Wellington

Rugby in the capital predates the union itself: a team had already been turning out for Wellington since 1875 before the Wellington Rugby Football Union formalised things in 1879, putting it among the oldest unions in the country alongside Canterbury. The side that carries that history now plays as the Wellington Lions, black and gold, distinct from the union that still administers the game in the region.

For over a century home meant Athletic Park in Berhampore, remembered as the "Grand Old Lady" of Wellington rugby, until the union left it behind in 1999 for the newly built stadium on the waterfront, now known as Sky Stadium. Wellington were quick to make history away from home too: in 1904 they won the first-ever Ranfurly Shield challenge, beating Auckland, and held the shield for four matches.

Six provincial titles, spread across 1978, 1981, 1986 and 2000, then a long gap before 2022 and 2024, tell only part of the story. The 2014 season nearly undid it all: nine straight losses sent Wellington down to the Championship, and it took until 2017, with the Championship title itself, to force a way back to the top flight. The 2022 title that followed came with the Ranfurly Shield again, held through into 2023. Against Hawke's Bay the rivalry runs deeper than any trophy; against Manawatu it has a name, the Coronation Cup, which Wellington controlled from 2017 until Manawatu finally took it back in 2025.

No name sits above Jonah Lomu's in what people remember of Wellington rugby.