Taranaki (National Provincial Championship)

Taranaki
Taranaki Bulls logo
UnionTaranaki Rugby Football Union
NicknameBulls
Founded1885 (1885)
LocationNew Plymouth, New Zealand
GroundStadium Taranaki (Capacity: 30,000)
CEOJimmy Fastier
CoachJarrad Hoeata
CaptainKaylum Boshier
Most appearancesKieran Crowley (199)
Top scorerKieran Crowley (1,723)
Most triesKieran Crowley (64)
LeagueNational Provincial Championship
20255th
Quarter-finals
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

The Taranaki Bulls squad for the 2026 Hilux NPC is:

2026 Taranaki squad

Props

Hookers

Locks

Loose forwards

Halfbacks (scrum-halves)

First five-eighths (fly-halves)

Midfielders (centres)

Outside backs

(c) denotes the team captain.
Bold denotes internationally capped players.
ST denotes a short-term signing.
DEV denotes a development squad member.
Injured denotes an injured player.
  1. ↑ Landon-Lane wasn't named in the original Taranaki squad, but was named in the side for Round 4 (on loan from Canterbury).[1][2]
  2. ↑ Ratu wasn't named in the original Taranaki squad, but was announced in the side for Round 1.[3]
Source: [4]

Honours

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.[5] Their full list of honours include:[6][7]

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

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.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]

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

  1. ↑ @yarrowstaranakibulls; (19 August 2026). "Welcome to Taranaki, Zach Landon-Lane". Retrieved 20 August 2026 – via Instagram.
  2. ↑ "Rugby: Boshier, Crowley return as Taranaki prepare for BOP match". Sports News Taranaki. 19 August 2026. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
  3. ↑ @yarrowstaranakibulls; (29 July 2026). "Team Naming". Retrieved 30 July 2026 – via Instagram.
  4. ↑ "Yarrows Taranaki Bulls name 2026 Hilux NPC squad". Taranaki Rugby (Press release). 12 July 2026. Retrieved 12 July 2026.
  5. ↑ "Taranaki end Tasman's Ranfurly Shield run". RNZ. 6 October 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  6. ↑ "National Provincial Championship winners, 1976–2014". Te Ara. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  7. ↑ "Mitre 10 Cup". Rugby Heartland. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  8. ↑ "We're ready to take the handbrake off". Blues (Press release). 11 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  9. ↑ "2025 Crusaders squad announced". crusaders.co.nz (Press release). 11 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  10. ↑ "Gallagher Chiefs name cohesive 2025 squad" (Press release). Chiefs. 11 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  11. ↑ "Highlanders announce team to travel to Canberra to play the ACT Brumbies". Highlanders (Press release). 26 March 2025. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
  12. ↑ "Game Readiness and Maturity Key in 2025 Hurricanes Squad". Hurricanes (Press release). 12 November 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  13. ↑ "Rabitu gets the nod at fullback, Murray back to face the Waratahs". Fijian Drua (Press release). 16 April 2025. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  14. ↑ "Fijian Drua unveil 2025 squad" (Press release). Fijian Drua. 11 November 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  15. ↑ "Highlanders name squad for 2025 DHL Super Rugby competition" (Press release). Highlanders. 11 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.