lauaki – Tawa
4. Hugo Plummer – Tawa
5. Teofilo Paulo – Hutt Old Boys Marist
6. Brad Shields – Petone
7. Du’Plessis Kirifi – C – Northern United
8. Peter Lakai – Petone
9. Kyle Preston – Old Boys University
10. Jackson Garden-Bachop – Northern United
11. Pepesana Patafilo – Tawa
12. Julian Savea – Oriental-Rongotai
13. Peter Umaga-Jensen – Wainuiomata
14. Riley Higgins – Petone
15. Tjay Clarke – Petone
16. Leni Apisai – Paremata-Plimmerton
17. Yota Kamimori* – Stokes Valley
18. PJ Sheck – Tawa
19. Akira Ieremia – Tawa
20. Dominic Ropeti – Oriental-Rongotai
21. Mitchel McLeod* – Old Boys University
22. Callum Harkin*- Old Boys University
23. Matt Proctor – Oriental-Rongotai

*Debut
Unavailable for selection:
Bradley Crichton, Caleb Delany, Losi Filipo, Harry Press, James O’Reilly

HEAD-TO-HEAD

Wellington and Auckland will be meeting for the 50th time in the National Provincial Championship.

Wellington and Auckland’s overall head-to-head record in 140 years of inter-provincial rivalry and in 181 encounters stands at 81 wins to Wellington, 97 to Auckland and three draws.

In 49 competition matches played between the sides in the modern NPC era (since 1976), Wellington has won 18 and Auckland 31.

Wellington has scored 1,055 points against Auckland in all NPC matches, including 123 tries, while Auckland has scored 1,205 points against Wellington, including 144 tries.

At Auckland, they have played 26 times in the NPC. Wellington has won eight and Auckland 18 of these.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Wellington Lions have won their past three NPC season opening matches. These have been against Northland in 2021 (54-7), Bay of Plenty in 2022 (37-35) and Manawatu last year (22-6).

The Lions have won seven of their past 10 opening NPC matches of the season, losses in these games coming to Waikato (25-37) in 2014, Tasman (8-45) in 2019 and Waikato again (28-53) in 2020.

Julian Savea scored at least one try in four these 10 games above, in 2017, 2020, 2021 and 2022 (2 tries).

After losing their first NPC game of the season in 2001 to Bay of Plenty (11-14), the Lions won their next 12 season openers in a row, before losing to Tasman first up in 2014. So all up, the Lions have won 19 of their last 22 first NPC games of the season.

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What is coming up in August, September, October

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WELLINGTON V AUCKLAND HISTORY

Previously published on this website in 2020 and updated:

• Fred Lucas played 41 matches including seven Tests for the All Blacks between 1923-1930, was a North Island selector from 1939-46, All Black selector in 1945-46 and was a foundation member of the New Zealand Barbarians club. Wellington and Auckland were the first pair of North Island unions to meet in a first-class match, on 8 September 1883.
• During their match at Potter’s Paddock in Epsom in 1894, hail storms were so severe that the players left the field to shelter in the grandstand. When conditions improved play was resumed and Wellington went on to win 13-0.When Auckland beat Wellington in 1897 it was Wellington’s first defeat at home by another New Zealand provincial team in 33 games since the WRFU’s formation in 1880.
• In 1926 K.S (Sydney). Svenson scored a hat-trick of tries and kicked a penalty for all Wellington’s points in a 12-16 loss. Svenson’s name lives on now in the brothers currently playing for the Upper Hutt Rams and Hutt Old Boys Marist clubs.
• In 1933’s 27-9 win, Wellington scored eight tries with four players scoring twice each. B.A. Killeen, J.L Griffiths, H.T. Lilburne and J.G Dellabarca each scored braces in this game.
• In Wellington’s 23-6 Ranfurly Shield defence against Auckland in 1953, left wing Ron Jarden scored a try and kicked four conversions for 14 points (today worth 16 points).
• In 1955 Jarden enjoyed even richer pickings against Auckland: In the first match between the sides at Athletic Park on 17 September he scored two tries and kicked nine points for 15 points (today worth 19 points) in a 24-19 win. scored four tries and kicked 13 points for 25 points (today worth 33 points). Thus in two games in a week against Auckland, Jarden scored six tries and scored 40 points, which with today’s five-point try values (then three) he would have scored 52 points.
• On 29 September 1956, Wellington defended the Ranfurly Shield against Auckland, winning 9-6.For the final time in his glittering career, Ron Jarden walked off Athletic Park as the star player, having scored a stunning 60-yard try in support of his friend and openside flanker Bill Clark. Jarden’s try (worth three points) and an earlier penalty by him were the match winning points in Wellington’s tense and tight win. Prior to Jarden’s heroics, little separated the two teams with Wellington ahead 6-3 at halftime and the game on a knife-edge.
• In 1963 Wellington famously won the RS off Auckland (8-3) only to lose it seven days later to Taranaki – the shortest ever tenure. This was also the 100th game between the two unions. Then in 1974 Auckland beat Wellington in their second defence 18 days after Wellington had won it off South Canterbury.
• Graham Williams scored two tries in consecutive games against Auckland in 1969 and 1970, and Graham Wallis also bagged two braces in a row in the following two years, 1971 and 1972.
• There have been just three instances of players scoring three or more tries in a match for Wellington against Auckland. These were: Svenson (1926) and M.J Hourigan (1952) with hat tricks and Jarden’s four tries in 1955.
• The 54 points scored by Wellington in their most recent meeting is their highest score against Auckland in all NPC matches. Their previous highest score was the 48-23 victory at Auckland in the Semi-final of 2000.
• The eight tries scored by Wellington in their last match in 2022 was a new record for them against Auckland. Their previous record was six, on three occasions: at Auckland in 1997, at Auckland in 2003 and Auckland in 2020, the last time the two sides played each other.