Wellington Lions gunning for four-peat over Canterbury in NPC opener

The Wellington Lions step out on to their new permanent home ground of Porirua Park (playoff matches aside, they are at the Wellington Stadium) to host Canterbury in their National Provincial Championship opening round match on Saturday.

Traditionally this match to open this year’s NPC against Canterbury is a blockbuster fixture between two traditional rivals, but it all appears a bit flat. Once underway it should be anything but that though.

On paper, the Lions have named an experienced side, who should have the goods to compete with Canterbury this early in the season, but sterner tests could lie in a few weeks when they are playing on harder, fast tracks with the springtime sun beating down on them.

Kyle Preston will add zest and spark at halfback against some of his Crusaders teammates, with  experienced trio Jackson Garden-Bachop, Julian Savea and Matt Proctor at first-five and in the midfield. Further out, Losi Filipo and TJ Clarke will both be looking to capture their best form, while Ruben Love is a welcome addition at fullback, with Callum Harkin coming off the bench to presumably cover 10 and 15.

Brad Shields captains the side at No. 8, with Hurricanes Peter Lakai and Caleb Delany making up the loose forwards. Akira Ieremia returns from Japan and partners his former Tawa teammate Hugo Plummer at lock.

At third former Tawa player, PJ Sheck, starts at tighthead prop and he has apparently been playing club rugby in Auckland but that competition gets no coverage so you wouldn’t know. HOBM hooker James O’Reilly has played two club matches all year and was his team’s waterboy in Saturday’s Jubilee Cup final.

Perhaps the biggest surprise selection is reserve tighthead prop Vili Tauofaga, fresh out of playing 65 minutes anchoring the Eagles scrum at Kilbirnie Park this past Saturday. To many, this will be in the bolter category as he wasn’t named in any pre-season squads. Tauofaga is a big body and has a big engine, so the Lions coaches have rewarded him here for his hard work. He is a former Auckland club rugby player before joining HOBM last year and was in the Horowhenua-Kapiti Heartland squad last season.

Starting loosehead prop Xavier Numia should also be fresh, having not played a competitive game since the Hurricanes met the Brumbies seven weeks ago.

One of the two Japanese players has been selected for this game, front rower Kenshi Yamamoto, joins Tauofaga on the bench.

Tawa could feel a little aggrieved that Tauofaga starts a week after the final for the Lions, as Player of the Match in their previous week’s semi-final Matolu Petaia was kept on ice and is not in the Lions squad this weekend. Similarly, reserve hooker Leon Tuiloma started the Hardham Cup final for the Upper Hutt Rams on Saturday.

Asafo Aumua is out with a hamstring issue, while despite being named in the squad, it is our understanding that Riley Higgins won’t play a game and is having an operation on his leg.

New Zealand U20s fullback Stanley Solomon is a notable omission for reasons unknown.

As well as valuable opening round NPC Premiership points on the line, so is the Harry Saundercock Memorial Trophy – one of several trophies Wellington plays for against their provincial rivals.

This was presented by the Saundercock family in 1965 in  memory of Harry Saundercock who was the first member of the CRFU to represent Canterbury Rugby sub unions in 1935.

Wellington are the defending champions, having beaten Canterbury 46-21 last year In Rangiora.

The Wellington Lions team is:

1.Xavier Numia (Oriental-Rongotai)

2. James O’Reilly (Hutt Old Boys Marist)
3. PJ Sheck (Tawa)
4. Hugo Plummer (Tawa)
5. Akira Ieremia (Tawa)
6. Caleb Delany (Old Boys University)
7. Peter Lakai (Petone)
8. Brad Shields (Petone)
9. Callum Harkin (Old Boys University)
10. Jackson Garden-Bachop (Northern United)
11. TJ Clarke (Petone)
12. Julian Savea (Oriental-Rongotai)
13. Matt Proctor (Oriental-Rongotai)
14. Losi Filipo (Petone)
15. Ruben Love (Wainuiomata)

RESERVES

16. Leon Tuiloma (Upper Hutt Rams)
17. Kenshi Yamamoto (Japan)
18. Vili Tauofaga (Hutt Old Boys Marist)
19. Dominic Ropeti (Oriental-Rongotai)
20. Sione Halalilo (Oriental-Rongotai)
21. Nui Muriwai (Hutt Old Boys Marist)
22. Callum Harkin (Old Boys University)
23. Tom Maiava (Oriental-Rongotai)

Some more facts and figures below heading into the match – first published here in 2020 and updated and some new items added.

Wellington has played Canterbury 56 times in NPC matches: Wellington have won 28 of these, Canterbury 26 and there have been two draws.

Canterbury have scored 170 NPC tries against Wellington and Wellington have scored 169 tries in the NPC against Canterbury.

Canterbury have scored 1,440 points against Wellington and Wellington have scored 1,380 points in these meetings.

Wellington goes into this clash having won their last three matches against Canterbury. They won 46-21 last year, 36-31 in 2023 and 26-18 in 2022 (final).

If they win their fourth match in a row against them on Saturday it will equal the only other time in the NPC era (since 1976) that they would have done so. They previously won a four-peat over them between 1978-81.

They also won four in a row over Canterbury between 1987-89, but two of these were non-NPC games, being South Pacific Championship games.

Wellington’s notable winning streaks over Canterbury in first-class rugby have been:

• 8 in a row: 1918-22
• 6 in a row: 1908-13
• 6 in a row: 1944-47
• 5 in a row: 1927-30
• 5 in a row: 1938-41
• 4 in a row: 1978-81
• 4 in a row: 1987-89

Overall, Wellington and Canterbury have met on the first-class rugby field 181 times. Wellington have won 93 of these, Canterbury 78 and there have been 10 draws.

Their first meeting was at at Newtown Park in 1883 with Wellington winning 1 to 0 (one try to nil). They played their 100th match in 1968.

After their first 118 encounters from 1883-1978 Wellington had scored 1,492 points and Canterbury 1,358 – an average winning margin of just over one point after nearly a century of play.

Just three Wellington players have scored three or more tries against Canterbury in one match. These are J. Magee (1908) and D.W Hanson (1988) who both crossed for hat tricks and wing Bernie Fraser who scored four in 1978.

The most points by a Wellington player against Canterbury in a single match is 22 by Jon Preston on 1994. The next most are: Jackson Garden-Bachop (2017) with 20, Ron Jarden (1953) and Brian Cederwall (1981) with 19 and J.R Watt (1959) and Riki Flutey (2002) with 18. Callum Harkin kicked 14 points last year.

The Canterbury-Wellington match set down for 14 July 1945 in Christchurch was cancelled on the morning of the game because Lancaster Park was under snow and water. Wellington later made a special trip to Christchurch, on 29 September, and won 23-6.

Wellington’s 60-14 win over Canterbury in 2017 is Wellington’s largest ever against Canterbury. The previous biggest was 48-11 in 1990. Canterbury had never conceded 60 points previously. Their previous highest concessions were 59 against North Harbour in 1994 and Waikato in 2002.