Wainuiomata is a large dormitory suburb of Lower Hutt, in the Wellington metropolitan area in New Zealand. Its population was estimated as being 19,840 as of June 2023, with a density of 1,600 people per km2. European settlement of Wainuiomata began in the 1850s with timber-felling and farming and began to grow in the 1920s. After World War 2 there was rapid population expansion, with Wainuiomata earning the nickname 'Nappy Valley' because of the large number of families with young children. From the late 1980s the economy slowed and the population decreased, but since about 2020 there has been a housing boom and corresponding increase in population. Wainuiomata is noted for being the origin of New Zealand's kōhanga reo movement.
Piri Awahou Tihou Weepu is a retired New Zealand rugby union player. Weepu played most recently for Wairarapa Bush in the Heartland Championship. Generally Weepu played as a half-back but also played at first five-eighth on occasion. He has represented the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, between 2004 and 2013. He first won national honours against Wales in 2004. In 2005 was called back into the All Blacks squad for the first Tri Nations test against South Africa, having missed selection for the 2005 British & Irish Lions tour. He represented the Hurricanes and Blues in Super Rugby, and Wellington and Auckland in the Mitre 10 Cup. He also had brief spells with several clubs in Europe. In October 2017, Weepu announced his retirement as a rugby player.
David Faiumu is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. He is currently an assistant coach for the North Queensland Cowboys Women in the NRL Women's Premiership (NRLW) and the New Zealand women's national rugby league team.
Paul Whatuira is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Parramatta Eels in the NRL in 2011. A New Zealand international centre, he won National Rugby League premierships with the Penrith Panthers and Wests Tigers and achieved success with the Huddersfield Giants in the Super League.
Justin Va'a is a former prop for the Samoan national rugby team and the Scottish club Glasgow Warriors in the Celtic League.
The Wainuiomata Lions are a New Zealand rugby league club based in Wainuiomata, Wellington. They compete in the Wellington Rugby League competition.
The Porirua Pumas were a team representing the Porirua region in New Zealand's Bartercard Cup Rugby league competition. The Pumas were one of two Wellington-based teams in the competition, the other being the Wainuiomata Lions. They were replaced in 2002 by the Wellington Orcas. The Porirua Pumas Club is now defunct, with the region now represented at national domestic level by the Wellington Rugby League representative team in the National Provincial Competition.
The 2007 New Zealand rugby league season was the 100th season of rugby league that had been played in New Zealand. The main feature of the year was the eighth season of the Bartercard Cup competition that was run by the New Zealand Rugby League. The Auckland Lions won the Cup by defeating Harbour League 28-4 in the Grand Final.
John Junior Lomax is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Primarily a prop, he captained New Zealand and played for the Canberra Raiders, North Queensland Cowboys and Melbourne Storm.
The Central League is an amateur status league run by Capital Football for association football clubs located in the southern and central parts of the North Island. It is a New Zealand top-tier competition during the winter season, and sits at step two overall under the summer National League.
Wellington Rugby League is the local sporting body responsible for the administration of Rugby league in the Greater Wellington region. It is responsible for the local competition of the same name, as well as its representative team, the Wellington rugby league team.
The 2001 New Zealand rugby league season was the 94th season of rugby league that had been played in New Zealand. The main feature of the year was the second season of the Bartercard Cup competition that was run by the New Zealand Rugby League. The Hibiscus Coast Raiders won the Cup by defeating the Eastern Tornadoes 28–18 in the Grand Final.
The 1994 New Zealand rugby league season was the 87th season of rugby league in New Zealand. The main feature of the season was the inaugural Lion Red Cup competition that was run by the New Zealand Rugby League. The North Harbour Sea Eagles won the Cup by defeating the Counties Manukau Heroes 24–16 in the Grand Final. At the end of the season the New Zealand national team was also assembled for a tour of Papua New Guinea.
Billy Weepu is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer who played for the Manly Sea Eagles in the NRL, and is now a news camera operator.
Steve Berryman is a former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. He played representative level rugby league (RL) for the New Zealand Māori team and Cook Islands, and at club level for Taniwharau, Waikato Cougars, Wainuiomata Lions, Manly Sea Eagles, Northern Eagles and Toukley Hawks, as a centre, five-eighth, or lock, and club level rugby union (RU) for the Te Whānau side.
Jorgen Rogers is a New Zealand former rugby football player who played rugby league for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.
Wainuiomata Rugby Football Club (WRFC) is a rugby union club based in Wainuiomata, an outlying suburb of Lower Hutt, New Zealand.
The 2021 New Zealand National League was the first scheduled season of the National League since its restructuring in 2021. 30 clubs competed in the competition, with four having been planned to qualify from the Northern League, three qualifying from the Central League and two qualifying from the Southern League for the National Championship phase along with the automatically qualified Wellington Phoenix Reserves. Each team was allowed to field a maximum of four foreign players as well as one additional foreign player who has Oceania Football Confederation nationality. Each team had to also have at least two players aged 20 or under in the starting eleven.
The Central Federation League is an amateur status league competition run by Central Football for association football clubs located in the central region of the North Island, New Zealand. It is currently in the third level of the New Zealand football league system, below the Central League administered by Capital Football and is entered by clubs from the Taranaki, Manawatū-Whanganui, Hawke's Bay and Gisborne districts.
Fauono Ken Laban is a New Zealand rugby league footballer, broadcaster and politician.
