Some players to watch in club rugby 2025

Above: That winning feeling at fulltime in last year’s Jubilee Cup final, the space every player and club wants to be in four months from now. Photo: Stewart Baird. 

• By Scott MacLean

A regular part of our pre-season coverage has been our selection of players to watch. As usual, we’ve scanned the likely Premier squads and picked one player from each we think it’s worthy to keep an eye on.

Like last year, this year’s group mixes impressive youngsters, seasoned veterans, and a couple back in the province. Listed alphabetically by surname, these are Club Rugby’s Players to Watch for 2025.

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Jeremiah Avei-Collins, Northern United: The young No. 8 was our pick from Norths last year, but selection for the national U20s meant he was unavailable for large parts of it so we’ve decided to re-up for this year. An all-action player, he plays at a level that belies his age and has already chalked up four outings for the Wellington Lions. Robust with and without ball-in-hand, expect him to leave a few bruised bodies while trying to lead Norths back to the top.

Above: Jeremiah Avei-Collins running strongly for Northern United against Wainuiomata last year. 

Ietitaia Campbell, Upper Hutt Rams: It seems that Campbell has been around forever, largely due to his lengthy run in the Scots 1st XV. That ended with an ACL tear and delayed the start of his senior career, but once he got there he took to it like a duck to water. A physically damaging ballcarrier, the Rams deployed him on the left wing in his rookie campaign but the possibility he moves infield to where he played the entirety of his school career exists. And has already hit the ground running with a strong week in the Hurricanes Under 20s.

Above: Flashback to the 2021 Wellington First XV final and Ieti Campbell set up this clutch try to help Scots College to a 34-21 win over St Pat’s Town. Expect more of the same for the Upper Hutt Rams in his second season in Premier rugby in 2025.

Jacob Denyer, Tawa: Another young back to impress last season, Denyer showed plenty of promise at Mana College before doing his Year 13 at Silverstream, culminating in an exceptional individual try in the drawn Hurricanes Schools final against Napier Boys in 2022. Pitching up at Lyndhurst Park, Denyer has played both wing and fullback for Tawa, but probably more likely to wear #15 more often than not. There’s a whiff of Cory Jane in how he plays, and if the Hurricanes U20 rep can continue his trajectory he might find himself on the same path.

Above: Jacob Denyer at fullback finishes off this try for Tawa against Johnsonville last year, one of seven tries in 14 appearances for Tawa in 2024, a tally which will grow this season. 

Jacob Faifai, Avalon: It’s been a bleak few years for the Wolves, but Faifai has been a bright light in the gloom. With his trademark and distinctive headgear, the prop was one of Avalon’s best sources of go-forward last year and was rewarded with enough points to make our Best & Fairest XV. Resisting temptation at the breakdown on defence is a work-on, but if they’re to make an impression on the competition this year Faifai will likely be at the front of it.

Braith Ingram, Petone: Arriving from Gisborne Boys’ High School, Ingram spent a couple of weeks in the Villagers colts side before his Premier debut. The openside is tenacious and tigerish, and undaunted by his age relative to those he’s facing. With Mason Henry having left town, he surely shapes as the first-choice option at North Park, and a good season would surely have him in the frame for some level of representative play at the back end of the year.

Above: Braith Ingram in action for the Wellington U20s in their recent Sam Doyle Memorial Trophy series match against Manawatu.

Luke Kapene, Marist St Pat’s: Part of Paremata-Plimmerton’s Swindale-winning side two years ago, Kapene earned selection for the two Ranfurly Shield defences that year but was ruled out with an injury suffered in the closing weeks. After a year’s sojourn in Western Australia the fullback has returned to Wellington, but to Evans Bay and not Ngati Toa. Reports have been positive from The Red Machine’s pre-season outings, so if Kapene can recapture that form from 2023 the club and their supporters will be smiling.

Tom Maiava, Oriental Rongotai: It’s been quite the odyssey for Maiava so far. He first came to prominence as a skinny yet mouthy halfback at Bishop Viard, finished school at Wellington College, and then had stints with Tawa, Waikato’s Hautapu, and glamour Sydney club Randwick before a torn ACL threatened to derail his playing career. But the comeback has been strong, making the Samoan 7s side and playing in last year’s Olympics. Returning to Wellington but to the Polo Ground he made enough of an impression with the Magpies to earn a NPC call-up. Capable of playing centre, wing, and fullback it’s the latter he seems likely to play in to start the year at least, and having bulked up considerably since his school days will be a real handful if opponents give him the opportunity.

Above: Tom Maiava heads into 2025 sitting on 49 Premier club rugby caps, for Tawa 2018-20 and for Ories 2024. Here he latches on to this kick and scores a try on Premier debut for Tawa in the opening round of 2018.

Mitch McLeod, Old Boys-University: The bolter of the Lions NPC squad, he turned being Kyle Preston’s understudy at club level into the same with the full representative side. Unfortunately, concussions – one against HOBM in the Jubilee playoffs and another on debut against Auckland – blighted the end of his season. With Preston currently lighting up Super Rugby with the Crusaders, the opportunity exists for McLeod to take ownership of the #9 jersey for the nomadic Goats and show that they’ll lose nothing with him being there.

Above: Mitch McLeod looking for an opening, playing for Old Boys University in a recent pre-season match. 

Anthony Pettett, Johnsonville: It seems hard to believe it’s been 10 years since Pettett surprisingly made the NZ Schools side out of then-third division Newlands College. He perhaps struggled with the burden of that accomplishment, but has carved out a decent club playing career between his home club and a stint at MSP, and has a pair of appearances for the Lions under his belt. After a year overseas he’s back home for his club’s 125^th year, and at bang-on 2m tall he’s impossible to miss. Johnsonville’s backs have proven their ability to deliver off set-piece and front-foot ball, and if Pettett can get back into the groove and do his part in front of them then scoreboard operators could be busy people.

Above: Anthony Pettett crosses for Johnsonville in their home Jubilee Cup semi-final against Ories in his last Premier competition start in July 2023. 

Harry Press, Hutt Old Boys Marist: After a college career where he was a standout at Hutt International, Press headed south for university and showed enough to make his NPC debut with Otago. Returning home, he slotted seamlessly into the Eagles lineup. Does the basics you expect a hooker to do very well and covers ground like a loose forward, and was one of the half-dozen rakes the Lions used in the NPC. With injuries seemingly catching up with James O’Reilly, he seems destined to have as long a run at the Hutt Rec as he chooses.

Above: Harry Press and the Eagles score this textbook try off a lineout against last year’s champions OBU in their Jubilee Cup semi-final last July. 

Tom Robertson, Wellington. The flanker returns to Hataitai Park after a few seasons overseas and with the side’s fortunes having slumped in that time. In his previous stint he was someone recognised for being a menace at the breakdown, and can only have sharpened those skills in the meantime but even if they’ve diminished his experience alone will be of immense value to an Axemen side that could certainly make use of it.

Maea Temu-Schmidt, Poneke: Like Pettett and Robertson, Temu-Schmidt returns to his club after being abroad, but only one season in his case. His departure along with that of fellow lock Zeke Fiso badly weakened Poneke’s engine room, so having him back will be a boon to Ross Bond’s team. A sizeable presence, his tendency to drift out of some games was something he needed to address, but when he’s in the mood he can be one of the best locks running around Wellington. If he does that, Poneke could be a handful.

Ethan Webster-Nonu, Paremata-Plimmerton: Playing the same positions as your rather famous uncle comes with a few expectations, most of them unrealistic. The Scots product turned in a few solid seasons at Ories before deciding on a change and moving up the highways to Paremata-Plimmerton. Operating exclusively in midfield since, he’s become a vital cog in the Hammerheads rise to prominence while letting others grab the limelight. With some questions about how their backline will shape up this season, his role will become an even more important one this term.

Above: Ethan Webster-Nonu in typical attacking mode, scoring for Paremata-Plimmerton against Old Boys University in 2023. 

Andrew Wells, Wainuiomata: The most experienced player on this list, it’s well over a decade since Wells made his Premier debut for MSP. With over 150 games there and a few seasons in France, life took the veteran over the Hill Road to William Jones. Largely a fullback to date, he wore the #10 jersey for his new side and displayed all the tactical nous he’s amassed in his career, and while not as quick as he might have been still remained dangerous with ball in hand.

Above: Andrew Wells in action for Wainuiomata in a recent pre-season fixture. After playing for Marist St Pat’s from 2012-23, Wells made the move to Wainuiomata last season and his experience on and off the field will be valuable for them this season. 

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