Lions on Safari in Palmerston North on Sunday

Above: When the pink Lions and Manawatu met last year. Caleb Delany and Hugo Plummer looking to charge down the kick of Jordi Viljoen. All three start on Sunday. Photo: Andy McArthur.

The Wellington Lions will be hoping Palmerston North is a happy hunting ground for their next match on Sunday.

The Lions face the home team the Manawatu Turbos in their fourth round NPC fixture in the late match on Sunday at Buckethead Stadium.

Both sides are coming off tough losses. Wellington missed out this past Sunday at home to Otago 41-46 to see their winning record at Porirua Park slip to 50 percent. The Turbos went down in a heartbreaker in the deep south to Southland, succumbing 22-29.

The remedy will be simple for both squads, shore up leaky defences. Both condeded points that they shouldn’t have, the Turbos in particular guilty of this after leading 22-0 at halftime and then seeing it all fall down around them.

This match is the closest the Lions have to a local derby in the NPC (actually Tasman is as the plane flies, but for a sh0utout to road transport users) and these two teams are Hurricanes brothers in arms so plenty of familiar match-ups.

In Lions team news at a glance, confirmed Highlanders-bound Stanley Solomon starts at fullback for Callum Harkin who took a head knock against Otago. Losi Filipo comes on to the wing for TJ Clarke who drops down to the bench, and who has failed to recapture his best form of last year since returning from injury midyear, and Asafo Aumua starts at hooker for James O’Reilly in one change to the forwards.

Both Lions Japanese props get a run off the bench, while Nui Muriwai comes into reserve halfback for Mitchell McLeod.

The teams for this fixture are:

Wellington

1. Xavier Numia (Ories)
2. Asafo Aumua (Avalon)
3. Siale Lauaki (Norths)
4. Hugo Plummer (Tawa)
5. Akira Ieremia (Tawa)
6. Caleb Delany (Old Boys University)
7. Sione Halalilo (Ories)
8. Brad Shields (Petone)
9. Esi Komaisavai (Paremata-Plimmerton)
10. Jackson Garden-Bachop (Norths)
11. Tom Maiava (Ories)
12. Julian Savea (Ories)
13. Matt Proctor (Ories)
14. Losi Filipo (Petone)
15. Stanley Solomon (Petone)
16. James O’Reilly (HOBM)
17. Yamamoto (Japan)
18. PJ Sheck (Tawa)
19. Matolu Petaia (Tawa)
20. Dominic Ropeti (Ories)
21. Nui Muriwai (HOBM)
22. TJ Clarke (Petone)
23. Yamada (Japan)

Manawatu.

1. Joseph Gavigan
2. Vernon Bason
3. Felei Sae Ta’ufo’ou
4. Rob Harley
5. Taine Toiri
6. TK Howden
7. Joe Fabish
8. Brayden Iose
9. Jordi Viljoen
10. Brett Cameron
11. James Tofa
12. Ngani Laumape
13. Kyle Brown
14. Taniela Filimone
15. Drew Wild
16. Raymond Tuputupu
17. Malakai Ngatai
18. Misinale Epenisa
19. Reuben Allen
20. Mosese Bason
21. Jai Tamati
22. Sam Coles
23. Tofuka Paongo

Another inter-provincial trophy is on the line, and having lost the Harry Saundercock Trophy (to Canterbury) and the Mike Gibson Memorial Trophy (Otago), the Lions will be eager to hold on to this one.

It is the Coronation Cup, which was presented by the Arnott family to the Manawatu Rugby Union in the Queen’s coronation year of 1953. For many seasons the two unions played an annual Queen’s Birthday fixture for the Coronation Cup.

Head-to-head, he two sides have met on 30 occasions in NPC matches. Wellington has won 22 times to Manawatu’s eight.

Wellington has won the last six matches in a row.  Wellington won last year at Porirua Park 39-31 – the eight-point margin of victory being the smallest since the glorious 11-3 win over them in Palmerston North in 2006.

Manawatu’s last win in this fixture was in 2016 when blindside flanker Antonio Kirikiri went on a tear and scored four tries in a 50-28 takedown.

In all NPC Cup matches, Wellington has scored 837 points against Manawatu, including 115 tries, and Manawatu has scored 531 points against Wellington, including 65 tries.

This match goes back to 1887 when Wellington won 11-0 in their first clash.

Prior to the start of the NPC era in 1976, Wellington and Manawatu had met 67 times, of which Wellington won 45, Manawatu 15 and there were seven draws including three in a row 1948-50.

Wellington’s biggest score (69) and biggest winning margin (66 points) against Manawatu came in their 69-3 victory in 1990.

Wing Mike Clamp scored four tries in Wellington’s 24-9 win in 1984, a Lions record against all sides that was equalled in 2009 by Hosea Gear against Counties Manukau. Fullback John Gallagher scored a Wellington record 24 NPC competition points against Manawatu in a 56-24 win in 1987.