NPC Number Crunching: Wellington Lions v Northland

Round 8 v Northland: Lost 28-52

The Wellington Lions are still looking for their first win of the season. They have now lost all eight matches played which is one short of the record nine they lost in a row at the beginning of 2014.

The Lions lost their final two matches in 2025 which means they are on a losing streak of 10 matches in succession. This equals their record of 10 successive losses spread over 2013 and 2014 when they lost the last match of the former year and the first nine of the latter year.

The Lions conceded 50 points for the 15th time in a match and extended their record in 2026 to four occasions. They have also conceded 40 plus points three times.

In their eight matches played the Lions have had exactly 400 points scored against them: that is an average of 50 points a game. Those 400 points are also a new record for points conceded in a season. The previous record was 381 points, in 10 matches in 2014.

The Lions and the Northland Taniwha have now met 38 times in the NPC. The Lions have won 29 times to Northland’s nine.

Northland have won the last three encounters which equals their record hat-trick of wins between 1989 and 1991.

Northland’s 52 points is a new record score against the Lions beating their previous best of 43 points in their 43-26 win at Whangarei in 2025.

The eight tries scored by Northland is also a new record bettering the six they scored, both times in Whangarei, in 1989 and 2025.

The Lions have conceded a record 30 tries in home matches so far this season.

In this match the Lions extended their record for most tries conceded in a single season to 61.

The Lions have hosted Northland 22 times for 18 wins and four losses. They have lost the last two matches in a row, the first time they have done so at home.

The Wellington Lions have played 269 home matches since 1976 winning 192 (71.4%), losing 73 and drawing four.

They have lost their last five home matches in succession: all four this year and the final      match last year. This equals their record for most home match losses in a row which first happened over 2013 and 2014.

The Lions have never lost all of their home matches played in a season.

The Lions made seven changes to their starting XV compared to that which started the previous match against Canterbury. There were two changes in the backs and five in the forwards.

In six of their eight matches played so far in 2026 the Wellington Lions have developed a propensity to score 14 points in at least one half of a match.

In Round 1 they scored 14 and 19, Round 4 (eight and 14), Round 5 (21 and 14), Round 6 (14 and 14), Round 7 (five and 14) and Round 8 (14 and 14).

Siale Lauaki made his first appearance of the season to take the total number of players used by the Lions in 2026 to 34.

Du’Plessis Kirifi captained the side for the first time in 2026 following injury to the incumbent Caleb Delany. Kirifi had not led the Lions since defeating the Bay of Plenty in the competition Final at Wellington in 2024.

Kirifi’s two tries took his total in 76 matches to 20: he also scored a brace against Northland at Wellington in 2019. He is the first Lions player this year to score more than one try in a match.

Kirifi’s first try was the Lions 100th in home matches against Northland. The total now stands at 103.

Callum Harkin’s eight points brought up 100 points for the Lions in his 29th match. He currently sits on 101 points. They were his first against Northland.

Matolu Petaia scored his maiden try in his 19th outing.

Stanley Solomon scored the Lion’s fourth and final try just before fulltime. It was his 10th in 20 match appearances. He had not previously scored against Northland.

Kenkichi Yanagawa went on as a substitute in the 69th minute and was the victim of a yellow card in the 70th minute. It was the Lion’s fourth yellow card this season.

Three Northland players each scored two tries. They were James Ramm, Reuben Stewart and James Mullan. For all three they were their first tries against the Lions.

Stewart’s second try was the 400th conceded by the Lions at Westpac/Sky/Hnry Stadium against all sides. The total now stands at 404.

This was the first time three Northland players had scored twice in a game against the Lions: the previous record was two players twice. For the record Kurt McQuilkin and Ian Jones did so at Whangarei in 1989 and Jone Macilai and Dan Pryor repeated the feat in 2014, also in Whangarei.

Nathan Salmon scored his second try against Wellington (the first was last year) and Grady Forbes touched down for the first time. Forbes’s try was the 50th to be scored by a Northland player against the Lions away from home. The total now stands at 53.

Reesjan Pasitoa added eight points, his first against the Lions.

Rivez Reihana kicked four points to go with his 20 points scored in previous matches. He ran down the shot clock with his first attempt and his hastily taken drop goal effort missed.

Referee Nick Hogan was in charge of his fourth match which involved the Lions. They had won the       previous three, against Manawatu (twice) and Southland.

At the end of Round 8 Northland was top of the Standings with the same number of points as Otago and Hawke’s Bay but in first place because of their superior points differential. Wellington remained at the bottom of the table in 14th place.

The Wellington Lions have played 531 NPC matches for 330 wins (62.1%), 189 losses and 12 draws.

Of the 51 premier years NPC rugby has been played Northland has missed six of them: in 1977 and from 1993 to 1997.

Their record is: played 448, won 144 (32.1%), lost 295 and drawn nine. So far in 2026 they have won six matches: the most since 2022 and with a minimum of two further chances of exceeding that number.

Northland is the current holder of the Ranfurly Shield.

Next Sunday (27 September) Wellington host Waikato at Hnry Stadium.

The two sides have met 49 times previously. Wellington has won 29 of those matches and Waikato 20.

The Lions have won the last five encounters, as well as the last four in a row at home. Their last loss in Wellington was in 2016.