Canterbury (National Provincial Championship)

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

Canterbury
CRFU emblem
UnionCanterbury Rugby Football Union
Founded1879; 145 years ago (1879)
LocationSt Albans, Christchurch, New Zealand
Ground(s)Apollo Projects Stadium (Capacity: 18,000)
CEOTony Smail[1]
Coach(es)Marty Bourke
Captain(s)Billy Harmon
Most appearancesRobbie Deans (146)
Top scorerRobbie Deans (1,625)
Most triesPaula Bale (93)
League(s)Bunnings NPC
20246th
Semi-finalist
Team kit
Official website
www.canterburyrugby.co.nz

Canterbury are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Canterbury, New Zealand. The union was originally established in 1879, with the National Provincial Championship established in 1976. They now play in the reformed National Provincial Championship competition. They play their home games at Apollo Projects Stadium in Christchurch in the Canterbury region. The team is affiliated with the Crusaders Super Rugby franchise. Their home playing colours are black and red.

Current squad

The Canterbury squad for the 2024 Bunnings NPC is:[2]

Canterbury squad

Props

Hookers

Locks

Loose forwards

Halfbacks (scrum-halves)

First five-eighths (fly-halves)

Midfielders (centres)

Outside backs

  • (c) denotes team captain.
  • Bold denotes internationally capped.
  • INJ denotes a player ruled out for the season with injury.
  • REP denotes a replacement squad player.
  1. ^ Allan wasn't named in the original Canterbury squad, but was announced in the side for Round 6.[3]
  2. ^ Brown wasn't named in the original Canterbury squad, but was announced as a late inclusion in the side for Round 2.[4]
  3. ^ a b Christian and Lam weren't named in the original Canterbury squad, but were announced in the side for Round 2.[5]
  4. ^ Fifita wasn't named in the original Canterbury squad, but was announced as a late inclusion in the side for Round 3.[6]
  5. ^ a b c d Grogan, Barnes, Miyake and Toby Bell weren't named in the original Canterbury squad, but were announced in the side for the Round 3 mid-week game.[7]
  6. ^ a b Jack and Belworthy weren't named in the original Canterbury squad, but were announced in the side for Round 4.[8]
  7. ^ MacDonald wasn't named in the original Canterbury squad, but was announced in the side for Round 3.[6]

Honours

Canterbury have been overall Champions on 14 occasions. Their first title was in 1977 and their most recent title was in 2017. Their full list of honours include:[9][10]

National Provincial Championship First Division
  • Winners: 1977, 1983, 1997, 2001, 2004
Air New Zealand Cup
  • Winners: 2008, 2009
ITM Cup
  • Winners: 2010
ITM Cup Premiership Division
  • Winners: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015
Mitre 10 Cup Premiership Division
  • Winners: 2016, 2017

Current Super Rugby players

Players named in the 2023 Canterbury squad, who also earned contracts or were named in a squad for any side participating in the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]

Player Team
Solomon Alaimalo Chiefs
George Bell Crusaders
Finlay Brewis Crusaders
Fergus Burke Crusaders
Seb Calder Crusaders
Tom Christie Crusaders
Sam Darry Blues
Mitchell Drummond Crusaders
Mitchell Dunshea Crusaders
Braydon Ennor Crusaders
Chay Fihaki Crusaders
Zach Gallagher Crusaders
Dominic Gardiner Crusaders
Cullen Grace Crusaders
Jamie Hannah Crusaders
Billy Harmon Highlanders
Willi Heinz Crusaders
Oli Jager Crusaders
Corey Kellow Crusaders
Daniel Lienert-Brown Highlanders
Manasa Mataele Force
Brodie McAlister Crusaders
Dallas McLeod Crusaders
Joe Moody Crusaders
Richie Mo'unga Crusaders
Fletcher Newell Crusaders
Rameka Poihipi Chiefs
Reed Prinsep Hurricanes
Ngane Punivai Chiefs
Codie Taylor Crusaders
Sam Whitelock Crusaders
Tamaiti Williams Crusaders

References

  1. ^ "Our people". Canterbury Rugby Union. 2024. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
  2. ^ "Canterbury squad announced for the 2024 NPC presented by Bunnings Warehouse". Canterbury Rugby Union. 25 July 2024. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  3. ^ "Bunnings NPC: Southland Stags v Canterbury – Teams". RugbyPass. 13 September 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  4. ^ "Bunnings NPC: Tasman Mako v Canterbury – Teams". RugbyPass. 17 August 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  5. ^ "NPC: Tasman v Canterbury". Ultimate Rugby. 17 September 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Bunnings NPC: Auckland v Canterbury – Teams". RugbyPass. 24 August 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  7. ^ "Bunnings NPC: Canterbury v Hawke's Bay – Teams". RugbyPass. 28 August 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  8. ^ "Bunnings NPC: Canterbury v Wellington – Teams". RugbyPass. 1 September 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  9. ^ "National Provincial Championship winners, 1976–2014". Te Ara. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  10. ^ "Mitre 10 Cup". Rugby Heartland. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  11. ^ "Gallagher Chiefs side named for opener" (Press release). Chiefs. 22 February 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  12. ^ "2023 Squad announced" (Press release). Crusaders. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  13. ^ "Team Naming – Super Round v Highlanders". Crusaders (Press release). 1 March 2023. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
  14. ^ "2023 Squad announced". Blues (Press release). 26 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  15. ^ "Match Centre - Super Rugby - Crusaders vs. Brumbies". SANZAAR. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
  16. ^ "Highlanders 2023 Squad Announcement" (Press release). Highlanders. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  17. ^ "Western Force 2023 Harvey Norman Super Rugby Pacific squad revealed" (Press release). Western Force. 20 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
  18. ^ "Gallagher Chiefs squad announced for 2023" (Press release). Chiefs. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  19. ^ "Hurricanes 2023 squad announced" (Press release). Hurricanes. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.