Taranaki (National Provincial Championship)

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

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

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

Taranaki Bulls squad
Props Perry Lawrence Mitch O'Neill Reuben O'Neill Marika Parker REP [a] Jared Proffit Keightley Watson Hookers Harry Hansen JJ Pokai Bradley Slater Locks Scott Barrett Scott Jury REP [b] Josh Lord Jesse Parete Fiti Sa Jayden Sa Tupou Vaa'i	Loose forwards Kaylum Boshier (c) Hemopo Cunningham Olly Lawson REP [c] Michael Loft Arese Poliko Sage Walters-Hansen Half-backs (scrum-halves) Logan Crowley Adam Lennox Leone Nawai First five-eighths (fly-halves) Beauden Barrett Sam Clarke REP [b] Josh Jacomb Brayton Northcott-Hill	Midfielders (centres) Jordie Barrett Ben Dufficy REP [d] 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. REP denotes a replacement squad player. denotes a player ruled out for the season with injury. Parker wasn't named in the original Taranaki squad, but was announced in the side for Round 7. [2] Clarke & Jury weren't named in the original Taranaki squad, but were announced in the side for Round 3. [3] Lawson wasn't named in the original Taranaki squad, but was announced in the side for Round 5. [4] Dufficy wasn't named in the original Taranaki squad, but was announced in the side for Round 6. [5]

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. ^[6] Their full list of honours include: ^{[7] [8]}

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. ^{[9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]}

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. "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. @yarrowstaranakibulls; (10 September 2025). "Your squad heading down south to Ōtepoti" . Retrieved 14 September 2025– via Instagram.
3. @yarrowstaranakibulls; (13 August 2025). "Ready for the garden of Eden" . Retrieved 17 August 2025– via Instagram.
4. @yarrowstaranakibulls; (27 August 2025). "We make our way back up north to Pukekohe" . Retrieved 31 August 2025– via Instagram.
5. @yarrowstaranakibulls; (3 September 2025). "Father's Day footy back on our home turf" . Retrieved 8 September 2025– via Instagram.
6. "Taranaki end Tasman's Ranfurly Shield run". RNZ. 6 October 2024. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
7. "National Provincial Championship winners, 1976–2014". Te Ara. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
8. "Mitre 10 Cup". Rugby Heartland. Archived from the original on 27 September 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
9. "We're ready to take the handbrake off". Blues (Press release). 11 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
10. "2025 Crusaders squad announced". crusaders.co.nz (Press release). 11 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
11. "Gallagher Chiefs name cohesive 2025 squad" (Press release). Chiefs. 11 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
12. "Highlanders announce team to travel to Canberra to play the ACT Brumbies". Highlanders (Press release). 26 March 2025. Retrieved 26 March 2025.
13. "Game Readiness and Maturity Key in 2025 Hurricanes Squad". Hurricanes (Press release). 12 November 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
14. "Rabitu gets the nod at fullback, Murray back to face the Waratahs". Fijian Drua (Press release). 16 April 2025. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
15. "Fijian Drua unveil 2025 squad" (Press release). Fijian Drua. 11 November 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
16. "Highlanders name squad for 2025 DHL Super Rugby competition" (Press release). Highlanders. 11 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.

External links

• Official Site