Manawatu (National Provincial Championship)

For the Manawatu Rugby governing body, see Manawatu Rugby Union.

Manawatu

Official MRU emblem
Union	Manawatū Rugby Union
Nickname(s)	Turbos
Founded	1886;139 years ago (1886)
Location	Takaro, Palmerston North, New Zealand
Ground(s)	Central Energy Trust Arena (Capacity: 18,000)
CEO	Doug Tietjens [1]
Coach(es)	Wesley Clarke
Captain(s)	TK Howden
Most appearances	Gary Knight (145)
Top scorer	Jason Holland (641)
Most tries	Kenneth Granger (57)
League(s)	Bunnings NPC
2024	14th
Team kit
Official website
www.manawaturugby.co.nz

Manawatu (often known as the Manawatu Turbos) are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Palmerston North, New Zealand. The union was originally established in 1886, with the National Provincial Championship established in 1976. They now play in the reformed National Provincial Championship competition. They play their home games at Central Energy Trust Arena in Palmerston North in the Manawatū-Whanganui region. The team is affiliated with the Hurricanes Super Rugby franchise. Their home playing colours are green and white.

Current squad

The Manawatū Turbos squad for the 2025 Bunnings NPC is: ^[2]

Manawatu Turbos squad
Props Clément Castets Misinale Nafualu Epenisa DEV Joseph Gavigan Malakai Ngatai Liam Pratt REP [a] Feleti Sae-Taʻufoʻou Logan Wallace DEV Flyn Yates Hookers Vernon Bason Raymond Tuputupu Sase Va'a Locks Reuben Allen Rob Harley Taine Roiri Ofa Tauatevalu	Loose forwards Mosese Bason Joseph Fabish Julian Goerke DEV TK Howden (c) Brayden Iose Reuben Nelley DEV Rowan Slater Halfbacks (scrum-halves) Jai Tamati Jordi Viljoen Bryn Wilson DEV First five-eighths (fly-halves) Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula Brett Cameron Liam O'Connor	Midfielders (centres) Kyle Brown Ngani Laumape Taofuka Paongo James Tofa Outside backs Sam Coles Taniela Filimone Junta Hamano Pita Manamanaivalu REP [b] Hayata Tsujino Pena Va'a Drew Wild
(c) denotes team captain. Bold denotes internationally capped. DEV denotes a development squad player. REP denotes a replacement squad player. Pratt wasn't named in the original Manawatu squad, but was announced in the side for Round 6. [3] Manamanaivalu wasn't named in the original Manawatu squad, but was announced in the side for Round 5. [4]

Honours

Manawatu have been overall Champions on one occasion, winning the title in 1980. Their full list of honours include: ^{[5] [6]}

National Provincial Championship First Division

• Winners: 1980

ITM Cup Championship Division

• Winners: 2014

Current Super Rugby players

Players named in the 2025 Manawatu Turbos squad, who also earned contracts or were named in a squad for any side participating in the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season. ^{[7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12]}

Player	Team
Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula	Drua
Brett Cameron	Hurricanes
Taniela Filimone	Highlanders
TK Howden	Highlanders
Brayden Iose	Hurricanes
Feleti Sae-Taʻufoʻou	Moana Pasifika
Ofa Tauatevalu	Moana Pasifika
Raymond Tuputupu	Hurricanes
Jordi Viljoen	Hurricanes

References

1. "Homecoming for Doug Tietjens". Manawatu Rugby (Press release). 13 February 2024. Retrieved 20 October 2024.
2. @manawaturugby; (15 July 2025). "OUR HIGGINS CONCRETE MANAWATŪ TURBOS" . Retrieved 17 July 2025– via Instagram.
3. @manawaturugby; (3 September 2025). "A potential debut, Raymond's Blazer game and 50 for our Captain" . Retrieved 8 September 2025– via Instagram.
4. @manawaturugby; (27 August 2025). "Rangiora this weekend" . Retrieved 31 August 2025– via Instagram.
5. "National Provincial Championship winners, 1976–2014". Te Ara. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
6. "Mitre 10 Cup". Rugby Heartland. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
7. "Fijian Drua unveil 2025 squad" (Press release). Fijian Drua. 11 November 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
8. "Game Readiness and Maturity Key in 2025 Hurricanes Squad". Hurricanes (Press release). 12 November 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
9. "Highlanders team to play the Fijian Drua". Highlanders (Press release). 9 April 2025. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
10. "Highlanders name squad for 2025 DHL Super Rugby competition" (Press release). Highlanders. 11 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
11. "Moana Pasifika name eight debutants for first match against Force". Moana Pasifika (Press release). 12 February 2025. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
12. "Moana Pasifika name squad for 2025". Moana Pasifika (Press release). 11 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.

External links

• Official Site