Waikato (National Provincial Championship)

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

Waikato
WRU official emblem
UnionWaikato Rugby Union
Nickname(s)Mooloos
Founded1921 (1921)
LocationWhitiora, Hamilton, New Zealand
Ground(s)FMG Stadium Waikato (Capacity: 25,000)
CEOAmy Marfell [1]
Coach(es)Ross Filipo
Captain(s)TBA
Most appearancesIan Foster and Graham Purvis (148)
Top scorerMatthew Cooper (1,604)
Most triesBruce Smith (70)
League(s)Bunnings NPC
20247th
Semi-finalist
Team kit
Official website
www.mooloo.co.nz

Waikato (often known as the Waikato Mooloos) are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Hamilton, New Zealand. The union was originally established in 1921, with the National Provincial Championship established in 1976. They now play in the reformed National Provincial Championship competition. They play their home games at FMG Stadium Waikato in Hamilton in the Waikato region. The team is affiliated with the Chiefs Super Rugby franchise. Their home playing colours are red, yellow and black.

Current squad

The Waikato Mooloos squad for the 2025 Bunnings NPC is: [2]

Waikato Mooloos squad

Props

Hookers

Locks

Loose forwards

Halfbacks (scrum-halves)

First five-eighths (fly-halves)

Midfielders (centres)

Outside backs

  • Bold denotes internationally capped.
  • REP denotes a replacement squad player.
  1. ^ a b c d Anae-Ah Sue, Anderson, McCurran & Quinn weren't named in the original Waikato squad, but were announced in the side for Round 1.[3]
  2. ^ a b Eti & Gilheany-Black weren't named in the original Waikato squad, but were announced in the side for Round 3.[4]

Honours

Waikato have been overall Champions on three occasions, winning the titles in 1992, 2006 and 2021. Their full list of honours include:[5][6]

National Provincial Championship Second Division North Island
  • Winners: 1980
National Provincial Championship Second Division
  • Winners: 1986
National Provincial Championship First Division
  • Winners: 1992
Air New Zealand Cup
  • Winners: 2006
Mitre 10 Cup Championship Division
  • Winners: 2018
Bunnings NPC Premiership Division
  • Winners: 2021

Current Super Rugby players

Players named in the 2025 Waikato Mooloos 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
Austin Anderson Brumbies
Jahrome Brown Chiefs
Liam Coombes-Fabling Chiefs
George Dyer Chiefs
Samipeni Finau Chiefs
Luke Jacobson Chiefs
Sefo Kautai Highlanders
Taha Kemara Crusaders
Anton Lienert-Brown Chiefs
Damian McKenzie Chiefs
Laghlan McWhannell Blues
Ollie Norris Chiefs
Cortez Ratima Chiefs
Xavier Roe Chiefs
Xavier Saifoloi Crusaders
Daniel Sinkinson Hurricanes
Bailyn Sullivan Hurricanes
Samisoni Taukei'aho Chiefs
Aki Tuivailala Crusaders
Mason Tupaea Blues
Quinn Tupaea Chiefs
Gideon Wrampling Chiefs
Malachi Wrampling-Alec Chiefs

References

  1. ^ "WRU Staff & Board". Waikato Rugby. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  2. ^ @waikatorugby; (30 July 2025). "Here's our 2025 Livingstone Waikato NPC Squad". Retrieved 30 July 2025 – via Instagram.
  3. ^ @waikatorugby; (30 July 2025). "We're heading up the expressway with a message to deliver - Waikato's here, and we're here to win". Retrieved 3 August 2025 – via Instagram.
  4. ^ @waikatorugby; (15 August 2025). "Here's our Livingstone Waikato NPC squad for this Sunday against @countiesrugby at FMG Stadium Waikato". Retrieved 17 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. ^ "ACT Brumbies announce 36-player squad for 2025 Super Rugby Pacific" (Press release). ACT Brumbies. 11 November 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  8. ^ "Gallagher Chiefs name cohesive 2025 squad" (Press release). Chiefs. 11 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  9. ^ "Highlanders name squad for 2025 DHL Super Rugby competition" (Press release). Highlanders. 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. ^ "We're ready to take the handbrake off". Blues (Press release). 11 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  12. ^ "Blues bolstered with returning players for double-header clash". Blues (Press release). 2 April 2025. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
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