# Canterbury (National Provincial Championship)

Canterbury are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Canterbury, New Zealand. The union was originally established in 1879, with the National Provincial Championship established in 1976. They now play in the reformed National Provincial Championship competition. They play their home games at Apollo Projects Stadium in Christchurch in the Canterbury region. The team is affiliated with the Crusaders Super Rugby franchise. Their home playing colours are black and red.

## Current squad

The Canterbury squad for the 2024 Bunnings NPC is:
| Canterbury squad |
| Props Harry Allan $^{REP}$ Finlay Brewis Gus Brown $^{REP}$ Seb Calder Jaiden Christian $^{REP}$ Tau Junior Fifita $^{REP}$ Daniel Lienert-Brown Joe Moody Fletcher Newell Samu Tawake Tamaiti Williams Hookers George Bell Ben Funnell Brodie McAlister James Mullan Codie Taylor Locks Tahlor Cahill Sam Darry Zach Gallagher Alex Grogan $^{REP}$ Jamie Hannah Liam Jack $^{REP}$ | Loose forwards Torian Barnes $^{REP}$ Tom Christie Dominic Gardiner Cullen Grace Billy Harmon (c) Corey Kellow Halfbacks (scrum-halves) Tyson Belworthy $^{REP}$ Mitchell Drummond Willi Heinz Joel Lam $^{REP}$ Nic Shearer First five-eighths (fly-halves) Shun Miyake $^{REP}$ James White | Midfielders (centres) Toby Bell $^{REP}$ Ryan Crotty Braydon Ennor Dallas McLeod Rameka Poihipi Jone Rova Outside backs Chay Fihaki Isaac Hutchinson Kurtis MacDonald $^{REP}$ Manasa Mataele Johnny McNicholl Ngane Punivai |
| (c) denotes team captain. Bold denotes internationally capped. $^{INJ}$ denotes a player ruled out for the season with injury. $^{REP}$ denotes a replacement squad player. ↑ Allan wasn't named in the original Canterbury squad, but was announced in the side for Round 6. ↑ Brown wasn't named in the original Canterbury squad, but was announced as a late inclusion in the side for Round 2. 1 2 Christian and Lam weren't named in the original Canterbury squad, but were announced in the side for Round 2. ↑ Fifita wasn't named in the original Canterbury squad, but was announced as a late inclusion in the side for Round 3. 1 2 3 4 Grogan, Barnes, Miyake and Toby Bell weren't named in the original Canterbury squad, but were announced in the side for the Round 3 mid-week game. 1 2 Jack and Belworthy weren't named in the original Canterbury squad, but were announced in the side for Round 4. ↑ MacDonald wasn't named in the original Canterbury squad, but was announced in the side for Round 3. |

## Honours

Canterbury have been overall Champions on 14 occasions. Their first title was in 1977 and their most recent title was in 2017. Their full list of honours include:

### National Provincial Championship First Division

* Winners: 1977, 1983, 1997, 2001, 2004

### Air New Zealand Cup

* Winners: 2008, 2009

### ITM Cup

* Winners: 2010

### ITM Cup Premiership Division

* Winners: 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015

### Mitre 10 Cup Premiership Division

* Winners: 2016, 2017

## Current Super Rugby players

Players named in the 2023 Canterbury squad, who also earned contracts or were named in a squad for any side participating in the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season.
| Player | Team |
| Solomon Alaimalo | Chiefs |
| George Bell | Crusaders |
| Finlay Brewis | Crusaders |
| Fergus Burke | Crusaders |
| Seb Calder | Crusaders |
| Tom Christie | Crusaders |
| Sam Darry | Blues |
| Mitchell Drummond | Crusaders |
| Mitchell Dunshea | Crusaders |
| Braydon Ennor | Crusaders |
| Chay Fihaki | Crusaders |
| Zach Gallagher | Crusaders |
| Dominic Gardiner | Crusaders |
| Cullen Grace | Crusaders |
| Jamie Hannah | Crusaders |
| Billy Harmon | Highlanders |
| Willi Heinz | Crusaders |
| Oli Jager | Crusaders |
| Corey Kellow | Crusaders |
| Daniel Lienert-Brown | Highlanders |
| Manasa Mataele | Force |
| Brodie McAlister | Crusaders |
| Dallas McLeod | Crusaders |
| Joe Moody | Crusaders |
| Richie Mo'unga | Crusaders |
| Fletcher Newell | Crusaders |
| Rameka Poihipi | Chiefs |
| Reed Prinsep | Hurricanes |
| Ngane Punivai | Chiefs |
| Codie Taylor | Crusaders |
| Sam Whitelock | Crusaders |
| Tamaiti Williams | Crusaders |