New Zealand Rugby confirms NZCIS as Official Training Base

New Zealand Rugby (NZR) and the New Zealand Campus of Innovation and Sport (NZCIS) have announced the world-class high-performance training facility will be the Official Training Base of New Zealand Rugby. 

Located in Upper Hutt in Wellington, the NZCIS campus is an elite training facility and will support NZR to enhance the preparation of the All Blacks, Black Ferns and other Teams in Black. 

Since its inception in 2022, the All Blacks, Black Ferns and New Zealand Under 20 teams have already utilised NZCIS as a training base in their preparation for their respective international series.

The elite training facility includes world-class playing fields, a state-of-the-art gym, climate-controlled studio, interactive analysis bunkers, a recovery wing including plunge pools, hydrotherapy, infra-red sauna, cryotherapy chamber, red light therapy and an athlete recovery room. The facility houses up to 450 beds, with accommodation ranging from dorm-style wings to luxury self-serviced apartments. Premier changing rooms, dining hall and conference facilities enable it to be a fully serviced facility, catering for professional athletes to corporates. 

NZR General Manager Professional Rugby and Performance Chris Lendrum said the NZCIS facilities will assist in enhancing performance.

“NZCIS is a world-class high-performance facility right in our backyard, which will allow our teams to assemble, train and recover in new ways. We believe that there are performance advantages for our Teams in Black from having an established base for training camps, trials and match preparation. 

“While NZCIS will be our base, connecting our Teams in Black to every corner of Aotearoa, New Zealand holds huge importance for our teams. The ability for our communities to feel connected to our teams remains critical to our fans and our teams’ performance.”

Lendrum highlighted the shared ambition of NZCIS and NZR to be leaders in high performance.

“We want to lead the way and strive for innovative solutions as we seek to continue to enhance the preparation of our Teams in Black. The team at NZCIS share in this ambition and their facilities offer us that opportunity.”

All Blacks Head of Performance Nicholas Gill said training at NZCIS provides the All Blacks with a fantastic platform to increase all-round performance.   

“The NZCIS provides significant high performance benefits for the athletes and teams. 

“To have the indoor and outdoor fields, gym, recovery pools, medical facilities, team rooms and dining areas in such a condensed environment allows teams to win the transitions between different aspects of the week, whether it’s team meetings, training or recovery. Precious time is gained and that can be the one percent that makes the difference on game day.

“The All Blacks will always get around the country to interact with our fans, but to have access to a facility like this is amazing.”

NZCIS Co-owner Malcolm Gillies extended a warm welcome to the NZR whānau on behalf of himself, Co-owner Kevin Melville and the NZCIS Team. 

“It is a pleasure to welcome the Teams in Black to NZCIS, and we look forward to working with NZR in extending this relationship to include some exciting future opportunities. We are invested in helping the Teams secure world-leading performances each year with the use of NZCIS facilities right here in Upper Hutt.”

NZCIS General Manager and Director Jamie Tout, expressed their excitement, noting that everyone at NZCIS is extremely proud to welcome NZR as a new Foundation Tenant. 

“We are already fortunate NZCIS is home to high-performance sports teams like the Hurricanes, Hurricanes Poua, Wellington Phoenix FC, and Wellington Rugby. To add NZR to this prestigious group is extremely exciting for our NZCIS whānau. We couldn’t be prouder to welcome NZR as a Foundation Tenant.”

An important part of NZCIS tikanga, established by Tout (NZCIS) and NZR Māori Cultural Advisor and now Kaumatua to NZCIS, Luke Crawford, is the tying of a taura (binding rope) to a pou (hitching posts) within the wharewaka (Green Room). The taura is presented to each team on arrival, as a part of their welcome to the Campus. The taura is made up of individual strands and is symbolic of the individuals in a team who come together to be stronger, taking nourishment from those who support them within and from outside of the team and from the environment around them. Each team attach the taura to a pou in the wharewaka to bring everyone together.  

The Foundation Tenancy allows for the opportunity to host other New Zealand Rugby ventures including All Black Performance Labs and All Blacks Clinics. 

The All Blacks have been assembled at NZCIS since Sunday 4 August, as they prepare to play Argentina in the Lipovitan-D Rugby Championship on Saturday 10 August at Sky Stadium, Wellington. The Black Ferns will assemble at NZCIS mid-August as they prepare for their end of year tour.