Counties Manukau (National Provincial Championship)
New Zealand rugby union team
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Counties Manukau (often known as the Counties Steelers) are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Pukekohe, New Zealand. The union was originally established in 1955, with the National Provincial Championship established in 1976. They now play in the reformed National Provincial Championship competition. They play their home games at Navigation Homes Stadium in Pukekohe in the Auckland region. The team is affiliated with the Chiefs Super Rugby franchise. Their home playing colours are black, white and red.
CMRFU official emblem | ||
| Union | Counties Manukau Rugby Football Union | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Steelers | |
| Founded | 1955 | |
| Location | Pukekohe, Auckland, New Zealand | |
| Ground | Navigation Homes Stadium (Capacity: 12,000) | |
| Coach | Reon Graham | |
| Captain | Jimmy Tupou | |
| Most appearances | Alan Dawson (201) | |
| Top scorer | Danny Love (698) | |
| Most tries | Alan Dawson (58) | |
| League | National Provincial Championship | |
| 2025 | 8th Quarter-finals | |
| ||
| Official website | ||
| www | ||
Current squad
The Counties Manukau Steelers squad for the 2026 Hilux NPC season is:
| 2026 Counties Manukau squad | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Props
Hookers
Locks
|
Loose forwards
Halfbacks (scrum-halves) First five-eighths (fly-halves)
|
Midfielders (centres)
Outside backs
|
| (c) denotes the team captain. Bold denotes internationally capped players. ST denotes a short-term signing. WTG denotes a wider training group member.  denotes an injured player.Source: [2] |
Honours
Counties Manukau have been overall Champions on one occasion, winning the title in 1979. Their full list of honours include:[3][4]
- National Provincial Championship First Division
- Winners: 1979
- National Provincial Championship Second Division
- Winners: 1993
- ITM Cup Championship Division
- Winners: 2012
Current Super Rugby players
Players named in the 2025 Counties Manukau Steelers squad, who also earned contracts or were named in a squad for any side participating in the 2025 Super Rugby Pacific season.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11]