Wellington Centurions squad named

As the representative season rapidly approaches, Wellington Centurions Head Coach Kent Harris has named his squad for the upcoming campaign. 

Harris is joined in the coaching staff by Piri Weepu, Ryan Piper and Reggie Goodes as Assistant Coaches. Other management includes Manager Andrew Robinson, Trainer Ben Bealey and Physio Raylene Grant. 

This year, the Development team and Centurions have amalgamated and will be known as the Wellington Centurions. The squad features a mix of younger players new to the system, alongside some welcome experience. 

The squad is made up of players who have been part of the Lions pre-season, those on the fringe of selection, and some of the more experienced and consistently performing in the club scene, also helping bring experience to what is mostly a very young group.

As the main pathway to making the Lions squad, expectations are still high from Harris and his coaching team.  

“The expectations are the same as they would be for those in the [Lions] squad, as we give the players the experience of a high-performance campaign.

The players involved will be in a setup that is mirroring the top side, there will be a jump in expectation and responsibility on and off the field, all within understanding the next level. Those in the Lions squad who need more game time, as well as those returning from injury often play for us, so there can be some players that go up and down between the two teams.”

Harris also expects to see his players grow and step up to the new challenge.

“Execution is something we look at, especially the improvement on that. But it’s also important to see growth amongst the players, and them realising this is a step up from club rugby.”

This year, the team has seven fixtures across seven weeks. Their first game is on August 7^th against Wairarapa Bush, before a home fixture against Whanganui a week later. The season concludes on Sunday September 19^th, with a clash against Tasman in Blenheim.

The first training will be at the HOBM clubrooms on Wednesday 28^th July. Trainings thereafter will be on Tuesday and Thursday at the Hutt Rec. Please contact Manager Andrew Robinson for more information on 021 185 0773.

The squad is as follows: