A spot in the final up for grabs in the capital against the Lions

Auckland travel to Wellington for their Bunnings Warehouse NPC semi-final against the Lions on Friday night.

The Blue and White Hoops are coming off a tense quarter-final win against their northern neighbours. Captain Harry Plummer converted a penalty at the death, sending his team to the next round with a 21-18 win.

Auckland head to the capital hoping to stunt a seven-game win streak by the Lions and add another dash to their 22-year drought of an NPC Championship.

Ponsonby loose forward Blake Gibson comes off his 50th game for the Blue and White Hoops and is joined by Jackson Pugh and Niko Jones on the scrum. Ponsonby’s Terrell Peita has managed three tries in his last two games and has earnt an impact spot for Friday's semi-final.

Hamish Dalzell's and Patrick Tuipulotu's strong pairing lock arms for the Friday fixture. Both players showed their worth on set piece against North Harbour.

Bryce Heem returns to the midfield from injury to link up with Harry Plummer at second five. Corey Evens is named in his milestone 14th game and will look to inject himself in the later stages. Grammar TEC first-five Simon Hickey holds the stand-off position.

AJ Lam will be hoping to add to his six tries this season, and Tomas Aoake starts at left wing.

Auckland coach Alama Ieremia commended the team for the quarter-final performance but knows what an in-form Wellington side can deliver.

“As coaches and management, we are really proud of the effort against North Harbour, there is some real momentum that comes out of a tight contest like that, and we are channelling that into this week.

Wellington have found some good form at the right end of the season, so we need to be up for the challenge come Friday night.”

Auckland and Wellington hold a strong history in the NPC competition. The two sides last met back in Round 2 of 2020 season. Wellington proved too strong at Eden Park, taking the win 39-21.

Kick-off is at 7:05pm from Sky Stadium in Wellington on Friday night.

 

Auckland team v Wellington

  1. Alex Hodgman (Eden)
  2. Soane Vikena (Waitemata)
  3. Marcel Renata (University)
  4. Hamish Dalzell (College Rifles)
  5. Patrick Tuipulotu (Ponsonby)
  6. Blake Gibson (Ponsonby)
  7. Niko Jones (Waitemata)
  8. Jackson Pugh (Marist)
  9. Taufa Funaki (Marist)
  10. Simon Hickey (Grammar TEC)
  11. Tomas Aoake (Ponsonby)
  12. Harry Plummer © (Grammar TEC)
  13. Bryce Heem (Grammar TEC)
  14. AJ Lam (Grammar TEC)
  15. Jordan Trainor (Ponsonby)
  16. Leni Apisai (Ponsonby)
  17. Jordan Lay (University)
  18. Sione Ahio (Waitemata)
  19. Josh Beehre (Grammar TEC)
  20. Terrell Peita (Ponsonby)
  21. Manu Paea (Manukau)
  22. Corey Evans (Grammar TEC)
  23. Joel Cobb (Ponsonby)

Unavailable: Angus Ta’avao, Salesi Rayasi, Adrian Choat, Zarn Sullivan, Tanielu Tele’a.

 

Latest News