The Wellington Rugby Football Union covers not only Wellington, but also Porirua, Upper Hutt and Lower Hutt. It was founded in 1879, making it the second oldest provincial union in New Zealand. Wellington, known as the Lions, play their home games in the 34,500 capacity Westpac Stadium, affectionately dubbed the‘Cake-Tin’.
Colours and Logo
The Wellington Lions play their home games in a strip of black shirts with gold, white shorts and black socks. A feast of top names in the game have pulled on the shirt, including Jerry Collins, Christian Cullen, Ross Filipo, Roy Kinikinilau, Jonah Lomu, Ma’a Nonu, Sireli Bobo, Conrad Smith, Tana Umaga and Piri Weepu.
Honours
Wellington have held the Ranfurly shield on several occasions but the last time was in 1982. Their longest run consisted of 15 defences. They were runners-up in the 2007 Air New Zealand Cup.
ITM Cup 2012 Preview
Wellington will contest the Premiership in 2012, the top tier of the ITM Cup competition. With a host of exciting talent the Lions will benefit from a lot of players who are on the fringe of All Black selection, but have not yet been called away to international duties at this stage in their careers, and will thus be available for the ITM Cup campaign. In the forwards, the experience of veterans Ross Felipo and Serge Lilo will allow the explosive energy of Dane Coles and the hard-hitting Motu Matu’u free-reign, while a well-balanced backline including journeyman Tim Bateman and new star TJ Peranara will be enterprising. Watch for young Matt Proctor in the backline, a prodigious talent who has come out of the NZ U20 side. Title contenders.