The Blues will unleash their first haka as a challenge to the British & Irish Lions at Eden Park on Wednesday night. Coach Tana Umaga said the players wanted to integrate the many cultures in the team into a unique challenge for some time and the DHL New Zealand Lions Series provided a great opportunity […]

Jason Barrell started his first-class career with Northland before moving south to Auckland. He started Super Rugby with the Chiefs and then the Blues in 1999. His professional rugby career was pulled short during an NPC match against Northland in 1999 when he broke his neck during a scrum. Many have been inspired by Barrell’s […]

Glenn Taylor alternated between the Chiefs, Hurricanes and Blues during his Super Rugby career. He’s most remembered for captaining the Northland side and earning 143 caps in the process. Taylor made six All Black appearances, only one being a test. He also made a number of representative teams, like the New Zealand Colts and the […]

Mark Robinson was another Rugby Union and League crossover. He started his career with North Harbour in 1996, playing hooker for the regional team. He then joined the Chiefs from 1997 to 1998 before returning to the Blues from 1999-2002. Robinson then transferred to League, playing hooker for the Auckland-based club. He finished his playing […]

The Blues club has the honour of becoming the first New Zealand Super Rugby team to play the British and Irish Lions at Eden Park on Wednesday. The Blues will have eight current or former All Blacks in their side to play the Lions, led by Captain James Parsons, when the team was named at […]

The utility back made waves in both Rugby League and Union. During the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Ellis scored six tries against Japan, breaking the record for most tries by an individual in a single game at the competition. He then proceeded to play League for the Warriors from 1996 to 1997, before returning to […]

Our Blues will be playing for a lot more than pride when they tackle the touring British & Irish Lions at Eden Park on 7 June. A specially commissioned Maori Taiaha will be presented to the winner of the historic match. Named ‘Te Raki’ to denote our geographical location ‘north’, the traditional Maori weapon is […]

Graham Henry selected James Christian for the Auckland NPC team straight out of high school. He played three seasons with the Blues, earning three caps for the side and playing the 1998 Super Rugby final. Christian also played for representative teams the New Zealand Colts, New Zealand Universities and the Barbarians. He played for Newcastle […]