Midweek match for the Mike Gibson Trophy between Wellington Lions and Otago

The Wellington Lions and Otago meet in Dunedin tonight for their ‘storm week’ Wednesday night fixture at Dunedin Stadium.

The Lions will be playing for their sixth straight wing to start their season, with one eye on the Ranfurly Shield challenge next Sunday against Tasman. As such a number of players have been rested (plus the possible return of Billy Proctor and Ruben Love) for Sunday’s game.

The teams for tonight’s match are:

Team news at a glance

Both teams have made several changes to their line-ups from their last outings, Wellington having beaten Southland 36-12 and Otago having lost 16-34 to Canterbury this past weekend.

Home team Otago have three debutants, including new second five Joe Cooke and replacement front rower Heath MacEwan and replacement halfback Dylan Pledger who is the highly rated New Zealand U20s halfback.

Visitors Wellington have made some personnel changes, while also introducing three uncapped players and two more with just one cap each.

The two one-cap players are Norths prop Bradley Crichton, who came off the bench against BoP two seasons ago and has had injuries, and starting hooker Harry Press from Hutt Old Boys Marist and who played a game against Manawatu in 2022.

The three new Lions for this match are Northern United flanker and NZ U20s player Jeremiah Avei-Collins, Tawa loose forward/lock Matolu Petaia, who was out of Hastings Boys’ High School’s First XV in 2022, and bustling No. 8 Ben Tuiomanufili who has spent the past two seasons with HOBM.

Like Press, Tuiomanufili will be familiar with Otago supporters, having played club rugby for Alhambra-Union for a few years and for the Otago 7s team. Out of Wellington College (2013), Tuiomanufili was a Samoan U20s player in 2015.

Mike Gibson Memorial Trophy

This Saturday the two teams are playing their 122nd game against each other and also playing for the Mike Gibson Memorial Trophy.

Gibson was a popular and dashing centre and wing who played for both Wellington and Otago in the 1980s, before dying of Leukemia, aged 27. He played three seasons for Otago, and one full season in Wellington and for the Lions before cancer struck and he passed away the following year in 1988.

In his honour, Gibson’s Bay of Plenty-based family commissioned a trophy to be played annually between Wellington and Otago and his parents and several family members brought it down to present it to the inaugural winner. The trophy was carved by Winiata Tapsell, a grandson of Winiata Tapsell who played for New Zealand Maori against the Springboks in 1921.

Wellington won the inaugural Mike Gibson Memorial Trophy 27-11 in 1989.

Mike Gibson highlights:

Wellington v Otago – some fast facts:

Going into this Wednesday’s fixture, Wellington has played Otago 45 times previously in the NPC competition, with Wellington winning 26, losing 17 and drawing two of these.

Wellington won its first eight NPC encounters with Otago between 1976 and 1983, but Otago beat Wellington in eight out of nine successive encounters between 1990 and 1998. The other match was drawn.

There have been two NPC draws between Wellington and Otago, these were in 1993 (20-20) and in 2004 (16-16).

Wellington’s 68-7 win in 2007 was the highest score and biggest margin ever recorded against Otago by any team.

In all NPC matches against Otago, Wellington has aggregated 1087 points made up of 141 tries, 104 conversions, 72 penalty goals, and two drop goals.

In all NPC matches against Wellington, Otago has aggregated 940 points made up of 106 tries, 71 conversions, 92 penalty goals, and six drop goals.

In 121 first-class matches overall since their first clash in 1883, Wellington has won 66, Otago 46 and nine have been drawn.