The Blues (; known as the Auckland Blues from 1996 to 1999) are a New Zealand professional

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

team based in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, who play in the

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

competition. Like New Zealand's four other Super Rugby teams, the Blues were established by the

NZRU New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it b ...

in 1996. One of the most successful teams in Super Rugby history, the Blues won the competition in its first two seasons, 1996 and 1997, and again in 2003 and 2024. Additionally, the team were finalists in 1998 and 2022, and semi-finalists in 2007, 2011 and 2023. They won a Trans Tasman competition in 2021.

History

Formation, early years and immediate success (1996–97)

Along with New Zealand's other Super Rugby sides, the Blues were established by the

New Zealand Rugby Union New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it b ...

(NZRU) to take part in the newly formed Super 12 competition which, involved teams from South Africa and Australia in addition to New Zealand. Each of New Zealand's five sides represented a number of provincial unions, with the Blues representing the

, Counties Manukau and

Thames Valley The Thames Valley is an area in South East England that extends along the River Thames west of London towards Oxford. The area is a major tourist destination and economic hub on the M4 corridor, with a high concentration of technology companies ...

unions, while the neighbouring

Waikato Chiefs The Chiefs (; formerly known as the Waikato Chiefs and officially called the Gallagher Chiefs for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Hamilton, Waikato. The team competes in the Super Rugby Pacific c ...

representing the

Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty () is a large bight (geography), bight along the northern coast of New Zealand's North Island. It stretches from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. Called ''Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi'' (the Ocean ...

King Country The King Country ( Māori: ''Te Rohe Pōtae'' or ''Rohe Pōtae o Maniapoto'') is a region of the western North Island of New Zealand. It extends approximately from Kawhia Harbour and the town of Ōtorohanga in the north to the upper reaches of th ...

, Northland and North Harbour unions. As the amount of international representatives in the Auckland region was thought to be unfair, it was split up between The Blues and The Chiefs. During this era, the Blues played the majority of their home matches at

Eden Park Eden Park is a sports venue in Auckland, New Zealand. It is located three kilometres southwest of the Auckland CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and Kingsland. The main stadium has a nominal capacity of 50,000, and is s ...

, with round robin fixtures occasionally held at

Growers Stadium Navigation Homes Stadium is a stadium in Pukekohe, New Zealand. Its usual tenants are the Counties Manukau Rugby Union, whose first-class team compete in the National Provincial Championship. In July 2009, Counties Manukau announced that Bayer ...

Pukekohe Pukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. The town is located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. The hills of Puke ...

. The Blues tasted immediate success, winning the

Super 12 Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

back-to-back in 1996 and 1997. In 1996 the side won eight of eleven round robin matches and finished the regular season in second place (behind the

Queensland Reds The Queensland Reds is the rugby union team based in Brisbane for the Australian state of Queensland that competes in the Southern Hemisphere's Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996, they were a representative team selected from the rugby union ...

on 41 points. They then went on to defeat Northern Transvaaal, now the

Bulls Bulls may refer to: *The plural of bull, an adult male bovine * Bulls, New Zealand, a small town in the Rangitikei District Sports *Bucking bull, used in the sport of bull riding *Bulls (rugby union), a South African rugby union franchise operated ...

, 48–11 in the semi-final at

. This result secured a home final, where the Blues comfortably defeated the 45–21. In 1997, the side improved on their previous season, comfortably topping the table with 50 points after going undefeated in the regular season, the sole blemish on an otherwise perfect season being a draw with Northern Transvaal in a re-match of the previous season's semi-final. The Blues once again easily won their semi-final, defeating the

Sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...

55–36 at

and again securing a home final. The 1997 final was a more hard-fought encounter than the previous year's, with the Blues defeating the

ACT Brumbies The ACT Brumbies (known from 2005 to 2022 as simply the Brumbies) is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), The team competes in Super Rugby and named for the brumby, feral horses wh ...

23–7.

Middle years (1998–2005)

By the end of the 1990s the number of international representatives from the Blues region had decreased. This led the Blues and the Chiefs to arrange a swap, where the Chiefs would represent the

and Counties Manukau provincial unions in exchange for the Blues representing the Northland and North Harbour unions in addition to

. Although in the seasons leading up to the trade North Harbour and Northland had outperformed Counties Manukau and

in provincial rugby (thus potentially widening the already sizeable gap between the Blues' and Chiefs' on-field performance), it enabled both teams to represent unions in closer geographical proximity. Because of this trade, the Blues lost the area colloquially referred to as ''

South Auckland South Auckland ( or ) is one of the major geographical regions of Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. The area is south of the Auckland isthmus, and on the eastern shores of the Manukau Harbour. The area has been populated by Tāmaki M� ...

'', (excluding those portions of the South Auckland to the north of

Manurewa Manurewa is a suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand, located south of Manukau, Manukau Central, and southeast of the Auckland City Centre. It is home to the Auckland Botanic Gardens, which receives over a million visitors a year. Manurewa h ...

). Thus, the Blues traded a portion of South Auckland for the Northern portion of the

region and Northland, and still do not represent the entire Auckland region. Generally supporters in the South Auckland region identify as Blues supporters even though they are technically in the Chiefs region. In 2000, the Auckland Blues dropped the Auckland prefix from their name, and became known simply as "Blues". The 1998 season saw the Blues again top the points table with 43 points at the conclusion of the round robin, with nine wins and two losses to their credit. They defeated the Otago Highlanders by 37–31 in the side's third consecutive home semi-final, securing a home final against the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

, a match which promised a great deal due to Auckland's traditional sporting rivalry with Canterbury. The Crusaders ultimately won the match by 20–13, putting an end to the Blues' dominance of the competition. From 1999 – 2002 the Blues' onfield performance was poor, missing the playoffs every season, finishing at an all-time low of 11th on the ladder in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

with just four wins for the season. The club was able to turn its from around in the 2003 season, topping the ladder with 49 points and 10 wins from 11 matches. The team went on to defeat the

by 42–21 in the semi-final, before beating the Crusaders 21–17 in the final for the team's third

title. The Blues were unable to follow their 2003 success up in 2004 and 2005 however, missing the playoffs in both seasons.

Super 14 era (2006–10)

The expanded 14 team competition could not have started worse for the Blues, who were in 2006 forced by the NZRU to include North Harbour captain Rua Tipoki in their squad of 24 players who are 'protected' from the draft. Tipoki was originally to be excluded from the draft due to personal circumstances to stay in Auckland.

Andrew Mehrtens Andrew Philip Mehrtens (born 28 April 1973) is a New Zealand former rugby union player. He was regarded as a top first five-eighth, having played first for Canterbury in 1993, before being selected for the All Blacks (New Zealand's national ...

had in the past done this with the Crusaders. The NZRU however forced coach David Nucifora to pick Tipoki in his 24-man squad and hence drop another player. It is believed the NZRU was in favour of dropping players such as Isa Nacewa who are ineligible to play for the All Blacks. Instead, Nucifora excluded All Black Isaia Toeava, who subsequently played for the

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

in 2006. Following the draft fiasco, and the forgettable season which followed, the Blues showed signs of resurgence in 2007, finishing the round robin in fourth place, securing a semi-final against the

in Durban. The travel and form of the opposition were too difficult to overcome, however, with the Blues losing 34–18 to the eventual runners-up. The 2008 season, the final under coach David Nucifora, saw the team finish the season with an 8–5 record and a sixth-place finish on the ladder. In 2009,

Pat Lam Patrick Richard Lam (born 29 September 1968) is a rugby union coach and former player. He is currently Director of Rugby at Bristol Bears in England's Premiership Rugby. Born in New Zealand, he represented New Zealand in schools and under-21 ...

was appointed as coach, however the team was not able to make significant improvements under his leadership for the remainder of Super 14, missing the playoffs in both the 2009 and 2010 seasons.

Super Rugby era (2011–present)

2011 season

In 2011 the Super Rugby competition was expanded to 15 teams and adopted a conference format. The Blues had a successful start to the season, defeating the Crusaders by 24–22 at

. This was followed by a win and a loss on their South African tour, followed by a 22–22 draw against the

Western Force The Western Force is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Perth, Western Australia, currently competing in Super Rugby, Super Rugby Pacific. They previously played in Super Rugby from 2006 until they were axed from the competitio ...

in Perth. This was followed by a seven match winning streak between rounds five and twelve. However, the mid-season winning streak came to an abrupt end with a 37–31 loss to the

in Brisbane, which initiated a four-match losing streak. In the final round-robin match of the season, the Blues defeated the Highlanders by 33–16 at

, securing the side's first playoff appearance since 2007 and first home playoff match since 2003. The team subsequently defeated the

New South Wales Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), often referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team based in Sydney that represents the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby Pacific competition. The Waratahs play t ...

26 – 13 to secure a semi-final against the

in Brisbane, which they lost 30–13. The 2011 season also marked the departure of Kurtis Haiu, who was diagnosed with a bone tumour in April. Following his diagnosis, he took an indefinite break from rugby to focus on his health.

2012 season

2012, the team's fourth season under coach

, saw the arrival of former

icons, and

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup, was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The World Rugby, International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japa ...

winners,

Ma'a Nonu Ma'a Allan Nonu (; born 21 May 1982) is a professional rugby union player from New Zealand who currently plays for Toulon in the Top 14. He plays as an inside centre, but can also cover outside centre and wing. He was a key member of the All ...

and

Piri Weepu Piri Awahou Tihou Weepu (born 7 September 1983) 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-eig ...

. The regular season began on 24 February against the Crusaders at

. Following two successive losses to start the season, the side's first victory came away to the

, with starting debutant Gareth Anscombe scoring all of the Blues points in the 29–23 win. In doing so, Anscombe set a team record for most points in a match. In the same match, Rene Ranger became the first Blues player to receive a white card, which resulted in a two-week suspension. Seven consecutive losses followed, beginning with the

Stormers The Stormers (known for sponsorship reasons as the DHL Stormers) and the academic team DHL Stormers is a South African professional rugby union team based in Cape Town in the Western Cape that competes in the United Rugby Championship, a tra ...

in round four, and finishing with the

in round eleven. Growing frustration among fans was evident during this period, with racist remarks directed at coach

via social media, talkback radio and the Blues own website. Lam, who is of Samoan descent, received support from a number of former Blues players during this period, including Michael Jones and Eroni Clarke. After beating the

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the tip of its tail. It is se ...

in round twelve, the Blues suffered the biggest defeat in club history with a 59 – 12 loss away to the Crusaders, which was followed by losses at home to the Highlanders and table-topping Chiefs. The Blues finished the season on a high note, with wins against the

and

Brumbies The ACT Brumbies (known from 2005 to 2022 as simply the Brumbies) is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), The team competes in Super Rugby and named for the feral horses which inh ...

. On 17 July,

was released. On the same day, Sir John Kirwan was appointed as head coach for the 2013 and 2014 seasons. In August, the Blues' full coaching staff for the 2013 season was announced, with Sir Graham Henry taking on a role as technical advisor and defensive coach, Mick Byrne appointed forwards and kicking coach, and Grant Doorey appointed skills and backline coach.

2013 season

The 2013 season saw an all new Blues team with many players leaving, including

to the Highlanders and Gareth Anscombe to the Chiefs. On the morning of 31 October 2012 new coach Sir John Kirwan announced the 2013 Blues squad which included 14

debutants, and

Ali Williams Alexander James Williams (born 30 April 1981) is a retired New Zealand professional rugby union player who played as a lock most notably for Super Rugby club Blues and the New Zealand national team. Williams spent almost all of his playing car ...

taking over as captain. Handed a bye on the first round the Blues started the regular season on 23 February 2013 with a 34–20 away win against the

, followed by a 34–15 home win against the Crusaders the next week. Three consecutive losses followed, including the

' first victory at

. The Blues regained some form again, winning four of the next five games. Beating the Highlanders at home and completing the double over the

with a 28–6 win at

before losing a close game against the Reds. The Blues then defeated both the

and the

Rebels A rebel is a participant in a rebellion. Rebel or rebels may also refer to: People * Rebel (given name) * Rebel (surname) * Patriot (American Revolution), during the American Revolution * American Southerners, as a form of self-identification; ...

before losing 3 games in a row to the Crusaders,

, and Highlanders respectively. The Blues then travelled to South Africa with two must win games against the

and the

Cheetahs The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat and the fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, with a short snout and blac ...

, unfortunately losing both and ending the Blues chances of making the play-offs.

played his 100th game for the Blues against the

. The Blues returned to New Zealand with a last home game against the already play-off qualified Chiefs. Despite a red card to

Kane Barrett Kane Sinclair Barrett (born 16 April 1990) is a retired New Zealand rugby union player. He represented Taranaki in the ITM Cup. Barrett made his Taranaki debut in 2010 and his strong performances saw him named in the squad for the 2013 and 201 ...

for stomping in the 23rd minute, the Blues played a remarkably strong game, taking the lead just after half-time but a yellow card to first-five Baden Kerr struck another blow for the Blues. The mounting Chiefs pressure paid off resulting in a Ben Tameifuna try with 17 minutes to go, winning the game for the Chiefs. The Blues walked off the field to a standing ovation from their fans, the first time an Eden Park crowd had been upstanding for a defeat. The Blues finished the season in 10th place, with six players earning call-ups to the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks, and Frank Halai as the team's top try scorer scoring 10 tries in his debut season. They signed international super star

Benji Marshall Benjamin Quentin Marshall (born 25 February 1985) is a New Zealand professional rugby league coach and former player who is the head coach of the Wests Tigers in the NRL. He played at or for the Wests Tigers in two separate spells, St. G ...

for the 2014 season (only to return to league with the

Dragons A dragon is a magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in Western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depict ...

halfway through it) and Ma'a Nonu for two seasons starting in 2014.

2014 season

The Blues 2014 season started with coach Sir John Kirwan announcing six new players to the squad including three All Blacks with the return of

and Tony Woodcock after they both played with the Highlanders for a season, and

Jerome Kaino Jerome Kaino (born 6 April 1983) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. In 2004, he was named IRB International Under-21 player of the year. In 2011, he was named the New Zealand Rugby player of the year, finishing ahead of Richie McCaw ...

. This also included former

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

(NRL) player

who had previously played with the

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers is an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West of Sydney and South Western Sydney. The Tigers have competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) since being formed at the end of the 1999 N ...

for 10 years. The Blues season started with an away loss to the Highlanders, going down 29–21. The next week they played their first home game of the season at

, defeating the Crusaders 35–24. They travelled to South Africa for two games against the

and the

, losing both games but coming away with a losing bonus point against the Lions. They returned to New Zealand for two home games against the

and the Highlanders, both of which they won bringing the up to 6th place on the ladder. The team travelled to

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

to face the

and were defeated 26–9, and were defeated again by the

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

after a bye week. This was followed by two home games against the Waratahs and the Reds, winning both and coming away with a bonus point win against the Reds. They then lost their next two games going down to the Chiefs and the

, picking up a losing bonus point against the Sharks. They returned to Eden park to defeat the Hurricanes, followed by a bonus point win in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

against the

. This put them into 8th place on the ladder with two games to play in the regular season before finals, needing to place in the top 6 for a spot in the play-offs. They lost to the Crusaders in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, therefore to make the finals they needed to win their final game against the Chiefs who were in the same situation. They lost their final game against the Chiefs going down 11–8, putting them out of the finals and ending a six-game winning streak at Eden Park for the season. The Blues finished 10th overall and 5th place in the New Zealand conference. Ihaia West, Patrick Tuipulotu,

, and

Tom Donnelly Thomas Mathew Donnelly (born 1 October 1981) is a former rugby union player who played for Montpellier in the Top 14. He also made 15 appearances for the All Blacks since 2009 and played for Otago Rugby Football Union. He moved into a coaching ...

all made their Super Rugby debut for the Blues in the 2014 season.

2015 season

The 2015 season started with coach Sir John Kirwan announcing the Blues squad, with the inclusion of 11 new players after losing 12 players including

and

, who both played over 100 super rugby games. The Blues season started with a loss to the Chiefs, going down 23–18, picking up a losing bonus point. This was followed by an unsuccessful tour of South Africa, going down to the

and

, coming away with a single bonus point from a 25–24 loss to the Cheetahs. This was followed by four consecutive losses against the

, Waratahs and Chiefs, 3 of which they picked up a losing bonus point. Their first win of the season came against the

at Eden Park with a 16–14 victory, ending the Blues 9 game losing streak. This was followed by consecutive losses against the Highlanders and Crusaders, picking up a bonus point against the Highlanders. This was followed by a strong 41–24 win against the

Force In physics, a force is an influence that can cause an Physical object, object to change its velocity unless counterbalanced by other forces. In mechanics, force makes ideas like 'pushing' or 'pulling' mathematically precise. Because the Magnitu ...

. Their next game against the

was their final away game of the season, they lost 42–22, ending the season with no away wins, having only won two away games in the last three years. Their final four games were all at home with high hopes of finishing the season on a high. They won the first game 23–18 against the South African conference leaders the

, however this was their last win of the season going down in their final three games against the Hurricanes, Crusaders and Highlanders. This ended the franchises worst super rugby season, ending in 14th place ahead of the Force, with just 3 from 16 wins for the season. The end of the season was marked by the resignation of coach Sir John Kirwan, who had been with the team for the last three years winning just 17 out of 58 games. The Blues signed former All Black captain

Tana Umaga Jonathan Ionatana Falefasa Umaga (; ; born 27 May 1973) is a New Zealand former rugby union footballer and former captain of the national team, the All Blacks. He is head coach of Moana Pasifika in the Super Rugby competition. He was granted ...

to replace Sir John Kirwan as head coach of the Blues.

2016 season

The Blues endured yet another disappointing year in 2016, although there were some improvements. A close first round win over the Highlanders by 33–31 was followed by successive losses to the Crusaders (28–13) and Hurricanes (19–23). A 25–25 draw with the Reds in Round 4 was followed by a 24–16 win over the Jaguares in Round 6 (Round 5 being a bye). A week later the Blues lost to the Chiefs by 23–29, but bounced back with wins over the Sharks (23–18), Rebels (36–30) and Kings (34–18). A 43–5 loss to eventual finalists the Lions was followed by a tight 17–13 win over the Force. Another tight game resulted in a 21–26 loss to the Crusaders, while a yet another loss followed against the Hurricanes 27–37. Dominant wins against the Brumbies (40–15) and Waratahs (34–28) showed that the Blues could still be highly competitive, however their last-place conference finish left them outside the qualification pool for the season's semi-finals, with rival New Zealand franchise the Hurricanes emerging the eventual champions.

2017 season

2017 again saw the Blues finish bottom of the New Zealand conference, with an even 7 wins and 7 losses to their credit. The up and down nature of their season was reflected in the margins of both their biggest win – 56–18 in Round 1 over the Rebels – and their heaviest defeat – 48–21 to the Sunwolves in the final round in Tokyo. During the 2017 British and Irish Lions tour, the Blues pulled off a shock win over the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

22–26 at Eden Park. Rookie Blues winger Reiko Ioane distinguished himself during the match, scoring a try and notably outpacing Lions and England winger Elliot Daly. Blues reserve first-five Ihaia West and All Black centre Sonny Bill Williams also impressed during the match, both scoring tries and West adding a penalty and conversion to a remarkable result against the tourists.

2018 season

2018 would see the Blues again finish last in their conference, with a poor record of only four wins vs 12 losses in a miserable season. Crushing losses to the Hurricanes (42–24) and Crusaders (54–17) in the last two rounds illustrated how far the team's performances had collapsed from coach Tana Umaga's first, relatively respectable season in charge, and emphasized the need for structural reform at the club. A reshuffle resulted in Umaga being demoted to an assistant coaching role, and the appointment of former All Black, Crusaders assistant and Tasman Mako head coach Leon MacDonald as new Blues coach the following season.

2019 season

MacDonald's first year in charge saw little in the way of definite improvements to the Blues win–loss record, with only 5 wins from 17 games giving them their sixth consecutive last-place finish in the New Zealand conference. All Black prop Karl Tu'inukuafe and former All Black

were recruited from the Chiefs and Toulon, respectively. While their overall standards had improved, their margins of both victory and defeat remaining consistently low, the Blues were unable to mount much of a challenge that season.

2020 season

Due to the COVID 19 Global Pandemic there was no international Super Rugby competition held in 2020 – with the competition instead delivered via 3 local conferences ie. Australia, NZ and South Africa. In the NZ Conference, Super Rugby Aotearoa, the Blues had a significantly improved season, winning five of their seven games and claiming fourth position at the end of the season.

2021 season

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the tournament was wholly regionalised, with the 2021 Super Rugby Aotearoa season and the 2021 Super Rugby AU season replacing the previous 15 side format used from 2018 till 2020. Super Rugby Trans-Tasman followed these tournaments, a crossover competition that featured the five Australian sides playing the five New Zealand sides. The Blues won 4 of their 8 games, finishing the 2021 season in 3rd place, in the 6 team NZ based competition.

2022 Season

The Blues participated in the first Super Rugby Pacific season in 2022, and finished first in the 12 team round robin. In round 9 they scored their first win in Christchurch over the Crusaders since 2004, winning 27–24 at

Orangetheory Stadium Rugby League Park is a sports stadium in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is currently known for sponsorship reasons as Apollo Projects Stadium, and non-commercially as Christchurch Stadium. The stadium was originally known as the Addington Sho ...

. In round 15 they beat the Warratahs 20–17, by a

Zarn Sullivan Zarn Sullivan (born 10 July 2000) is a New Zealand rugby union player, who currently plays as a fullback or fly-half for the in Super Rugby and for in New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship competition. Early career Sulli ...

drop goal after the 80 minute mark. This marked the franchise's 13th straight win, the longest in franchise history. In the quarter-finals, they played the Highlanders, who they beat 35–6, to reach their first semi-final in 11 years. In the semi-finals, they beat the Brumbies 20–19 in a thrilling encounter. Brumbies first-five

Noah Lolesio Noah Lolesio () (born 18 December 1999) is an Australians, Australian rugby union player who plays for the Brumbies in Super Rugby, and for the Australia national rugby union team, Wallabies (the Australian national team). His playing position ...

had a match winning drop goal attempt, but this was charged down by Blues prop Ofa Tuungafasi, in turn sending the Blues to their first final since 2003, where they were defeated by the Crusaders 21–7 in front of a packed out Eden Park.

2023 Season

The Blues landed third in the 12 team round robin for Super Rugby Pacific 2023 season. They defeated the Waratahs 41-12 in the QF, but lost the Semi-Final 15-52 to the Crusaders, who went on to win the 2023 Final against the Chiefs.

2024 Season

The Blues had a three-way tie W-D-L in the 2024 season round robin, along with the Hurricanes and Brumbies. The Bonus Points were the deciding factor, placing the Hurricanes first, Blues second, and Brumbies third. Having qualified for the quarter finals, the Blues went on to destroy the Fiji Drua 36-5 which matched them up against the Brumbies for their Semi Final. The Blues triumphed 34-20 ensuring their spot in the Grand Final. The Chiefs played an equally exciting Semi Final to defeat the round-robin winning Hurricanes 30-19. The Grand Final was decidedly the Blue's game, almost doubling every positive statistic compared to the Chiefs. 5 Blues trys were scored to the Chief's 1. The final score was 41-10, the drought was over, and the Blues had won their first Super Rugby title since 21 years ago in 2003.

Rivalries

Overall the Blues have dated rivalries with all other New Zealand-based Super Rugby teams (Chiefs, Hurricanes, Crusaders and Highlanders), however a notable trophy is contested between the Blues and Highlanders. The Gordon Hunter Memorial Trophy is contested between the Blues and Highlanders as a part of regular season fixtures between the two sides. The trophy is awarded in memory of Gordon Hunter, who had been head coach of both teams prior to his passing away in 2002.

Stadium

The team's primary home ground is

, located in the central Auckland suburb of Kingsland. The stadium has a capacity of 50,000. In addition to hosting Blues home matches, the ground is the home of the Auckland Rugby Football Union and

Auckland Cricket The Auckland cricket team represent the Auckland Region, Auckland region and are one of six New Zealand domestic First class cricket, first class cricket teams. Governed by the Auckland Cricket Association they are the most successful side havi ...

, and is a frequent host of

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

matches, and hosted the

semi-finals, third-place playoff, and final. In addition to Eden Park, Blues home matches are occasionally held at

North Harbour Stadium North Harbour Stadium is a stadium situated in Albany, in North Shore City, New Zealand. It was opened in 1997, after nearly a decade of discussion, planning and construction. Rugby union, association football, rugby league, and baseball are a ...

, home of the

North Harbour Rugby Union The North Harbour Rugby Union (NHRU), commonly known as North Harbour or simply Harbour, is the governing body of rugby union that encompasses a wide geographical area north of Auckland that includes North Shore City, Rodney District, the Hi ...

, and

Okara Park Okara Park, currently known commercially as Semenoff Stadium (previously known as Toll Stadium due to a sponsorship agreement) is a multi-purpose stadium in Whangārei, New Zealand. It is currently used mostly for rugby union matches and is the ...

, home of the

Northland Rugby Union The Northland Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in Northland Region, Northland, New Zealand; Northland is a Regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand that covers areas in the districts of Far North District, Far North, Kaipa ...

Franchise area and ownership

The Blues represent the

, North Harbour, and Northland rugby unions. As of 2021 60% of the club is owned (divided 65%, 29% and 6%) by the three unions, through Rugby Holdings Ltd., and 40% by private consortium Better Blues Company Limited. The previous Blues (and Auckland Rugby Football Union) CEO was Michael Redman, who was formerly CEO of the

New Zealand Breakers The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Bank of New Zealand, BNZ Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers are the only non-Australian side currently competing in Austral ...

basketball team. The current board is made up of six members. Don Mackinnon, also a former New Zealand Netball and High Performance Sport NZ director, took over in 2019 as Blues Chairman from Tony Carter who chaired the board since it became a stand-alone organisation in 2013. The current board includes John Hart, Sam Lotu-liga, Richard Dellabarca, Kate Daly, Grant Graham and Brian Wilsher. Andrew Hore took up the top job as CEO of the Blues in October 2019. Hore beat off serious competition from 70 applicants to become Blues CEO and believes glory days can return to the team's home ground of

. Hore was previously CEO at the Ospreys in Wales before going on to turn around the

and

NSW Rugby The New South Wales Rugby Union (NSWRU), formerly known as the Southern Rugby Football Union (SRFU) between 1874 and 1892, is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union within most of the state of New South Wales in Australia. It ...

before deciding it was time to return to New Zealand to the Blues' challenge.

Development team

The Blues have fielded a development team in competitions such as the

Pacific Rugby Cup The World Rugby Pacific Challenge, formerly the IRB Pacific Rugby Cup, is an annual rugby union football tournament held in Oceania since 2006. It is contested by national 'A' teams (formed from the best locally based players, with most not alre ...

and in matches against other representative teams for several seasons. Known as the Blues Development XV, the squad is selected from the best emerging rugby talent in the Blues catchment area and is composed of Blues contracted players, wider training group members, under 20s, and selected club players.

Current squad

The squad for the

2025 Super Rugby Pacific season The 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season (known as SMARTECH Super Rugby Pacific in Australia, Shop N Save Super Rugby Pacific in Fiji and DHL Super Rugby Pacific in New Zealand) is the 30th season of Super Rugby, an annual rugby union competition orga ...

is:

2025 coaching staff

* Head coach:

Vern Cotter Vernon Anthony Cotter (born 27 January 1962) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player. He currently coaches the Blues (Super Rugby), Blues in Super Rugby. He started his coaching career at Bay of Plenty including winning the Ranfur ...

* Assistant coach: Craig McGrath (Defence coach) * Assistant coach:

Paul Tito Paul Tito (born 9 June 1978) is a retired New Zealand rugby union player. He played in the Rugby union positions, lock position. Playing career Tito attended New Plymouth Boys' High School and represented New Zealand at New Zealand national un ...

(Forwards coach) * Assistant coach: Dan Halangahu (Skills coach) * Assistant coach: Greg Feek (Scrum coach) * Assistant coach:

Jason O'Halloran Jason David O'Halloran (born 28 February 1972 in Lower Hutt, New Zealand) is an All Blacks, All Black cap and rugby union coach. He is currently an Assistant Coach to Vern Cotter at the Blues (Super Rugby), Blues. He was previously an assist ...

(Attack coach)

Captains

Zinzan Brooke Zinzan Valentine Brooke (born Murray Zinzan Brooke on 14 February 1965) is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer who played at number eight. Brooke played 58 tests for New Zealand, and 42 non-international matches for the All Blacks. He ...

(1996–1997) * Michael Jones (1998) * Robin Brooke (1999–2001) * Glenn Taylor (2002) *

Xavier Rush Xavier Joseph Rush (born 13 July 1977, in Auckland) is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer. He is a former All Black number eight and second row, and played professional rugby in Wales for Cardiff Blues where he is the former captain. C ...

(2003–2005) *

Keven Mealamu Keven Filipo Mealamu (born 20 March 1979) is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer. He played at hooker for the Blues in Super Rugby, Auckland in the National Provincial Championship, and the New Zealand national team. He was part of t ...

(2006, 2009–2012) *

Troy Flavell Troy Vandem Flavell (born 4 November 1976 in Auckland, New Zealand) is a former New Zealand Rugby union player. Flavell won 22 caps for New Zealand national rugby union team, New Zealand, and mainly played Lock (rugby union), lock. He is known f ...

(2007–2008) *

(2013) *

Luke Braid Luke Gary Braid (born 5 October 1988) is a rugby union footballer who plays for the Blues (Super Rugby), Blues in Super Rugby and Auckland RFU, Auckland in the ITM Cup. He plays as a Rugby union positions, loose forward. Braid has also played for ...

(2014) *

(2015–2016) * James Parsons (2016–2017) * Augustine Pulu (2018) * Blake Gibson (2019) * Patrick Tuipulotu (2019–2021, 2024–present) * Dalton Papalii (2022–2023)

Coaches

Notes:

Official

competition matches only, including finals.

Honours

Super Rugby (1996–present)

* Champions (4)

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

* Runners-up (2)

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

* Super Rugby Trans-Tasman Champions (1)

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

* Playoff appearances (8)

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

World Club 10s

* Champions (1) 2014

Brisbane Global Tens

* Champions (1) 2018

Records and achievements

Season standings

A season-by-season summary of Blues regular season results is shown below:

Notes

''Teams were awarded four points for a bye during the Super Rugby seasons from 2011 to 2013. Each team took two bye rounds each season. These additional 8 points are included in their season points tally.''
''All matches after Round 7 were cancelled. the season remained incomplete and no champion was awarded.''
''Super Rugby Aotearoa was announced as a stand-in replacement competition for Super Rugby, between New Zealand Super Rugby sides. It was played as a round robin competition, with no finals. All teams played the other four teams twice, with the title awarded to the highest ranked team at the conclusion of the round robin fixtures. The final round match between the Crusaders and Blues was cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions, with each team receiving 2 competition points.''
''Super Rugby Aotearoa adopted the same format in 2021 as the inaugural tournament in 2020, with the addition of a final between the top two ranked teams at the conclusion of the round robin stage.''
''Super Rugby Trans Tasman was a crossover competition between the teams involved in

Super Rugby Aotearoa Super Rugby Aotearoa named the Sky Super Rugby Aotearoa for sponsorship purposes was a professional men's rugby union national club competition in New Zealand. Originally created to supplement the 2020 Super Rugby season, which was suspended due ...

and

Super Rugby AU Super Rugby AU, formerly named the Harvey Norman Super Rugby AU for sponsorship purposes, was a rugby union competition organised by Rugby Australia. The competition was created to supplant the 2020 Super Rugby season, which had been suspended ...

. Each team from Super Rugby AU played each team from Super Rugby Aotearoa once, and vice versa. A final was played between the top two seeded teams at the conclusion of the round robin matches.''

Results per opposition

Blues Super Rugby results vs different opponent

Individual records

Most appearances

Most points

Most tries

Most points in a match

Most tries in a match

Most points in a season

Most tries in a season

Team records

* Highest regular season placing: 1st (1996, 1997, 1998, 2003, 2022) * Most wins in a season: 16 (2024) * Most points in a season: 599 (2024) * Most tries in a season: 87 (2024) * Fewest wins in a season: 3 (2015) * Fewest points in a season: 202 (1999) * Fewest tries in a season: 15 (1999) * Biggest win: 60–7 (53 point win in 2002 vs. Hurricanes, Wellington) * Biggest loss: 12–59 (47 point loss in 2012 vs. Crusaders, Christchurch) * Most points ever scored in a game: 74 (74–28 win in 1998 vs. Stormers, Auckland) * Fewest points ever scored in a game: 3 (3–20 loss in 2004 vs. Reds, Brisbane), (3–23 loss in 2013 vs. Crusaders, Christchurch)

All-time record

* Games played: 290 * Games won: 154 * Games lost: 131 * Games drawn: 5 * Winning percentage: 53.10% * Points for: 7750 * Points against: 6983 * Tries for: 922 * Tries conceded: 767 Record updated as of Round 9 v Brumbies, 2017

Players that have represented the All Blacks

87 officially recognised Blues players have gone on to represent the All Blacks as of the 2017 season. There have been a total of 268 players to have played for the Blues which means that 30% of all Blues over two decades have either represented the All Blacks or have gone on to represent them. *

John Afoa Ioane Fitu "John" Afoa (born 16 September 1983) is a New Zealand professional rugby union player. His position of choice is at prop. Afoa currently plays for the Crusaders in Super Rugby. Personal life Afoa was a student at Auckland's Papakura ...

(36 tests, 2 matches) *

Ben Atiga Benjamin Alo Charles Atiga (born 5 May 1983 in Auckland) is a former rugby union player and current wellbeing coach. He played centre and fullback, and his coaching focuses on player welfare. Early life and education Atiga's Samoan grandfathe ...

(1 test) *

Norm Berryman Norman Rangi Berryman (15 April 1973 – 22 June 2015) was a New Zealand rugby union player who played as a winger and centre. Accessed 1 March 2009 He played one Test for the All Blacks, and represented Northland, the Crusaders and the Chief ...

(1 test) * Andrew Blowers (11 tests, 7 matches) * Anthony Boric (24 tests, 1 match) * Daniel Braid (6 tests) * Robin Brooke (62 tests, 7 matches) *

(58 tests, 42 matches) *

Olo Brown Olo Max Brown (born 24 October 1967 in Apia, Samoa) played 56 tests at a prop for the New Zealand All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sp ...

(56 tests, 13 matches) * Mark Carter (7 tests, 3 matches) * Adrian Cashmore (2 tests) * Caleb Clarke (5 tests) * Eroni Clarke (10 tests, 14 matches) *

Greg Cooper Gregory John Luke Cooper (born 10 June 1965) is a New Zealand rugby union former player and current coach. A fullback, Cooper represented Hawke's Bay, Otago and Auckland at a provincial level and the in Super Rugby. In the Rugby Almanack of N ...

(7 tests) * Jimmy Cowan (51 tests, 2 matches) * Ron Cribb (15 tests) * Chresten Davis (2 matches) *

Steve Devine Stephen John Devine (born 12 December 1976) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. He is a former All Black and international sevens player for Australia. Devine played for Australia Under-21 before relocating to New Zealand. A loyal servant ...

(10 tests) *

(15 tests) *

Matt Duffie Matthew David Duffie (born 16 August 1990) is a New Zealand former professional rugby footballer who last played rugby union for the Blues (Super Rugby), Blues in Super Rugby. He previously played rugby league with the Melbourne Storm in th ...

(2 matches) * Craig Dowd (60 tests, 7 matches) * Marc Ellis (8 tests, 12 matches) *

Tamati Ellison Tamati Edward Ellison (born 1 April 1983) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. Career Domestic Ellison was born in Wellington, and made his debut for the Wellington Lions in the 2003 NPC final defeat against Auckland. He also captained ...

(4 tests, 1 match) * Bryn Evans (2 tests) * Nick Evans (16 tests) * Charlie Faumuina (50 tests) * Greg Feek (10 tests) *

Malakai Fekitoa Malakai Fonokalafi Fekitoa (born 10 May 1992) is a Tongan professional rugby union player who plays as a centre for United Rugby Championship club Benetton and the Tonga national team. Early life Fekitoa was born in Haʻapai, Tonga. The ...

(23 tests) * Sean Fitzpatrick (92 tests, 36 matches) *

(22 tests) * Richard Fromont (10 matches) *

Rico Gear Rico Levi Gear (born 26 February 1978) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. He was a specialist right wing but also covered midfield positions. He is the older brother of New Zealand winger Hosea Gear Club career Gear was educated at G ...

(19 tests, 1 match) * Frank Halai (1 test) * Alex Hodgman (4 tests) * Shane Howarth (4 tests, 6 matches) *

Doug Howlett Douglas Charles Howlett (born 21 September 1978) is a retired New Zealand professional rugby union player. He was primarily a wing, but he also sometimes played as a fullback. He played for Auckland, and the Highlanders, Hurricanes and Blues ...

(62 tests, 1 match) * Dillon Hunt (1 test, 1 match) * Craig Innes (17 tests, 13 matches) *

Akira Ioane Akira Ioane (born 16 June 1995) is a New Zealand rugby union player, who currently plays as a flanker or number 8 for in the Japan Rugby League One competition. He previously played for in New Zealand's National Provincial Championship and ...

(2 tests, 1 match) *

Rieko Ioane Rieko Edward Ioane (; born 18 March 1997) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a Centre (rugby union), centre or Wing (rugby union), wing for the Blues (Super Rugby), Blues in Super Rugby and Auckland Rugby Union, Auckland in the Bu ...

(34 tests) * Michael Jones (55 tests, 19 matches) *

(83 tests, 2 matches) *

Tanerau Latimer Tanerau Dylan Latimer (born 6 May 1986) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer who plays for the Bay of Plenty. Career Super Rugby Latimer made his Super Rugby debut for the in 2006, before shifting to the in 2007. In 2009 he started at op ...

(5 tests, 1 match) * Danny Lee (2 tests) * Walter Little (50 tests, 25 matches) *

Jonah Lomu Jonah Tali Lomu (12 May 1975 – 18 November 2015) was a New Zealand professional rugby union player. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential players in the history of the sport, and as one of the most talented sportsm ...

(63 tests, 10 matches) * Keith Lowen (1 test) *

Steven Luatua Dolph Steven Luatua (born 29 April 1991) is a professional rugby union player who plays as a Flanker (rugby union), flanker for Premiership Rugby club Bristol Bears. Born in New Zealand, he represents Samoa national rugby union team, Samoa at i ...

(15 tests) * Angus Macdonald (2 tests) *

Alby Mathewson Albert Samuel Mathewson (born 13 December 1985) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half. Early life and education Mathewson was born in Hastings, New Zealand. He first attended Havelock North High School but switched to ...

(4 tests, 1 match) *

Mark Mayerhofler Mark Andrew Mayerhofler (born 8 October 1972) is a former rugby union player who represented the New Zealand All Blacks six times in 1998. In 1997 he won the Tom French Cup, an honour awarded annually by New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) to the Māo ...

(6 tests) *

Luke McAlister Charles Luke McAlister (born 28 August 1983 in Waitara, New Zealand, Waitara) is a retired New Zealand rugby union footballer. He played at Fly-half (rugby union), fly-half and at Centre (rugby union), centre. He is the brother of New Zealand w ...

(30 tests, 1 match) *

(132 tests, 1 match) * Kees Meeuws (42 tests, 3 matches) * Brad Mika (3 tests) *

Dylan Mika Dylan Gabriel Mika (17 April 1972 – 20 March 2018) was a New Zealand-born rugby union player who represented the national teams of both Samoa and New Zealand. Born in Auckland, Mika was initially educated at Marcellin College, before movin ...

(7 tests, 1 match) * George Moala (4 tests) *

Mils Muliaina Junior Malili "Mils" Muliaina (born 31 July 1980) is a former professional rugby union player who most recently played for San Francisco Rush in the US PRO Rugby competition. He played primarily as a fullback, though he has also played as a ...

(100 tests, 2 matches) *

Waisake Naholo Waisake Ratunideuba Naholo (born 8 May 1991 Sigatoka, Fiji) is a New Zealand rugby union player. He previously played for the All Blacks Sevens and on the wing (and occasionally centre) position for London Irish. In May 2022 he signed with Rug ...

(26 tests) * Craig Newby (3 tests) *

(103 tests, 1 match) * Dalton Papalii (4 tests) * James Parsons (2 tests) * Tim Perry (6 tests, 2 matches) * Charles Piutau (17 tests) * Augustine Pulu (2 tests) *

Caleb Ralph Caleb Stan Ralph (born 10 September 1977 in Rotorua) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. Ralph began his first-class career with Bay of Plenty, then moved to Auckland before heading to Canterbury. He started his Super Rugby career with the ...

(14 tests, 2 matches) * Rene Ranger (6 tests) * Greg Rawlinson (4 tests) * Charles Riechelmann (6 tests, 4 matches) * Mark Robinson (3 tests, 5 matches) *

Joe Rokocoko Josevata Taliga "Joe" Rokocoko (pronounced , born 6 June 1983) is a New Zealand former professional rugby union player, who played as a wing. Born in Fiji, Rokocoko grew up in New Zealand and played for the Blues and Auckland. He later played f ...

(68 tests, 1 match) *

(8 tests) * Francis Saili (2 tests) *

Carlos Spencer Carlos James Spencer (born 14 October 1975) is a former New Zealand rugby union player and previously the head coach of the and the . He is currently an assistant coach for the New Orleans Gold of Major League Rugby (MLR). During his playing ...

(35 tests, 9 matches) * Benson Stanley (3 tests) * Jeremy Stanley (3 matches) * Lee Stensness (8 tests, 6 matches) * Hoskins Sotutu (5 tests) * Angus Taavao (14 tests) * Saimone Taumoepeau (3 tests, 1 match) * Glenn Taylor (1 test, 5 matches) * Isaia Toeava (36 tests, 1 match) *

Ofisa Tonu'u Ofisa Francis Junior Tonu'u (born 3 February 1970) is a New Zealand former rugby union player and Samoa cricketer. Rugby union A halfback, Tonu'u represented Wellington and Auckland at the provincial level and the and in Super Rugby. Of Samo ...

(5 tests, 3 matches) * Ofa Tuungafasi (39 tests) * Karl Tu'inukuafe (17 tests) *

Mose Tuiali'i Moses Moses Tuiali'i (born 25 March 1981) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. A Loose forward (rugby union), Loose forward, Tuiali'i notably played for the Crusaders (rugby union), Crusaders in Super Rugby between 2004 and 2008. He also ...

(9 tests, 1 match) * Patrick Tuipulotu (35 tests) * Anthony Tuitavake (6 tests, 1 match) * Sam Tuitupou (9 tests) * Joeli Vidiri (2 tests) *

(71 tests, 2 matches) *

(77 tests, 1 match) *

Sonny Bill Williams Sonny William Williams (born 3 August 1985) is a New Zealand heavyweight boxer, and a former professional rugby league and rugby union player. He is only the second person to represent New Zealand in rugby union after first playing for the cou ...

(58 tests) * Royce Willis (12 tests) * Derren Witcombe (5 tests) * Tony Woodcock (118 tests) * Rudi Wulf (4 tests)

References

External links

*
SANZAAR website

New Zealand Super Rugby website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blues (Super Rugby Franchise) Super Rugby champions Super Rugby teams Rugby union teams in New Zealand 1996 establishments in New Zealand Rugby clubs established in 1996