All Blacks captain Tana Umaga became a pivotal figure during the series for his controversial ruck ‘clean-out' of his opposite Brian O'Driscoll in the opening moments of the first Test at Westpac Stadium that led to O'Driscoll leaving the field and playing no further role on the tour. That Umaga bounced back from the subsequent fallout to star in the series and score three tries was testament to his greatness as a player.
Earlier in the year Umaga had become the first Hurricanes player to reach a century of appearances in the Rebel Sport Super 12/14 competitions, celebrating a first ever competition win over the Blues in his 100th game.
The British and Irish Lions tour was also a focal point in the planning and structure of the 2005 season for the Vodafone Wellington Lions, who hosted them prior to this first Test. Five Wellington players had been involved in the New Zealand Maori side who met the Lions in Hamilton four days previously, and Wellington were without leading players Umaga, Jerry Collins, Rodney So'oialo, Conrad Smith and Neemia Tialata for the big match - although they received a boost when Ma'a Nonu was released by the All Blacks to play against them.
In contrast the tourists fielded a side that comprised 11 players who were to play in the Tests, and they proved too strong for Wellington running out 23-6 winners in difficult conditions for the expansive rugby that Wellington had endeavoured to play.
Following the high of the Lions tour, the Wellington Lions finished a frustrating fifth in the last ever Air New Zealand NPC in its current format, with a 14-15 Ranfurly Shield challenge loss to Canterbury also costing the team a place in the top four. But ultimately it was earlier back-to-back losses at home to North Harbour and Otago that meant they were playing catch-up over the second half of the NPC. Shannon Paku won the Player of the Year award.
The U19s were the Team of the Year for 2005, and their coach Scott Crichton won the Coach of the Year award. They recovered from a narrow first-up loss to their Canterbury counterparts to win their next six games and won the Hurricanes region U20 Tournament by beating Manawatu in the final.
With an eight win-three loss record, the Hurricanes reached the semi-finals of the last ever Rebel Sport Super 14, before its expansion to a 14-team competition from 2006. The team was unbeaten in its tour of Australia and South Africa and a successful new leadership structure was put in place that had a positive influence on the team environment and culture.
In club rugby, Petone came back from a 20-6 deficit to pip Northern United 21-20 in the Jubilee Cup final, after Norths had previously won the inaugural Andy Leslie Trophy for finishing first at the end of the regular second round season. Upper Hutt won their first ten games straight to capture the Swindale Shield. Registered player numbers increased by 5 percent to 10,970 in 2005, with age grade numbers such as the U19 grade showing strong growth.
Another highlight in November was the awarding by the IRB to New Zealand of hosting rights for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
Financially, the WRFU surplus was $1,200,324 of which clubs received $469,400.