Taranaki (National Provincial Championship)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the Taranaki Rugby governing body, see Taranaki Rugby Football Union.

Taranaki
Taranaki bulls logo.png
The official emblem
UnionTaranaki Rugby Football Union
Nickname(s)Bulls
Founded1885; 137 years ago (1885)
LocationWestown, New Plymouth, New Zealand
Ground(s)TET Stadium and Events Centre (Capacity: 3,000)
CEOLaurence Corlett[1]
Coach(es)Neil Barnes
Captain(s)Mitchell Brown and Teihorangi Walden
Most appearancesKieran Crowley (199)
Top scorerKieran Crowley (1,723)
Most triesKieran Crowley (64)
League(s)Bunnings NPC
20211st (Championship)
Champions
Team kit
Official website
www.trfu.co.nz

Taranaki (often known as the Taranaki Bulls) are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in New Plymouth, New Zealand. The union was originally established in 1889, with the National Provincial Championship established in 1976. They now play in the reformed National Provincial Championship competition. They play their home games at TET Stadium & Events Centre in Inglewood in the Taranaki region. The team is affiliated with the Chiefs Super Rugby franchise. Their home playing colours are yellow and black.

Current squad[]

The Taranaki Bulls squad for the 2021 Bunnings NPC is:[2][3][4][5]

Taranaki Bulls squad

Props

Hookers

Locks

Loose forwards

Half-backs (Scrum-halves)

First five-eighths (Fly-halves)

Midfielders (Centres)

Outside backs

(c) Denotes team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped, INJ denotes a injured squad player, REP denotes a replacement squad player.
  1. ^ Fa'avae wasn't named in the original Taranaki squad, but was announced in the side for Round 8.[6]
  2. ^ a b c Cunningham, Featherstone and Woolliams weren't named in the original Taranaki squad, but were announced for the side in Round 7.[7]
  3. ^ Jury wasn't named in the original Taranaki squad, but was announced for the side in Round 3.[8]
  4. ^ Kaylum Boshier wasn't named in the original Taranaki squad due to injury, but was named in the side for Round 10 after recovering from injury.[9]
  5. ^ Shaan Waite wasn't named in the original Taranaki squad, but was announced for the side in Round 1.[10]

Honours[]

Taranaki have been overall Champions once, winning the title in 2014. Their full list of honours include:[11][12]

National Provincial Championship Second Division North Island
  • Winners: 1976, 1982, 1983, 1984
National Provincial Championship Second Division
  • Winners: 1985, 1992, 1995
ITM Cup Premiership Division
  • Winners: 2014
Bunnings NPC Championship Division
  • Winners: 2021

Current Super Rugby players[]

Players named in the 2021 Taranaki Bulls squad, who also earned contracts or were named in a squad for any side participating in the 2021 Super Rugby season.[13][14][15][16][17]

Player Team
Jordie Barrett Hurricanes
Scott Barrett Crusaders
Kaylum Boshier Chiefs
Lachlan Boshier Chiefs
Mitchell Brown Chiefs
Tom Florence Chiefs
Josh Lord Chiefs
Reuben O'Neill Chiefs
Stephen Perofeta Blues
Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens Blues
Ricky Riccitelli Hurricanes
Bradley Slater Chiefs
Pita Gus Sowakula Chiefs
Tupou Vaa'i Chiefs

References[]

  1. ^ "TRFU Staff". Taranaki Rugby. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  2. ^ @TaranakiRugby (15 July 2021). "2021" (Tweet). Retrieved 15 July 2021 – via Twitter.
  3. ^ "Prop Michael Bent back for Taranaki Bulls". Stuff.co.nz. 16 July 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2021.
  4. ^ "Yarrows Taranaki Bulls players contracted in 2021". Taranaki Rugby. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Championship Squads: Bunnings NPC 2021". Provincial Rugby. 4 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  6. ^ "Your Yarrows Taranaki Bulls team to face the Manawatu Turbos". @taranakirugbynz on Instagram. 21 October 2021. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  7. ^ "