Taranaki (National Provincial Championship)

For the Taranaki Rugby governing body, see Taranaki Rugby Football Union.

Rugby team

Taranaki

Taranaki Bulls logo

Union| Taranaki Rugby Football Union
Nickname(s)| Bulls
Founded| 1885; 140 years ago (1885)
Location| New Plymouth, New Zealand
Ground(s)| Stadium Taranaki (Capacity: 30,000)
CEO| Jimmy Fastier
Coach(es)| Neil Barnes
Captain(s)| Kaylum Boshier
Most appearances| Kieran Crowley (199)
Top scorer| Kieran Crowley (1,723)
Most tries| Kieran Crowley (64)
League(s)| Bunnings NPC
2024| 2nd
Quarter-finalist

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. They represent the Taranaki region and compete National Provincial Championship. The union was originally established in 1889, with the National Provincial Championship established in 1976.

The team is governed by the Taranaki Rugby Football Union, and typically play their home games at Stadium Taranaki in New Plymouth. The team is affiliated with the Chiefs Super Rugby franchise. Their home playing colours are amber and black.

## Current squad

[edit]

The Taranaki Bulls squad for the 2025 Bunnings NPC is:[1]

Taranaki Bulls squad

Props

* Perry Lawrence
* Mitch O'Neill
* Reuben O'Neill
* Jared Proffit
* Keightley Watson

Hookers

* Harry Hansen
* JJ Pokai
* Bradley Slater

Locks

* Scott Barrett
* Josh Lord
* Jesse Parete
* Fiti Sa
* Jayden Sa
* Tupou Vaa'i

Loose forwards

* Kaylum Boshier (c)
* Hemopo Cunningham
* Michael Loft
* Arese Poliko
* Sage Walters-Hansen

Half-backs (scrum-halves)

* Logan Crowley
* Adam Lennox
* Leone Nawai

First five-eighths (fly-halves)

* Beauden Barrett
* Josh Jacomb
* Brayton Northcott-Hill

Midfielders (centres)

* Jordie Barrett
* Meihana Grindlay
* Daniel Rona
* Josh Setu

Outside backs

* Kini Naholo
* Taniela Rakuro
* Willem Ratu
* Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens
* Obey Samate
* Vereniki Tikoisolomone

* (c) denotes team captain.
* Bold denotes internationally capped.
* denotes a player ruled out for the season with injury.

## Honours

[edit]

Taranaki have been overall Champions twice, winning the title in 2014 and 2023. They are also the current holders of the Ranfurly Shield having won the shield during the 2024 Bunnings NPC.[2] Their full list of honours include:[3][4]

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

Bunnings NPC

* Winners: 2023

## Current Super Rugby players

[edit]

Players named in the 2025 Taranaki Bulls squad, who also earned contracts or were named in a squad for any side participating in the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]

Player  | Team

|

Beauden Barrett | Blues
Scott Barrett | Crusaders
Kaylum Boshier | Chiefs
Meihana Grindlay | Blues
Josh Jacomb | Chiefs
Adam Lennox | Highlanders
Michael Loft | Highlanders
Josh Lord | Chiefs
Kini Naholo | Hurricanes
Leone Nawai | Drua
Reuben O'Neill | Chiefs
Arese Poliko | Hurricanes
Jared Proffit | Chiefs
Taniela Rakuro | Drua
Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens | Highlanders
Daniel Rona | Chiefs
Fiti Sa | Chiefs
Bradley Slater | Chiefs
Tupou Vaa'i | Chiefs

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Barnes satisfied with depth and balance of Taranaki squad". Taranaki Daily News. 7 July 2025. Archived from the original on 8 July 2025. Retrieved 9 July 2025.
2. ^ "Taranaki end Tasman's Ranfurly Shield run". RNZ. 6 October 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
3. ^ "National Provincial Championship winners, 1976–2014". Te Ara. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
4. ^ "Mitre 10 Cup". Rugby Heartland. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
5. ^ "We're ready to take the handbrake off". Blues (Press release). 11 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
6. ^ "2025 Crusaders squad announced". crusaders.co.nz (Press release). 11 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
7. ^ "Gallagher Chiefs name cohesive 2025 squad" (Press release). Chiefs. 11 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
8. ^ "Highlanders announce team to travel to Canberra to play the ACT Brumbies". Highlanders (Press release). 26 March 2025. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
9. ^ "Game Readiness and Maturity Key in 2025 Hurricanes Squad". Hurricanes (Press release). 12 November 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
10. ^ "Rabitu gets the nod at fullback, Murray back to face the Waratahs". Fijian Drua (Press release). 16 April 2025. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
11. ^ "Fijian Drua unveil 2025 squad" (Press release). Fijian Drua. 11 November 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
12. ^ "Highlanders name squad for 2025 DHL Super Rugby competition" (Press release). Highlanders. 11 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Official Site

* v
* t
* e

National Provincial Championship (2006–present)

Seasons|

| Air New Zealand Cup|

* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009

|

ITM Cup|

* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015

Mitre 10 Cup|

* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020

Bunnings NPC|

* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

Unions|

* Auckland
* Bay of Plenty
* Canterbury
* Counties Manukau
* Hawke's Bay
* Manawatu
* North Harbour
* Northland
* Otago
* Southland
* Taranaki
* Tasman
* Waikato
* Wellington

Other|

* Honours
* Rugby Cup
* Ranfurly Shield
* Wooden Spoon
* Inter-union trophies
* Duane Monkley medal
* Media
* Sky Sport
* Radio Sport
* New Zealand Herald
* Stuff

Stadium|

* Apollo Projects Stadium
* Central Energy Trust Arena
* Eden Park
* FMG Stadium Waikato
* Forsyth Barr Stadium
* Jerry Collins Stadium
* Lansdowne Park
* McLean Park
* Navigation Homes Stadium
* North Harbour Stadium
* Rotorua International Stadium
* Rugby Park Stadium
* Semenoff Stadium
* Sky Stadium
* Stadium Taranaki
* Tauranga Domain
* Trafalgar Park

New Zealand Rugby Union

* v
* t
* e

Taranaki - current squad

Forwards|

* Scott Barrett
* Kaylum Boshier
* Hemopo Cunningham
* Harry Hansen
* Perry Lawrence
* Michael Loft
* Josh Lord
* Mitch O'Neill
* Reuben O'Neill
* Jesse Parete
* JJ Pokai
* Arese Poliko
* Jared Proffit
* Fiti Sa
* Jayden Sa
* Bradley Slater
* Tupou Vaa'i
* Sage Walters-Hansen
* Keightley Watson

Backs|

* Beauden Barrett
* Jordie Barrett
* Logan Crowley
* Meihana Grindlay
* Josh Jacomb
* Adam Lennox
* Kini Naholo
* Leone Nawai
* Brayton Northcott-Hill
* Taniela Rakuro
* Willem Ratu
* Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens
* Daniel Rona
* Obey Samate
* Josh Setu
* Vereniki Tikoisolomone

Head coach|

* Neil Barnes

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