Auckland (National Provincial Championship)

For the Auckland Rugby governing body, see Auckland Rugby Union.

Auckland are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Auckland, New Zealand. The union was originally established in 1883, with the National Provincial Championship established in 1976. They now play in the reformed National Provincial Championship competition. They play their home games at Eden Park in Auckland. The team is affiliated with the Blues Super Rugby franchise. Their home playing colours are blue and white hoops.

Auckland

ARU official emblem
Union	Auckland Rugby Union
Founded	1883; 141 years ago (1883)
Location	Mount Eden, Auckland, New Zealand
Ground(s)	Eden Park (Capacity: 50,000)
CEO	Jarrod Bear^[1]
Coach(es)	Craig McGrath
Captain(s)	Harry Plummer
Most appearances	Grant Fox (189)
Top scorer	Grant Fox (2,746)
Most tries	Terry Wright (112)
League(s)	Bunnings NPC
2023	6th Quarterfinalist
Team kit
Official website
www.aucklandrugby.co.nz

Current squad

The Auckland squad for the 2023 Bunnings NPC is:^[2]

Auckland squad
Props   Sione Ahio   Ben Ake ^REP ^[a]   Josh Fusitua   Alex Hodgman ^INJ   James Lay   Sam Lester ^REP ^[b]   Marcel Renata   Angus Taʻavao   Leka Tuʻungafasi Hookers   Leni Apisai   Joe Royal   Soane Vikena Locks   Edward Annandale   Josh Beehre   Hamish Dalzell   Kalin Felise ^REP ^[c]   Patrick Tuipulotu	Loose forwards   Adrian Choat   Che Clark   Vaiolini Ekuasi   Blake Gibson   Akira Ioane   Niko Jones   Terell Peita   Sione Tuipulotu ^REP ^[d] Half-backs (scrum-halves)   Pele Cowley   Taufa Funaki   Kalani Thomas First five-eighths (fly-halves)   Jock McKenzie   Harry Plummer (c)	Midfielders (centres)   Corey Evans   Leo Gordon ^REP ^[b]   Bryce Heem   Rieko Ioane   Tanielu Teleʻa   Roger Tuivasa-Sheck Outside backs   Caleb Clarke   Joel Cobb   AJ Lam   Salesi Rayasi   Payton Spencer   Zarn Sullivan   Caleb Tangitau   Xavier Tito-Harris ^REP ^[e]
(c) Denotes team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped, ^REP denotes a replacement squad player, ^INJ denotes an injured player. Ake wasn't named in the original Auckland squad, but was announced in the side for Round 2.^[3] Gordon & Lester weren't named in the original Auckland squad, but were announced in the side for Auckland's second fixture in Round 4.^[4] Felise wasn't named in the original Auckland squad, but was announced in the side for Round 1.^[5] Tuipulotu wasn't named in the original Auckland squad, but was announced in the side for Round 4.^[4] Tito-Harris wasn't named in the original Auckland squad, but was announced in the side for Round 5.^[6]

Honours

Auckland have been overall Champions on 17 occasions. Their first title was in 1982 and their most recent title was in 2018. Their full list of honours include:^[7][8]

National Provincial Championship First Division

• Winners: 1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005

Air New Zealand Cup

• Winners: 2007

Mitre 10 Cup Premiership Division

• Winners: 2018

Current Super Rugby players

Players named in the 2023 Auckland squad, who also earned contracts or were named in a squad for any side participating in the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season.^{[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]}

Player	Team
Leni Apisai	Highlanders
Adrian Choat	Blues
Caleb Clarke	Blues
Vaiolini Ekuasi	Rebels
Corey Evans	Blues
Taufa Funaki	Blues
Josh Fusitua	Blues
Bryce Heem	Blues
Alex Hodgman	Blues
Akira Ioane	Blues
Rieko Ioane	Blues
Niko Jones	Moana Pasifika
AJ Lam	Blues
James Lay	Blues
Harry Plummer	Blues
Salesi Rayasi	Hurricanes
Marcel Renata	Blues
Joe Royal	Moana Pasifika
Zarn Sullivan	Blues
Angus Ta'avao	Chiefs
Caleb Tangitau	Blues
Tanielu Teleʻa	Blues
Kalani Thomas	Reds
Sione Tuipulotu	Moana Pasifika
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck	Blues
Soane Vikena	Blues

References

1. "Board and Staff". Auckland Rugby Union. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
2. "Auckland Rugby names squad to compete in 2023 Bunnings Warehouse NPC" (Press release). Auckland Rugby. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 29 July 2023.
3. "Bunnings NPC Round 2: Team Lists". Bunnings NPC. 7 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
4. "Bunnings NPC Round 4: Team Lists". Bunnings NPC. 25 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
5. "Bunnings NPC Round 1: Team Lists". Bunnings NPC. 4 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
6. "Bunnings NPC Round 5: Team Lists". Bunnings NPC. 31 August 2023. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
7. "National Provincial Championship winners, 1976–2014". Te Ara. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
8. . Rugby Heartland. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
9. "Highlanders 2023 Squad Announcement" (Press release). Highlanders. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
10. "2023 Squad announced". Blues (Press release). 26 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
11. "Rebels announce signing of experienced trio" (Press release). Melbourne Rebels. 27 January 2023. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
12. "Moana Pasifika team named for historic Apia clash against Reds" (Press release). Moana Pasifika. 12 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
13. "Hurricanes 2023 squad announced" (Press release). Hurricanes. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
14. "Moana Pasifika Name Exciting New Line-up to Face Hurricanes" (Press release). Moana Pasifika. 11 May 2023. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
15. "Gallagher Chiefs squad announced for 2023" (Press release). Chiefs. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
16. "Queensland Reds announce 2023 Super Rugby Pacific Squad" (Press release). Queensland Reds. 30 November 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
17. "Moana Pasifika name 2023 DHL Super Rugby Pacific Squad". Moana Pasifika (Press release). 22 November 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2022.

External links

• Official site