Wellington Lions v Tasman Mako Stat Attack

Peter Lakai gets his pass away to PJ Sheck in a previous match. 

The Wellington Lions met the Tasman Mako in their sixth round NPC fixture in Blenheim on Sunday. Some facts and figures from the game by Peter Marriott. 

Round 6 v Tasman (RS): Lost 15-28

Te Whanganui-a-Tara and Te Tai o Aorere have now met 16 times at NPC level. Wellington has won seven matches to Tasman’s nine.
Of the seven matches hosted by Tasman, Wellington has won two and Tasman five.

Five of Tasman’s home matches have been at Lansdowne Park in Blenheim. Wellington has won just the once: their first match against Tasman at this venue in 2009.

The Tasman Union was founded in 2006 when the former unions Nelson Bays and Marlborough were amalgamated.

The Wellington Lions had played one previous NPC match in Blenheim. That was against Marlborough in 1977 when the visitors prevailed 27-12.

The Lions made 12 changes to the starting lineup against Tasman from their previous match against Otago. There were six changes in the forwards and six changes in the backs.

This match against Tasman was the Lions third match in nine days in what is referred to as “Storm Week”.

The loss against Tasman was also Wellington’s first defeat of the season after having won their first six matches on the trot.

The loss also brought to an end a sequence of 13 successive wins for the Lions away from home.

And despite the loss, Wellington is still at the top of the Standings after six rounds.

Tasman now remain the only side to have not lost a match after six Rounds.

In the match Tasman brought up exactly 50 tries against Wellington: Wellington has scored 40 tries against Tasman.

The Lions’ 15 points against Tasman is their lowest score against any side since beating Tasman 7-0 at Wellington in August last year during Tasman’s challenge for the Ranfurly Shield. The Lions played 14 matches in between.

Wellington failed to score four or more tries in a match for the first time in 2024.

This was the Lions’ first match this year in which they never had the lead at any stage although they were within one point of Tasman’s score on two occasions.

The Lions conceded their first penalties of the season, in their seventh match. They are the last side to have a penalty kicked against them. The first of the two penalties was kicked in the 33rd minute of this match, after 513 actual minutes of accumulated playing time. It was the sixth attempt by an opposition player.

This match doubled as a Ranfurly Shield Challenge for Wellington. Tasman had won the Shield off Hawke’s Bay the previous weekend by the narrowest of margins (25-24) with a long-range penalty goal two minutes into overtime. It was Tasman’s first successful challenge at their fifth attempt. Two of those attempts had been against Wellington: in 2008 (lost 20-26) and in 2023 (lost 0-7).

Wellington was the first side to challenge Tasman for the Shield.

Wellington’s record in Ranfurly Shield Challenge matches is: played 109, won 58, lost 45 and drawn six (five as the challenger and one as the defender).

This was actually Wellington’s 50th challenge match and they have been successful on 11 previous occasions. For the record Wellington has won the Shield off seven different unions: Auckland (three times), Southland and Waikato (twice each), and Canterbury, Hawke’s Bay, South Canterbury and Taranaki on one occasion. Wellington has played four other teams for the Shield but without success: Manawatu, Otago, Wairarapa and Tasman.

Peter Umaga-Jensen’s perfect record as Wellington NPC captain has come to an end with this first loss in his sixth match in charge.

Pepesana Patafilo appeared in his 50th match for Wellington. He had made his debut against Hawke’s Bay at Napier in 2019. Of his 50 matches he started 36 and came off the bench 14 times including in this match against Tasman. Patafilo missed 15 matches for Wellington since his debut. He has scored 16 tries.

Peter Lakai appeared in his 28th match for Wellington since making his debut in 2021. Before this match he had started in 23 of them, all in the No 8 jersey. This was his first start wearing the No 7 jersey.

Ruben Love and Billy Proctor were released from All Black duties so they could play in this match.

Tjay Clark scored his eighth try for Wellington in his 13th match. He has appeared six times this season and has scored a try in each of those six matches.

Riley Higgins scored his 11th try in his 25th match for Wellington. Higgins has made five starts this year, in four different positions: one at No 14, one at No 13, two at No 12, and against Tasman, No 11.

Jackson Garden-Bachop kicked five points to take his total in all matches for the Lions to 753: which moved him into third place on Wellington’s all-time point scorers list. Before this match he had been tied in third-equal place with the late Mick Williment on 748 points. Williment played 108 matches:

Garden-Bachop is now just five short of bringing up his 100th match.

Jackson Garden-Bachop has scored 57 points against Tasman, including two tries.

Wellington’s hold on the Cook Strait Cup has been loosened with Tasman the new holders.

Referee Dan Waenga was in charge of his seventh match involving Wellington. Wellington has won four of those matches and of their three losses, two have been against Tasman.

Wellington’s overall record in the NPC is: played 507 matches, won 322 (63.5%), lost 173 and drawn 12.