Sunday is set to be one of the biggest occasions at Stadium Taranaki in recent years, with Jared Proffit to become Taranaki's 33rd centurion and Beauden Barrett returning to the Yarrows Taranaki Bulls for the first time in six years.
Proffit will play his 100th match in Amber & Black when Taranaki host Wellington in their final home game of the Hilux NPC regular season, becoming the first player to reach the milestone for the province since Tony Penn in 2008.
Adding to the occasion, Barrett will make his first appearance for Taranaki since 2020 and his first in New Plymouth since 2015. He will line up alongside younger brother Scott in Taranaki colours for the first time.
To recognise Proffit's milestone, Stadium Taranaki will become Jared Proffit Stadium for Sunday's match.
5,000 tickets have already been sold, and the day is shaping up as a true celebration of Taranaki rugby. Alongside Proffit's milestone and the Barretts' homecoming, two of the province's most famous sides will be back together in New Plymouth: the unbeaten 1976 team, marking 50 years, and the 1996 Ranfurly Shield side, marking 30.
Yarrows Taranaki Bulls v Wellington
Sunday 4 October | 2.05pm
Jared Proffit Stadium, New Plymouth
Proffit joins Taranaki's 100 club
When Clifton's Jared Proffit takes the field on Sunday, he will become just the 33rd player in Taranaki rugby history to represent the province 100 times.
He will also become the first Taranaki player to reach the milestone in 18 years, joining a select group to have done so in the professional era.
Proffit made his Taranaki debut off the bench against Auckland at Eden Park in 2015 and has since become a cornerstone of the province's forward pack.
Across 99 appearances, he has helped Taranaki win the 2023 NPC title and lift the Ranfurly Shield in 2017, 2020 and 2025, while individually being named Yarrows Taranaki Bulls Forward of the Year in both 2022 and 2023.
His performances in Amber & Black have also helped take him to Super Rugby with the Hurricanes and Chiefs, before earning selection for the Māori All Blacks in 2025.
Yarrows Taranaki Bulls Head Coach Jarrad Hoeata said:
"Proff epitomises what it means to wear this jersey. From the moment he arrived here from Gisborne, he has worked for every opportunity he's had.
"One hundred games for one province is a massive achievement, particularly in the professional era, and it says a lot about his loyalty, durability and commitment to Taranaki rugby.
"To have Beauden and Scott out there with him makes Sunday a pretty special occasion for the whole province. We want to make sure we recognise what Proff has achieved with a performance worthy of his 100th."
Beauden Barrett returns home
Beauden Barrett's last appearance for Taranaki came on one of the province's most memorable nights of the modern era.
On 19 September 2020, Barrett helped Taranaki defeat Canterbury 23 to 22 in Christchurch to bring the Ranfurly Shield back to the province.
Six years later, he will pull on the Amber & Black jersey again.
Sunday will be Barrett's first appearance for Taranaki since that Shield victory and his first for the province in New Plymouth since 2015 (Barrett played in 2020 vs Bay of Plenty at Inglewood's, TET Stadium).
Born in New Plymouth and raised on the family farm at Pungarehu, Barrett made his Taranaki debut as a 19 year old in 2010. A year later, he kicked all 15 of Taranaki's points in a tryless 15 to 12 Ranfurly Shield victory over Southland in Invercargill.
Beauden and Scott together for Taranaki
Sunday will also create a piece of Barrett family history.
For the first time, Beauden and Scott Barrett will take the field together for Taranaki.
Scott remains with the Yarrows Taranaki Bulls after making his return from back surgery against Hawke's Bay in Napier last weekend, playing 60 minutes in his first match since returning from injury.
The brothers have shared the field at international level for the All Blacks, but Sunday will be the first time they represent their home province together.
It adds another layer to a day centred on connection to the Amber & Black jersey: a 100 game milestone, the return of one of Taranaki's most decorated players and two brothers representing their home province together.
Celebrating the sides that came before
Sunday will also honour two of the great teams in Taranaki's history.
Fifty years on, members of the unbeaten 1976 Taranaki side will reunite in New Plymouth. That team includes several Amber & Black centurions, and on the day Proffit joins the 100 club, some of the men who got there before him will be in the stands to welcome him.
The 1996 side will also gather to mark 30 years since their Ranfurly Shield win over Auckland at Eden Park, remembered in the province as the Fabulous Fortnight. For a generation of Taranaki supporters, it remains one of the great days in Taranaki rugby.
The 1996 group will host an open watch party at New Plymouth Old Boys (NPOB) on Saturday afternoon, and all supporters are welcome. Details to follow.
Sunday's match against Wellington is Taranaki's final home game of the Hilux NPC regular season and could be the last chance to see the Yarrows Taranaki Bulls at Stadium Taranaki in 2026.
Tickets are on sale now at Ticketek
