Rugby union in New Zealand
Encyclopedia
Rugby union
is the unofficial national sport
of New Zealand
. Rugby, as it is generally referred to by New Zealanders, is an integral part of New Zealand culture. The national team, the All Blacks, rank as the top international team in the world. The sport was known in New Zealand from 1870, and the game now holds close ties with the culture of the country. The top domestic competitions are the professional ITM Cup and amateur Heartland Championship
, and above them Super Rugby, in which New Zealand has five franchises. The country hosted and won the first ever men's World Cup
final in 1987
, and hosted and won the men's 2011
tournament. They are the current world champions for both men and women.
which greatly resembled Australian Rules Football
and rugby football. It has been suggested that this may have influenced New Zealand playing styles, especially amongst the indigenous population.
Various codes of football
were played in New Zealand in the years following white settlement. Christchurch Football Club, which is now the oldest rugby club in the country, was founded in 1863. It played by its own rules for many years. Rugby football
was first introduced to New Zealand in 1870 by Charles John Monro
, son of the then-Speaker of the House of Representatives
, David Monro
. He encountered the game while studying at Christ's College Finchley
, in East Finchley
, London
, England
, and on his return introduced the game to Nelson College
, who played the first rugby union match against Nelson football club on 14 May. A visit to Wellington
by Munro later that same year resulted in an organised match between Nelson
and Wellington. By the following year, the game had been formalised in Wellington, and subsequently rugby was taken up in Wanganui
and Auckland
in 1873 and Hamilton
in 1874. In 1875 the first representative team was formed, being a combined-clubs Auckland team which toured the South. It is thought that by the mid-1870s, the game had been taken up by the majority of the colony.
The latter stages of the 1870s saw the emergence of a more formal structure, with Unions being formed in both Canterbury
and Wellington during 1879. In 1882, the first international rugby side toured New Zealand, a New South Wales
side that visited both islands during the latter part of the year. Two years later, a New Zealand team visited New South Wales, wearing blue jerseys with a golden fern. The team won all their games. In 1888, the first ever British Isles rugby team
tour took place, visiting New Zealand and Australia. The visitors won all their New Zealand games except for one, losing to Auckland. During 1888-89, the New Zealand Native team
became the first from a colony to visit Britain. In 1892 the New Zealand Rugby Football Union
(NZRFU) was established, to act as the national governing body of the sport. Following the establishment of the national governing body, the first NZRFU national sanctioned tour was undertaken in 1893, when a ten game tour of Australia was played. The team was captained by Thomas Ellison
.
In 1902, the governor of New Zealand, the fifth Earl of Ranfurly presented a trophy shield to the Auckland side, who were undefeated in provincial competition that year. The shield became known as the Ranfurly Shield
. Three years later, a 1905 New Zealand team, who became known as the "Originals
", toured the British Isles and France winning all of their games apart from controversially losing the test against Wales
. As the team swept through Britain, some of the players took note of how rugby (league) was being played in the North of England. One player, Aucklander George Smith
met with Sydney entrepreneur James J. Giltinan on his way home, and discussed the opportunities of such a game. Meanwhile, New Zealander Albert Henry Baskervill had contacted the Northern Union to arrange a New Zealand tour, as he had just read about the game in an English magazine. The NZRU discouraged any involvement from its players and officials, nonetheless, a team departed a travelled to Sydney first, and were there labelled the All Golds, a play on All Blacks in reference to the player payments. The team went on to tour England. They played an import role in rugby league.
The 1930s saw a period of skill development for rugby in New Zealand. The 1940 All Black tour of South Africa was one of the first sporting events cancelled due to the Second World War. Rugby was however played in services sport, with games being played with South African allies during the North African desert campaign, also, most domestic competitions were suspended during this time. In 1976, the first ever season of the National Provincial Championship (succeeded in 2006 by the Air New Zealand Cup and Heartland Championship) went underway. In its inaugural format, Division One was made up of seven North Island teams and four South Island. The remaining provinces contested a split second division, though South and North teams did not meet each other, instead played their respective Island clubs. There was a separate relegation system in place for each the North and South, ensuring the number of teams from each island.
The 1981 Springbok Tour
, or The Tour, went down as one of the most controversial rugby tours ever. From July to September, the Springboks
toured New Zealand. Rugby fans filled the stadiums, yet equal numbers of fans protested the games outside the stadiums. Police were divided into Red and Blue riot squads for the tour, and in preparation for possible trouble, all spectators were told to assemble in sports grounds at least an hour before kickoff. At a game at Rugby Park in Hamilton, around 350 protesters pulled down a fence and invaded the pitch. Police, already very worried, pulled the match when they found out a light plane piloted by a protester was headed to fly around the stadium. A protest turned violent in Wellington the following week, escalating the situation. During the final test match at Eden Park
, a low flying plane dropped flour bombs over the pitch. These images were beamed around the world, and looked as though a civil crisis had engulfed New Zealand. A subsequent 1985 All Black tour was prevented by the High Court, but an unofficial tour took place the following year.
In 1987, the NZRFU wrote to the International Rugby Football Board
, now known as the International Rugby Board (IRB), requesting the possibility of hosting an inaugural Rugby World Cup
. The 1987 World Cup
was eventually given to both New Zealand and Australia. The All Blacks made it to the final, where they would meet France
. The All Blacks won and were crowned the first ever World Champions. In the 1980s, New Zealand provincial sides participated in the South Pacific Championship, along with teams from Australia and Fiji. In 1992 this type of competition was relaunched as the Super Sixes, and was expanded to the Super 10 later. As rugby entered the professional era in the mid 1990s, along with South Africa and Australia, New Zealand formed SANZAR
, which would see them start a provincial rugby competition, the Super 12. The 1996 Super 12 season
saw the Auckland Blues finish in second place, whilst the Waikato Chiefs 6th, the Otago Highlanders 8th, the Wellington Hurricanes 9th, and the Canterbury Crusaders 12th. The SANZAR agreement also saw the formation of the Tri Nations Series, a contest between the respective national sides, the All Blacks, Springboks
and Wallabies
. The All Blacks won the first series. Beginning in 2012 the series will be Joined with the Argentina Pumas
to create The Rugby Championship. New Zealand was supposed to jointly host the 2003 World Cup
with Australia, but a disagreement with the IRB saw the tournament given to Australia in its entirety. In 2006, New Zealand won the right to host the 2011 World Cup
.
. Similarly, the 1905-06 tour, in which the All Blacks went very close to a clean sweep tour (one loss against Wales), helped to create a sense of national pride around the All Blacks, as they appeared physically superior and pulled off an admirable performance on their British tour. It is also thought that this saw the emergence of the Kiwi
as a national symbol. Rugby is considered to be a part of New Zealand life - dominating the sports media. The Haka
, a Māori ceremonial dance, which has been immortalised in popular culture by the All Blacks has become an iconic image of sport. Rugby being the unofficial sport of New Zealand, attracts large sporting attendances, both in New Zealand and in other rugby nations. As many as 5000 people have simply turned out to All Black training sessions. There is a pay TV channel dedicated to rugby in New Zealand.
In 1872, 'Wirihana' became the first recorded Māori rugby player when he turned out for Wanganui 'Country' in a 20-a-side fixture against their urban counterparts. While some all-Māori clubs were formed, such as Kiri Kiri near Thames, mixed teams were more common in areas like Poverty Bay which had substantial Māori populations.
Māori living in areas that had supported the Crown during the New Zealand Wars of the 1860s seem to have been the first to take up the sport. Jack Taiaroa and Joseph Warbrick were key members of the first representative New Zealand team, which toured New South Wales in 1884.
.
New Zealand, commonly referred to as the All Blacks, are the most successful team in international rugby. They have a positive winning record against all Test nations, and have a win record of over 74% The first All Blacks Test match was played against Australia
at Sydney Cricket Ground
on 15 August 1903. New Zealand won 22 - 3, with The Sydney Morning Herald
saying, 'The present New Zealand team have shown form so far in advance of every fifteen opposed to them that it seems almost impossible for Australia to put a side into the field with any hope of victory...'.
The major rugby playing nations of Scotland
, Ireland
, Italy
and Argentina
have yet to defeat the All Blacks in a test match. The All Blacks were winners of the inaugural Rugby World Cup
in 1987 and were runners-up in 1995. The All Blacks were the only team to have reached the semi-final stage at every World Cup until the 2007 World Cup where they were defeated 20-18 by France in the quarter-finals. New Zealand won its second Rugby World Cup on home soil in 2011.
are not an age grade side, but are the second national team behind the All Blacks. They were formerly known as New Zealand A, but the name was changed for marketing purposes. They compete in the Pacific Nations Cup competition alongside Australia A, Fiji
, Japan
, Samoa
and Tonga
. They won the inaugural IRB Pacific 5 Nations competition in 2006. In 2007 Australia A joined with the competition, changing its name to Pacific Nations Cup. The Junior All Blacks repeated their 2006 success in 2007 winning the competition with victories in all five of their matches including with a 50-0 thumping of their Australian conterparts at Carisbrook
Dunedin
. The New Zealand Māori will play in the Pacific Nations Cup for the 2008 competition.
is a representative side that traditionally play teams touring New Zealand. A prerequisite for playing in this team is that the player must be at least 1/16 Māori descent. Due to the number of New Zealanders with some degree of Māori heritage, a large number of New Zealand rugby players are eligible. The team was formerly established in 1910, and has gone on to play many of the world's top Test teams, including the Springboks
, and the British and Irish Lions
. In the 2008 the New Zealand Māori will play in the Pacific Nations Cup.
Their second tour, in November 2008, was a two-match trip to the USA
. The first match, in San Francisco, saw them defeat a Pacific Coast
XV 39–12. They then travelled to Salt Lake City to take on a USA Select XV in one of the first events held in the new Rio Tinto Stadium, and came from behind to notch a 19–14 win.
Shortly after the tour, the NZRU announced that the Heartland XV would not be assembled in 2009, and would in the future tour every two years.
champions, being 3 time winners after they won the 1998 tournament then again in 2002 in Barcelona
and again in 2006 in Canada.
is a form of rugby union which involves 7 players per team rather than 15 in the regular game. The games are 7 minutes per half (10 minutes in a competition final) rather than 40 minutes per half in the 15-man game. The New Zealand Sevens
team compete in the IRB Sevens World Series
, the Sevens World Cup
, and the Commonwealth Games
Sevens. The New Zealand Sevens team are also undefeated in the Sevens events in the Commonwealth Games. Since the inception of the Sevens World Series in 1999-2000 the New Zealand Sevens team have dominated the series, winning every season-long competition until 2006, when Fiji
claimed the title. New Zealand regained the IRB Sevens title in 2007, and retained it in record-setting fashion in 2008.
. The side competed in and won the inaugural competition
, held in June 2008 in Wales
.
With the expansion to 15 teams, the competition format was dramatically changed. The league phase, originally a single round-robin, was replaced by a three-conference format, with each conference consisting of teams in one of the participating countries. Each team plays home-and-away against the other teams in its conference, plus single games against four teams in each other conference. The finals series was also changed. In the Super 12 and Super 14 eras, this was a knockout series involving the top four finishers. The knockout format was retained for Super Rugby, but now involves the three conference winners plus the top three non-winners without regard to conference. New Zealand is represented by the following franchises: Crusaders, Blues, Hurricanes, Chiefs and Highlanders.
New Zealand teams have dominated Super Rugby for much of its history, winning 10 of the 16 titles decided to date, although only one of the last five. The Crusaders are the most successful franchise having won 7 titles in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, and 2008. The Blues are the only other New Zealand team to have captured the title, having won in 1996, 1997 and 2003. Australia's Brumbies (two titles) and Reds
(one) and South Africa's Bulls (three) are the only teams from outside New Zealand to have won a title.
The ITM Cup, started in 2006 and known as the Air New Zealand Cup from its inception until a change in sponsorship for 2010, is the premier domestic competition in New Zealand rugby. A fully professional competition contested by 14 provincial teams, it is the successor to Division One of the country's former domestic competition, the National Provincial Championship
(NPC).
The ITM Cup features the following teams from the former NPC Division One:
It also features three teams from the former NPC Division Two:
plus one newly formed team, the merger of the former NPC Division Two teams of Marlborough and Nelson Bays:
Beginning in 2011, the ITM Cup split into two divisions—the top-level Premiership and second-level Championship, each with seven teams. Promotion and relegation was reintroduced to the top level of provincial rugby; the winner of the Championship replaces the bottom team of the Premiership.
The Heartland Championship
is an amateur competition contested among 12 teams from the former NPC Divisions Two and Three. It was also founded in 2006 as a result of the reorganisation of the NPC, and is directly run by the NZRU. Its teams compete for the Meads
and Lochore Cups, named after famous All Blacks Colin Meads
and Brian Lochore
. The participating teams are:
, also known as the Log of Wood, has been competed for on a challenge basis by provincial teams since 1904. The holding union must defend the Shield in challenge matches, and if a challenger defeats them, they become the new holder of the Shield. The Shield was first presented by the Governor of New Zealand, the Earl of Ranfurly
. The current holders are Taranaki.
is considered the ultimate rugby competition. The New Zealand All Blacks won the first world cup in 1987, beating France in the final. Since then the All Blacks have been favourites on several occasions, but have not won the competition again, losing to Australia in the semi-final in 2003 and falling to the French team in the quarter-final of the 2007 Rugby World Cup. The All Blacks eventually regained the World Cup on home soil in 2011, ending a 24 year drought.
Intense lobbying by the NZRFU and the New Zealand Government helped New Zealand secure hosting rights to the 2011 Rugby World Cup
.
In 2012, Argentina
will join the competition, which will become The Rugby Championship. With four nations now involved, the tournament will return to a straight home-and-away format.
The Freedom Cup
is contested between New Zealand and South Africa, first as part of the Tri Nations and now in The Rugby Championship.
reflects the rivalry between Australia and New Zealand and has been contested since the early 1930s. The Bledisloe Cup was irregularly contested between 1931 and 1981, usually during tours by the two nations. During this period, New Zealand won it 19 times and Australia four times. In 1982 it became an annual contest, being contested either as a single game or in a three-test series. Between 1982 and 1995 New Zealand won the Cup 11 times and Australia three times. Since 1996 the Bledisloe Cup has been contested as part of the Tri Nations/Rugby Championship. In total, the All Blacks have won 67 Bledisloe Cup games, Australia 30, with four draws.
, Japan
, Samoa
, and Tonga
. In 2007, Australia A joined the tournament. The Junior All Blacks played their homes games at North Harbour Stadium
, Yarrow Stadium
and Carisbrook
. The Pacific Nations Cup is an IRB tournament funded as part of the $US50 million, three-year, global strategic investment programme that was launched in August 2005. As of 2008 the New Zealand Māori rugby union team
will be the team participating from New Zealand with the Junior All Blacks being left out.
is a tournament originally intended to help build depth in rugby in Canada and the USA, and an opportunity to develop new players for the England national team. The New Zealand Māori along with the Black Ferns participated in the 2004 event, winning their respective tournaments. However, the following year, the Māori had to pull out as it conflicted with their fixtures against the British and Irish Lions
. The Māori competed in and won the 2006 tournament
. There was no women's event in either 2005 or 2006 due to Canada's preparations to host the 2006 Women's Rugby World Cup
, and the women's tournament was never revived. As of 2008 the New Zealand Māori rugby union team
will no longer participate as they will be competing for the Pacific Nations Cup
is the IRB's equivalent to the (15-man) Rugby World Cup. It is also held every four years, specifically in the odd-numbered years in which the 15-man RWC is not held. The competition was first held in 1993. New Zealand won in 2001, and were losing finalists to Fiji
in 2005. The upcoming 2013
edition, to be held in Moscow
, will be the last, as it will be replaced by an Olympic sevens tournament
in 2016
.
, held annually since 1999-2000, is a series of several international tournaments, currently nine, featuring full international sevens teams. New Zealand have been the dominant team throughout the series' history, winning the first six editions (2000–2005), and again in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011. New Zealand hosts one leg, the New Zealand International Sevens
, at Westpac Stadium
in Wellington
.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
is the unofficial national sport
National sport
A national sport or national pastime is a sport or game that is considered to be an intrinsic part of the culture of a nation. Some sports are de facto national sports, as baseball is in the U.S., while others are de jure as lacrosse and ice hockey are in Canada.-De jure national sports:-De facto...
of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. Rugby, as it is generally referred to by New Zealanders, is an integral part of New Zealand culture. The national team, the All Blacks, rank as the top international team in the world. The sport was known in New Zealand from 1870, and the game now holds close ties with the culture of the country. The top domestic competitions are the professional ITM Cup and amateur Heartland Championship
Heartland Championship
The Heartland Championship New Zealand Division One competition, known for sponsorship reasons as the AA Rewards Heartland Championship, is a domestic rugby union competition in New Zealand. It was founded in 2006 as one of two successor competitions to the country's former domestic competition,...
, and above them Super Rugby, in which New Zealand has five franchises. The country hosted and won the first ever men's World Cup
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
final in 1987
1987 Rugby World Cup
The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. New Zealand and Australia agreed to co-host the first ever tournament with New Zealand hosting seventeen pool stage matches, two quarter-finals and the final with Australia being the junior partner hosting seven pool matches, two...
, and hosted and won the men's 2011
2011 Rugby World Cup
The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005...
tournament. They are the current world champions for both men and women.
History
Before Europeans arrived in New Zealand, the Māori were playing a ball game called ki-o-rahiKi-o-rahi
Ki-o-rahi is a ball sport played in New Zealand with a small round ball called a 'ki'. The game is widely known in Māori communities and in scattered mainstream locations throughout the country. It is a fast-paced sport incorporating skills similar to Australian Rules, rugby union, netball and touch...
which greatly resembled Australian Rules Football
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
and rugby football. It has been suggested that this may have influenced New Zealand playing styles, especially amongst the indigenous population.
Various codes of football
Football
Football may refer to one of a number of team sports which all involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball with the foot to score a goal. The most popular of these sports worldwide is association football, more commonly known as just "football" or "soccer"...
were played in New Zealand in the years following white settlement. Christchurch Football Club, which is now the oldest rugby club in the country, was founded in 1863. It played by its own rules for many years. Rugby football
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
was first introduced to New Zealand in 1870 by Charles John Monro
Charles John Monro
Charles John Monro is credited with bringing Rugby union to New Zealand. Charles was the 4th son of New Zealand politician Sir David Monro and his wife Dinah....
, son of the then-Speaker of the House of Representatives
Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives
In New Zealand the Speaker of the House of Representatives is the individual who chairs the country's legislative body, the New Zealand House of Representatives...
, David Monro
David Monro
Sir David Monro was a New Zealand politician. He served as Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 1861 to 1870.-Early life:...
. He encountered the game while studying at Christ's College Finchley
Christ's College Finchley
Christ's College is a state comprehensive secondary school in East Finchley, London, United Kingdom. It falls under the London Borough of Barnet Local Education Authority. It is a boys' school up to and including Year 11, and the sixth form is mixed, admitting up to 25% girls. The school presently...
, in East Finchley
East Finchley
East Finchley is a suburb in the London Borough of Barnet, in north London, and situated north-west of Charing Cross. Geographically it is somewhat separate from the rest of Finchley, with North Finchley and West Finchley to the north, and Finchley Central to the west.- History :The land on which...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and on his return introduced the game to Nelson College
Nelson College
Nelson College is a boys-only state secondary school in Nelson, New Zealand. It teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it runs a private Preparatory School for year 7 and 8 boys...
, who played the first rugby union match against Nelson football club on 14 May. A visit to Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
by Munro later that same year resulted in an organised match between Nelson
Nelson, New Zealand
Nelson is a city on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay, and is the economic and cultural centre of the Nelson-Tasman region. Established in 1841, it is the second oldest settled city in New Zealand and the oldest in the South Island....
and Wellington. By the following year, the game had been formalised in Wellington, and subsequently rugby was taken up in Wanganui
Wanganui
Whanganui , also spelled Wanganui, is an urban area and district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of the Manawatu-Wanganui region....
and Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
in 1873 and Hamilton
Hamilton, New Zealand
Hamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's fourth largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato Region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland...
in 1874. In 1875 the first representative team was formed, being a combined-clubs Auckland team which toured the South. It is thought that by the mid-1870s, the game had been taken up by the majority of the colony.
The latter stages of the 1870s saw the emergence of a more formal structure, with Unions being formed in both Canterbury
Canterbury, New Zealand
The New Zealand region of Canterbury is mainly composed of the Canterbury Plains and the surrounding mountains. Its main city, Christchurch, hosts the main office of the Christchurch City Council, the Canterbury Regional Council - called Environment Canterbury - and the University of Canterbury.-...
and Wellington during 1879. In 1882, the first international rugby side toured New Zealand, a New South Wales
New South Wales Waratahs
The New South Wales Waratahs are an Australian rugby union football team, representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super 15 Super Rugby competition...
side that visited both islands during the latter part of the year. Two years later, a New Zealand team visited New South Wales, wearing blue jerseys with a golden fern. The team won all their games. In 1888, the first ever British Isles rugby team
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
tour took place, visiting New Zealand and Australia. The visitors won all their New Zealand games except for one, losing to Auckland. During 1888-89, the New Zealand Native team
1888-1889 New Zealand Native football team
The 1888–1889 New Zealand Native football team was a New Zealand football team that toured Britain, Australia and New Zealand in 1888 and 1889. The team was composed mainly of players of Māori ancestry, although several Pakeha were included in the squad. The tour was a private endeavour, and was...
became the first from a colony to visit Britain. In 1892 the New Zealand Rugby Football Union
New Zealand Rugby Football Union
The New Zealand Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in New Zealand, it was founded in 1892, 12 years after the first Provincial Unions in New Zealand, and in 1949, became an affiliate to the International Rugby Board, the governing body of Rugby Union for the world...
(NZRFU) was established, to act as the national governing body of the sport. Following the establishment of the national governing body, the first NZRFU national sanctioned tour was undertaken in 1893, when a ten game tour of Australia was played. The team was captained by Thomas Ellison
Thomas Ellison
Thomas Rangiwahia Ellison, also known as Tom Ellison was a New Zealand rugby union player and lawyer. He led the first New Zealand representative rugby team organised by the New Zealand Rugby Union on their 1893 tour of Australia.Born in Otakou, Otago, Ellison was the first Māori to practise as a...
.
Ranfurly Shield
The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Ranfurly Shield is based on a challenge system, rather than a league or knockout competition as with most football trophies...
. Three years later, a 1905 New Zealand team, who became known as the "Originals
The Original All Blacks (1905)
The Original All Blacks were the first New Zealand national rugby union team to tour outside Australasia. They toured the British Isles, France and the United States of America during 1905–1906. Their opening game was against Devon on 16 September 1905 whom they defeated 55–4...
", toured the British Isles and France winning all of their games apart from controversially losing the test against Wales
Wales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
. As the team swept through Britain, some of the players took note of how rugby (league) was being played in the North of England. One player, Aucklander George Smith
George William Smith (New Zealand)
George William Smith was a New Zealand sportsman who excelled at track and field as well as both codes of rugby football.-Jockey:George was an extremely successful jockey and won the 1894 New Zealand Cup, riding Impulse...
met with Sydney entrepreneur James J. Giltinan on his way home, and discussed the opportunities of such a game. Meanwhile, New Zealander Albert Henry Baskervill had contacted the Northern Union to arrange a New Zealand tour, as he had just read about the game in an English magazine. The NZRU discouraged any involvement from its players and officials, nonetheless, a team departed a travelled to Sydney first, and were there labelled the All Golds, a play on All Blacks in reference to the player payments. The team went on to tour England. They played an import role in rugby league.
The 1930s saw a period of skill development for rugby in New Zealand. The 1940 All Black tour of South Africa was one of the first sporting events cancelled due to the Second World War. Rugby was however played in services sport, with games being played with South African allies during the North African desert campaign, also, most domestic competitions were suspended during this time. In 1976, the first ever season of the National Provincial Championship (succeeded in 2006 by the Air New Zealand Cup and Heartland Championship) went underway. In its inaugural format, Division One was made up of seven North Island teams and four South Island. The remaining provinces contested a split second division, though South and North teams did not meet each other, instead played their respective Island clubs. There was a separate relegation system in place for each the North and South, ensuring the number of teams from each island.
The 1981 Springbok Tour
1981 Springbok Tour
The 1981 South African rugby union tour of New Zealand was a controversial tour of New Zealand by the South Africa national rugby union team, known as "the Springboks"...
, or The Tour, went down as one of the most controversial rugby tours ever. From July to September, the Springboks
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
toured New Zealand. Rugby fans filled the stadiums, yet equal numbers of fans protested the games outside the stadiums. Police were divided into Red and Blue riot squads for the tour, and in preparation for possible trouble, all spectators were told to assemble in sports grounds at least an hour before kickoff. At a game at Rugby Park in Hamilton, around 350 protesters pulled down a fence and invaded the pitch. Police, already very worried, pulled the match when they found out a light plane piloted by a protester was headed to fly around the stadium. A protest turned violent in Wellington the following week, escalating the situation. During the final test match at Eden Park
Eden Park
Eden Park is the biggest stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. It is used primarily for rugby union in winter and cricket in summer . The ground also occasionally hostts rugby league matches. To accommodate all three sports, the cricket pitch is removable...
, a low flying plane dropped flour bombs over the pitch. These images were beamed around the world, and looked as though a civil crisis had engulfed New Zealand. A subsequent 1985 All Black tour was prevented by the High Court, but an unofficial tour took place the following year.
International Rugby Board
The International Rugby Board is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. It was founded in 1886 as the International Rugby Football Board by the unions of Scotland, Wales and Ireland. England refused to join until 1890. The International Rugby Football Board changed its name to the...
, now known as the International Rugby Board (IRB), requesting the possibility of hosting an inaugural Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
. The 1987 World Cup
1987 Rugby World Cup
The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. New Zealand and Australia agreed to co-host the first ever tournament with New Zealand hosting seventeen pool stage matches, two quarter-finals and the final with Australia being the junior partner hosting seven pool matches, two...
was eventually given to both New Zealand and Australia. The All Blacks made it to the final, where they would meet France
France national rugby union team
The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
. The All Blacks won and were crowned the first ever World Champions. In the 1980s, New Zealand provincial sides participated in the South Pacific Championship, along with teams from Australia and Fiji. In 1992 this type of competition was relaunched as the Super Sixes, and was expanded to the Super 10 later. As rugby entered the professional era in the mid 1990s, along with South Africa and Australia, New Zealand formed SANZAR
SANZAR
SANZAR is the body which operates Super Rugby and Tri Nations competitions in rugby union. It is a joint venture of the South African Rugby Union, the New Zealand Rugby Union and the Australian Rugby Union, formed in 1996.Created shortly after rugby's move to professionalism in 1995, SANZAR's two...
, which would see them start a provincial rugby competition, the Super 12. The 1996 Super 12 season
1996 Super 12 season
The 1996 Super 12 season was the inaugural season of the Super 12, contested by teams from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. The season ran from February to May 1996, with each team playing all the others once...
saw the Auckland Blues finish in second place, whilst the Waikato Chiefs 6th, the Otago Highlanders 8th, the Wellington Hurricanes 9th, and the Canterbury Crusaders 12th. The SANZAR agreement also saw the formation of the Tri Nations Series, a contest between the respective national sides, the All Blacks, Springboks
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
and Wallabies
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
. The All Blacks won the first series. Beginning in 2012 the series will be Joined with the Argentina Pumas
Argentina national rugby union team
The Argentina national rugby team, nicknamed Los Pumas, represents Argentina in international rugby union matches. The team, which plays in sky blue and white jerseys, is organised by the Argentine Rugby Union .Argentina played its first international rugby match in 1910 against a touring British...
to create The Rugby Championship. New Zealand was supposed to jointly host the 2003 World Cup
2003 Rugby World Cup
The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World...
with Australia, but a disagreement with the IRB saw the tournament given to Australia in its entirety. In 2006, New Zealand won the right to host the 2011 World Cup
2011 Rugby World Cup
The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005...
.
Culture
In New Zealand there are 520 clubs, 141,726 registered players and 2309 referees. In colonial New Zealand, rugby football served to hold loyalty to the Crown within the emigrant population, whilst introducing British culture to the Māori population. It was the New Zealand Natives' Rugby Tour of 1888/89 showed that New Zealand could compete with other nations, something they had trouble doing in another traditional sport, cricketCricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
. Similarly, the 1905-06 tour, in which the All Blacks went very close to a clean sweep tour (one loss against Wales), helped to create a sense of national pride around the All Blacks, as they appeared physically superior and pulled off an admirable performance on their British tour. It is also thought that this saw the emergence of the Kiwi
Kiwi
Kiwi are flightless birds endemic to New Zealand, in the genus Apteryx and family Apterygidae.At around the size of a domestic chicken, kiwi are by far the smallest living ratites and lay the largest egg in relation to their body size of any species of bird in the world...
as a national symbol. Rugby is considered to be a part of New Zealand life - dominating the sports media. The Haka
Haka
Haka is a traditional ancestral war cry, dance or challenge from the Māori people of New Zealand. It is a posture dance performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment...
, a Māori ceremonial dance, which has been immortalised in popular culture by the All Blacks has become an iconic image of sport. Rugby being the unofficial sport of New Zealand, attracts large sporting attendances, both in New Zealand and in other rugby nations. As many as 5000 people have simply turned out to All Black training sessions. There is a pay TV channel dedicated to rugby in New Zealand.
Ethnicity
Early forms of rugby had been played in New Zealand since the 1860s. While these were initially associated with the settler elite and the military, other colonists accustomed to hard physical labour also soon took part.In 1872, 'Wirihana' became the first recorded Māori rugby player when he turned out for Wanganui 'Country' in a 20-a-side fixture against their urban counterparts. While some all-Māori clubs were formed, such as Kiri Kiri near Thames, mixed teams were more common in areas like Poverty Bay which had substantial Māori populations.
Māori living in areas that had supported the Crown during the New Zealand Wars of the 1860s seem to have been the first to take up the sport. Jack Taiaroa and Joseph Warbrick were key members of the first representative New Zealand team, which toured New South Wales in 1884.
Governance
The New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) is responsible for rugby in the country. The NZRU was formed in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union with the original representation of seven unions though there was the original significant absence of Canterbury, Otago and Southland. The NZRFU joined the IRFB in 1949. There are 26 member unions within New Zealand. Every province also has its own union. In late 2005, New Zealand won the right to host the 2011 World Cup2011 Rugby World Cup
The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005...
.
All Blacks
New Zealand, commonly referred to as the All Blacks, are the most successful team in international rugby. They have a positive winning record against all Test nations, and have a win record of over 74% The first All Blacks Test match was played against Australia
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
at Sydney Cricket Ground
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
on 15 August 1903. New Zealand won 22 - 3, with The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
saying, 'The present New Zealand team have shown form so far in advance of every fifteen opposed to them that it seems almost impossible for Australia to put a side into the field with any hope of victory...'.
The major rugby playing nations of Scotland
Scotland national rugby union team
The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...
, Ireland
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
, Italy
Italy national rugby union team
The Italy national rugby union team represent the nation of Italy in the sport of rugby union. The team is also known as the Azzurri . Italy have been playing international rugby since the late 1920s, and since 2000 compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland,...
and Argentina
Argentina national rugby union team
The Argentina national rugby team, nicknamed Los Pumas, represents Argentina in international rugby union matches. The team, which plays in sky blue and white jerseys, is organised by the Argentine Rugby Union .Argentina played its first international rugby match in 1910 against a touring British...
have yet to defeat the All Blacks in a test match. The All Blacks were winners of the inaugural Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
in 1987 and were runners-up in 1995. The All Blacks were the only team to have reached the semi-final stage at every World Cup until the 2007 World Cup where they were defeated 20-18 by France in the quarter-finals. New Zealand won its second Rugby World Cup on home soil in 2011.
Junior All Blacks
The Junior All BlacksJunior All Blacks
The Junior All Blacks are a New Zealand rugby union team. The Junior All Blacks are not an age grade side, but the second national team behind the New Zealand national rugby union team....
are not an age grade side, but are the second national team behind the All Blacks. They were formerly known as New Zealand A, but the name was changed for marketing purposes. They compete in the Pacific Nations Cup competition alongside Australia A, Fiji
Fiji national rugby union team
The Fiji national rugby union team is a member of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance formerly along with Samoa and Tonga. In 2009, Samoa announced their departure from the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance, leaving just Fiji and Tonga. Fiji are ranked sixteenth in the world by the IRB as of 26...
, Japan
Japan national rugby union team
The Japan national rugby union team represent Japan in international rugby union competitions. Japan is traditionally the strongest rugby union power in Asia but has both enjoyed and endured mixed results against non-Asian teams over the years...
, Samoa
Samoa national rugby union team
The Manu Samoa is the men's representative side of the Samoa Rugby Union in both the 15's and the 7's for international competitions. The Samoa Rugby Union is owned by the affiliated rugby unions of Samoa. In Samoa, Manu Samoa is in honour of a famous Samoan warrior. From 1924 to 1997 Samoa was...
and Tonga
Tonga national rugby union team
The Tonga national rugby union team is nicknamed Ikale Tahi . Like their Polynesian neighbours, the Tongans start their matches with a war dance – the Kailao . They are members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance along with Fiji and Samoa...
. They won the inaugural IRB Pacific 5 Nations competition in 2006. In 2007 Australia A joined with the competition, changing its name to Pacific Nations Cup. The Junior All Blacks repeated their 2006 success in 2007 winning the competition with victories in all five of their matches including with a 50-0 thumping of their Australian conterparts at Carisbrook
Carisbrook
Carisbrook was a major sporting venue in Dunedin, New Zealand. The city's main domestic and international rugby union venue, it has also been used for other sports such as cricket, football, rugby league and motocross. Carisbrook has also hosted a Joe Cocker concert and frequently hosted pre-game...
Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
. The New Zealand Māori will play in the Pacific Nations Cup for the 2008 competition.
New Zealand Māori
The New Zealand MāoriNew Zealand Maori rugby union team
New Zealand Māori is a rugby union team that traditionally plays teams touring New Zealand. A prerequisite for playing in this team is that the player is to have Māori whakapapa or genealogy. In the past this rule was not strictly applied. In the past non-Māori players who looked Māori were often...
is a representative side that traditionally play teams touring New Zealand. A prerequisite for playing in this team is that the player must be at least 1/16 Māori descent. Due to the number of New Zealanders with some degree of Māori heritage, a large number of New Zealand rugby players are eligible. The team was formerly established in 1910, and has gone on to play many of the world's top Test teams, including the Springboks
South Africa national rugby union team
The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...
, and the British and Irish Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
. In the 2008 the New Zealand Māori will play in the Pacific Nations Cup.
Heartland XV
Previously known as the New Zealand Divisional XV, this team was revamped in 2006. Only players who have participated in the previous season's Heartland Championship are eligible for selection; this makes it effectively a Heartland all-star team. This team traditionally goes on second-level tours; their first tour under the Heartland name was a 2006 end-of-year tour to Argentina, where they played two provincial teams and the Argentina A side, splitting the provincial matches and losing to Argentina A.Their second tour, in November 2008, was a two-match trip to the USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The first match, in San Francisco, saw them defeat a Pacific Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
XV 39–12. They then travelled to Salt Lake City to take on a USA Select XV in one of the first events held in the new Rio Tinto Stadium, and came from behind to notch a 19–14 win.
Shortly after the tour, the NZRU announced that the Heartland XV would not be assembled in 2009, and would in the future tour every two years.
Black Ferns
The Black Ferns are the top national women's team in New Zealand. They are the current Women's Rugby World CupWomen's Rugby World Cup
The Women's Rugby World Cup is the premier international competition in rugby union for women. The tournament is organised by the sport's governing body the International Rugby Board...
champions, being 3 time winners after they won the 1998 tournament then again in 2002 in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
and again in 2006 in Canada.
Sevens
SevensRugby sevens
Rugby sevens, also known as seven-a-side or VIIs, is a variant of rugby union in which teams are made up of seven players, instead of the usual 15, with shorter matches. Rugby sevens is administered by the International Rugby Board , the body responsible for rugby union worldwide...
is a form of rugby union which involves 7 players per team rather than 15 in the regular game. The games are 7 minutes per half (10 minutes in a competition final) rather than 40 minutes per half in the 15-man game. The New Zealand Sevens
New Zealand national rugby union team (sevens)
The New Zealand national rugby union sevens team is the New Zealand representative team in rugby union sevens and competes in the IRB Sevens World Series, Rugby World Cup Sevens and the Commonwealth Games.-IRB Sevens:...
team compete in the IRB Sevens World Series
IRB Sevens World Series
The IRB Sevens World Series, known officially as the HSBC Sevens World Series as of the 2010-11 season, through sponsorship from banking group HSBC, and also sometimes called the World Sevens Series, is a series of international rugby union sevens tournaments organised for the first time in the...
, the Sevens World Cup
Rugby World Cup Sevens
The Rugby World Cup Sevens is the premier international Rugby sevens competition. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Rugby Board , and is contested by the men's national sevens teams every four years. The inaugural tournament was held in 1993 in Scotland, the...
, and the Commonwealth Games
Commonwealth Games
The Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
Sevens. The New Zealand Sevens team are also undefeated in the Sevens events in the Commonwealth Games. Since the inception of the Sevens World Series in 1999-2000 the New Zealand Sevens team have dominated the series, winning every season-long competition until 2006, when Fiji
Fiji national rugby union team (sevens)
The Fiji Sevens side is one of the most popular and successful Sevens teams in the world and has won the Hong Kong Sevens a record nine times since its inception in 1976. Fiji has also won the Sevens World Cup twice, winning that event in 1997 and 2005...
claimed the title. New Zealand regained the IRB Sevens title in 2007, and retained it in record-setting fashion in 2008.
Under 21s
The New Zealand Under 21s rugby union team is for players aged under 21. New Zealand Under 21 (formerly Colts) was first selected in 1955 and played annually until 2007. The Under 21s enjoyed great success on the world stage, winning world titles in 2000, 2001, 2003, and 2004.Under 20s
New Zealand formed an Under 20 side for the first time in 2008. The catalyst for the creation of this side was the IRB's decision to scrap its under-19 and under-21 world championships in favour of a single under-20 tournament to be known as the IRB Junior World ChampionshipIRB Junior World Championship
The IRB Junior World Championship is an international rugby union competition. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Rugby Board , and is contested by 12 men's junior national teams , with an under-20 age requirement. The inaugural tournament was held in June 2008,...
. The side competed in and won the inaugural competition
2008 IRB Junior World Championship
9th-12th Place Playoffs5th-8th Places Playoffs1st place playoffs- Semi-finals :----- 3rd place playoffs :-Final:-External links:*...
, held in June 2008 in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
Under 19s
The New Zealand Under 19s rugby team is for players aged under 19. New Zealand Under 19 was selected for the first time in 1990. They have been strong contenders during their time, and won the IRB Under 19 World Championship in 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2007Schoolboys
The New Zealand Schoolboys rugby union team is for secondary school students to help them aim for and achieve higher honors. New Zealand Schoolboys team is a great team to start out in and it brings you into the international scene early on. Famous past schoolboy players include Aaron Mauger, Mils Muliaina, and Joe Rokocoko.Super Rugby
Super Rugby is an international competition featuring teams from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa. The competition, governed by SANZAR, was formed in 1996 as Super 12 after the game turned professional. It became Super 14 in 2006 with the addition of one team each from Australia and South Africa, and Super Rugby in 2011 when a fifth Australian team joined. The current format includes five teams from each participating country.With the expansion to 15 teams, the competition format was dramatically changed. The league phase, originally a single round-robin, was replaced by a three-conference format, with each conference consisting of teams in one of the participating countries. Each team plays home-and-away against the other teams in its conference, plus single games against four teams in each other conference. The finals series was also changed. In the Super 12 and Super 14 eras, this was a knockout series involving the top four finishers. The knockout format was retained for Super Rugby, but now involves the three conference winners plus the top three non-winners without regard to conference. New Zealand is represented by the following franchises: Crusaders, Blues, Hurricanes, Chiefs and Highlanders.
New Zealand teams have dominated Super Rugby for much of its history, winning 10 of the 16 titles decided to date, although only one of the last five. The Crusaders are the most successful franchise having won 7 titles in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, and 2008. The Blues are the only other New Zealand team to have captured the title, having won in 1996, 1997 and 2003. Australia's Brumbies (two titles) and Reds
Queensland Reds
The Queensland Reds represent Queensland in the sport of rugby union in the Southern Hemisphere Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996 they were a representative team selected on merit from the rugby union club competitions in Queensland...
(one) and South Africa's Bulls (three) are the only teams from outside New Zealand to have won a title.
ITM Cup
The ITM Cup, started in 2006 and known as the Air New Zealand Cup from its inception until a change in sponsorship for 2010, is the premier domestic competition in New Zealand rugby. A fully professional competition contested by 14 provincial teams, it is the successor to Division One of the country's former domestic competition, the National Provincial Championship
National Provincial Championship
The National Provincial Championship, or NPC, is the major domestic rugby competition in New Zealand. The NPC has seen many alterations to its format and brand. Since 2006 the National Championship has been split into 2 competitions, the ITM Cup and the Heartland Championship...
(NPC).
The ITM Cup features the following teams from the former NPC Division One:
- AucklandAuckland Rugby Football UnionThe Auckland Rugby Football Union is the governing body of rugby union in the Auckland Region, in the North Island of New Zealand. Its colours are navy blue and white in a hoop design. Auckland's top representative team have won New Zealand's top provincial rugby competition 16 times, more than...
- Bay of PlentyBay of Plenty Rugby UnionThe Bay of Plenty Rugby Union is the official governing body for rugby union in the Bay of Plenty, in the North-East of the North Island...
- CanterburyCanterbury Rugby Football UnionThe Canterbury Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in a substantial part of the Canterbury region, in the middle of the South Island of New Zealand...
- North HarbourNorth Harbour Rugby UnionThe North Harbour Rugby Union , commonly referred to colloquially as North Harbour or simply Harbour, is a provincial rugby team which competes in the ITM Cup , the successor to the country's former domestic competition, the National Provincial Championship .-Area:Harbour Rugby encompasses a...
- NorthlandNorthland Rugby UnionThe Northland Rugby Football Union is the governing body of rugby union in the Northland region of New Zealand.-History:Rugby was first played in Northland in the 1870s, and the first union was set up in the province in 1895, known as the Marsden Football Union. The Northland union was founded in...
- OtagoOtago Rugby Football UnionThe Otago Rugby Football Union is the official governing body of rugby union for the Otago Region of New Zealand. The union is based in the city of Dunedin, and its home ground is Forsyth Barr Stadium. The top representative team competes in the ITM Cup, New Zealand's top provincial...
- SouthlandSouthland RugbyThe Southland Rugby Football Union is a provincial rugby union who govern the Southland Region founded in 1886. The headquarters of Southland Rugby are in Invercargill, New Zealand however the Southland Union also covers country teams such as Midlands of Winton and Excelsior Rugby Club of Gore.The...
- Taranaki
- WaikatoWaikato Rugby UnionThe Waikato Rugby Union is the official governing body of rugby union in the Waikato area in the North Island of New Zealand. Its senior representative team competes in the ITM Cup , and won the inaugural Air New Zealand Cup in 2006.Waikato Rugby Union was founded in 1921...
- WellingtonWellington Rugby Football UnionThe Wellington Rugby Football Union is the official governing body of rugby union in the city of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand...
It also features three teams from the former NPC Division Two:
- Counties ManukauCounties Manukau Rugby UnionThe Counties Manukau Rugby Football Union is the governing body of rugby union in the Franklin district of New Zealand. The Steelers colours are red, white, and black horizontal bands. The 'Steelers' moniker is a reference to the nearby Glenbrook steel factory...
- ManawatuManawatu Rugby UnionManawatu Rugby Union is the governing body of the sport of Rugby union in the Manawatu rugby province. The Union is based in the city of Palmerston North but has a catchment area from nearby towns in the province, including Feilding, Rongotea, Linton, Bulls, Pahiatua, Dannevirke and...
- Hawke's BayHawke's Bay Rugby UnionThe Hawke's Bay Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand. The union is based in Napier.-Representative rugby:...
plus one newly formed team, the merger of the former NPC Division Two teams of Marlborough and Nelson Bays:
- TasmanTasman Rugby UnionThe Tasman Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union at the top of the South Island in New Zealand. It is New Zealand's newest provincial union, founded in 2006 with the amalgamation of the existing Marlborough and Nelson Bays sub unions...
(formed by the merger of the Marlborough and Nelson Bays unions)
Beginning in 2011, the ITM Cup split into two divisions—the top-level Premiership and second-level Championship, each with seven teams. Promotion and relegation was reintroduced to the top level of provincial rugby; the winner of the Championship replaces the bottom team of the Premiership.
Heartland Championship
The Heartland Championship
Heartland Championship
The Heartland Championship New Zealand Division One competition, known for sponsorship reasons as the AA Rewards Heartland Championship, is a domestic rugby union competition in New Zealand. It was founded in 2006 as one of two successor competitions to the country's former domestic competition,...
is an amateur competition contested among 12 teams from the former NPC Divisions Two and Three. It was also founded in 2006 as a result of the reorganisation of the NPC, and is directly run by the NZRU. Its teams compete for the Meads
Meads Cup
The Meads Cup is a rugby cup named after the All Black Colin Meads. It is a cup played for in New Zealand between provincial rugby teams. The Meads Cup is played for during the Heartland Championship...
and Lochore Cups, named after famous All Blacks Colin Meads
Colin Meads
Sir Colin Earl Meads, KNZM, MBE , is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer. He played 55 test matches , most frequently in the lock forward position, for New Zealand's national team, the All Blacks, from 1957 until 1971.Meads is widely considered one of the greatest players in history...
and Brian Lochore
Brian Lochore
Sir Brian James Lochore, ONZ, KNZM, OBE is a former rugby union footballer and coach who represented and captained the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks. He played at number 8 and lock, as well as captaining the side 46 times...
. The participating teams are:
- BullerBuller Rugby Football UnionThe Buller Rugby Union is a rugby province based in the town of Westport, New Zealand. The Buller provincial boundary also includes other notable towns such as Reefton, Karamea, Granity, Charleston, Punakaiki and Murchison .-History:Buller was formed in 1894...
- East CoastEast Coast Rugby Football UnionThe East Coast Rugby Football Union is a constituent union in the New Zealand Rugby Union. It is located on the East Coast of the North Island, based in Ruatoria. It is the smallest Union in New Zealand in the sense of player numbers and population base...
- Horowhenua-KapitiHorowhenua-Kapiti Rugby Football Union-Representative Rugby:The Horowhenua-Kapiti team play from Levin Domain, Levin and in the 2006 season are in Pool B of the Heartland Championship. They are seeded 6th qualifiers for the Championship as they were runner-ups in the 3rd division in 2005....
- King CountryKing Country Rugby Football UnionThe King Country Rugby Football Union is a constituent union in the New Zealand Rugby Union. It is located in the central North Island of New Zealand...
- Mid CanterburyMid Canterbury Rugby Football UnionThe Mid Canterbury Rugby Football Union is a rugby province in the South Island of New Zealand.-History:The Mid Canterbury Rugby Football Union was formed in 1904 as Ashburton Country when it broke away from the Canterbury Rugby Football Union...
- North OtagoNorth Otago Rugby Football UnionThe North Otago Rugby Football Union is a New Zealand rugby union province based in Oamaru and current holders of the Meads cup, the top trophy in the Heartland Championship. They are one of the strongest teams in The Heartland Championship, winning the Meads Cup section of the competition in its...
- Poverty BayPoverty Bay Rugby Football UnionThe Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union, which governs rugby union within the Gisborne region surrounding Poverty Bay in New Zealand, was formed in 1890....
- South CanterburySouth Canterbury Rugby Football UnionThe South Canterbury Rugby Football Union is a rugby province based in the central South Island city of Timaru, New Zealand. The South Canterbury team play from Alpine Energy Stadium located in Timaru.-History:...
- Thames ValleyThames Valley Rugby Football UnionThe Thames Valley Rugby Football Union is the official governing body of rugby union in the region of Thames Valley in the North Island of New Zealand...
- Wairarapa BushWairarapa Bush Rugby Football UnionThe Wairarapa Bush Rugby Football Union was formed in 1971 with the amalgamation of the Wairarapa Rugby Football Union and Bush Rugby Football Union....
- WanganuiWanganui Rugby Football UnionThe Wanganui Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in the Wanganui region of New Zealand. The Wanganui Rugby Football Union was formed in 1888....
- West CoastWest Coast Rugby Football UnionThe West Coast Rugby Football Union, formed in 1890, is the official governing body for rugby union in a substantial part of the West Coast region of New Zealand and is affiliated to the New Zealand Rugby Union. The team is based in Greymouth and plays home matches at Rugby Park....
Ranfurly Shield
The Ranfurly ShieldRanfurly Shield
The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Ranfurly Shield is based on a challenge system, rather than a league or knockout competition as with most football trophies...
, also known as the Log of Wood, has been competed for on a challenge basis by provincial teams since 1904. The holding union must defend the Shield in challenge matches, and if a challenger defeats them, they become the new holder of the Shield. The Shield was first presented by the Governor of New Zealand, the Earl of Ranfurly
Earl of Ranfurly
Earl of Ranfurly, of Dungannon in the County of Tyrone, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1831 for Thomas Knox, 2nd Viscount Northland. He had earlier represented County Tyrone in the House of Commons, and had already been created Baron Ranfurly, of Ramphorlie in the County of...
. The current holders are Taranaki.
Club
Each ITM Cup and Heartland Championship region conducts local intra-provincial club competitions. The club level is often followed by the local media and has local support. Clubs often rely on the Pub Charity in order to survive. In total, 520 clubs are affiliated to the NZRU.World Cup
The Rugby World CupRugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
is considered the ultimate rugby competition. The New Zealand All Blacks won the first world cup in 1987, beating France in the final. Since then the All Blacks have been favourites on several occasions, but have not won the competition again, losing to Australia in the semi-final in 2003 and falling to the French team in the quarter-final of the 2007 Rugby World Cup. The All Blacks eventually regained the World Cup on home soil in 2011, ending a 24 year drought.
Intense lobbying by the NZRFU and the New Zealand Government helped New Zealand secure hosting rights to the 2011 Rugby World Cup
2011 Rugby World Cup
The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005...
.
Tri Nations and The Rugby Championship
The Tri Nations was an annual competition involving New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa held from 1996 through 2011. Originally, this involved each country playing one home and one away game against both other countries. From 2006 the competition was expanded with each nation playing both the other nations three times (except in Rugby World Cup years, when it reverted to a home-and-away series). The All Blacks won the first series in 1996, as well as the subsequent 1997 series. They have been the most dominant team in the series, winning it nine times in total, compared to the Springboks three and the Wallabies' two.In 2012, Argentina
Argentina national rugby union team
The Argentina national rugby team, nicknamed Los Pumas, represents Argentina in international rugby union matches. The team, which plays in sky blue and white jerseys, is organised by the Argentine Rugby Union .Argentina played its first international rugby match in 1910 against a touring British...
will join the competition, which will become The Rugby Championship. With four nations now involved, the tournament will return to a straight home-and-away format.
The Freedom Cup
Freedom Cup
The Freedom Cup is a minor international rugby union trophy contested between South Africa and New Zealand, during the Tri Nations tournament and its successor, The Rugby Championship. It was first contested in 2004 , in a one-off test. The game, played at Ellis Park, Johannesburg was won 40-26 by...
is contested between New Zealand and South Africa, first as part of the Tri Nations and now in The Rugby Championship.
Bledisloe Cup
The Bledisloe CupBledisloe Cup
Rugby Union's Bledisloe Cup is contested by the Australia national rugby union team and New Zealand national rugby union team. It is named after Lord Bledisloe, the former Governor-General of New Zealand who donated the trophy in 1931. The trophy was designed in New Zealand by Nelson Isaac, and...
reflects the rivalry between Australia and New Zealand and has been contested since the early 1930s. The Bledisloe Cup was irregularly contested between 1931 and 1981, usually during tours by the two nations. During this period, New Zealand won it 19 times and Australia four times. In 1982 it became an annual contest, being contested either as a single game or in a three-test series. Between 1982 and 1995 New Zealand won the Cup 11 times and Australia three times. Since 1996 the Bledisloe Cup has been contested as part of the Tri Nations/Rugby Championship. In total, the All Blacks have won 67 Bledisloe Cup games, Australia 30, with four draws.
Pacific Nations Cup
The Pacific Nations Cup is a competition that started in 2006 under the name of IRB Pacific 5 Nations involving the Junior All Blacks, FijiFiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
, and Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
. In 2007, Australia A joined the tournament. The Junior All Blacks played their homes games at North Harbour Stadium
North Harbour Stadium
North Harbour Stadium is a stadium, situated in Albany, in North Shore City, in New Zealand. It was opened in 1997, after nearly a decade of discussion, planning and construction. Rugby union, football and rugby League are the only sports played on the main ground, as it is rectangular in shape....
, Yarrow Stadium
Yarrow Stadium
Yarrow Stadium is situated in the central suburb of Westown in New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand, with main vehicle access off Maratahu St...
and Carisbrook
Carisbrook
Carisbrook was a major sporting venue in Dunedin, New Zealand. The city's main domestic and international rugby union venue, it has also been used for other sports such as cricket, football, rugby league and motocross. Carisbrook has also hosted a Joe Cocker concert and frequently hosted pre-game...
. The Pacific Nations Cup is an IRB tournament funded as part of the $US50 million, three-year, global strategic investment programme that was launched in August 2005. As of 2008 the New Zealand Māori rugby union team
New Zealand Maori rugby union team
New Zealand Māori is a rugby union team that traditionally plays teams touring New Zealand. A prerequisite for playing in this team is that the player is to have Māori whakapapa or genealogy. In the past this rule was not strictly applied. In the past non-Māori players who looked Māori were often...
will be the team participating from New Zealand with the Junior All Blacks being left out.
Churchill Cup
The Churchill CupChurchill Cup
The Churchill Cup was an annual rugby union tournament, held in June, contested by representative men's teams from Canada, England, the United States, and other invited teams from a wide array of countries....
is a tournament originally intended to help build depth in rugby in Canada and the USA, and an opportunity to develop new players for the England national team. The New Zealand Māori along with the Black Ferns participated in the 2004 event, winning their respective tournaments. However, the following year, the Māori had to pull out as it conflicted with their fixtures against the British and Irish Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
. The Māori competed in and won the 2006 tournament
2006 Churchill Cup
The 2006 Churchill Cup is a Rugby Union competition, typically between the second teams of various top tier international Rugby nations and the first teams of traditionally less prominent teams, such as Canada and the USA. It first began on June 3, 2006 and ended on June 17. The 2006 competition...
. There was no women's event in either 2005 or 2006 due to Canada's preparations to host the 2006 Women's Rugby World Cup
2006 Women's Rugby World Cup
The 2006 Women's Rugby World Cup took place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The tournament began on 31 August and ended on 17 September 2006. The 2006 tournament was the third World Cup approved by the IRB, the previous two being held 2002 in Spain and in the Netherlands, in 1998...
, and the women's tournament was never revived. As of 2008 the New Zealand Māori rugby union team
New Zealand Maori rugby union team
New Zealand Māori is a rugby union team that traditionally plays teams touring New Zealand. A prerequisite for playing in this team is that the player is to have Māori whakapapa or genealogy. In the past this rule was not strictly applied. In the past non-Māori players who looked Māori were often...
will no longer participate as they will be competing for the Pacific Nations Cup
World Cup Sevens
The Rugby World Cup SevensRugby World Cup Sevens
The Rugby World Cup Sevens is the premier international Rugby sevens competition. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Rugby Board , and is contested by the men's national sevens teams every four years. The inaugural tournament was held in 1993 in Scotland, the...
is the IRB's equivalent to the (15-man) Rugby World Cup. It is also held every four years, specifically in the odd-numbered years in which the 15-man RWC is not held. The competition was first held in 1993. New Zealand won in 2001, and were losing finalists to Fiji
Fiji national rugby union team (sevens)
The Fiji Sevens side is one of the most popular and successful Sevens teams in the world and has won the Hong Kong Sevens a record nine times since its inception in 1976. Fiji has also won the Sevens World Cup twice, winning that event in 1997 and 2005...
in 2005. The upcoming 2013
2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens
The 2013 Rugby Sevens World Cup, to be held in Moscow, Russia, will be the sixth edition of the Rugby World Cup Sevens. The International Rugby Board has stated that the Rugby World Cup Sevens will be scrapped if rugby sevens were to be included in the Olympic programme for the 2016 Summer Olympics...
edition, to be held in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, will be the last, as it will be replaced by an Olympic sevens tournament
Rugby union at the Summer Olympics
Rugby union has been a men's medal sport at the modern Summer Olympic Games, being played at four of the first seven competitions. The sport debuted at the 1900 Paris games where the gold medal was won by the host nation. It was subsequently featured at the London games in 1908, the Antwerp games...
in 2016
2016 Summer Olympics
The 2016 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, are a major international multi-sport event to be celebrated in the tradition of the Olympic Games, as governed by the International Olympic Committee...
.
IRB Sevens World Series
The IRB Sevens World SeriesIRB Sevens World Series
The IRB Sevens World Series, known officially as the HSBC Sevens World Series as of the 2010-11 season, through sponsorship from banking group HSBC, and also sometimes called the World Sevens Series, is a series of international rugby union sevens tournaments organised for the first time in the...
, held annually since 1999-2000, is a series of several international tournaments, currently nine, featuring full international sevens teams. New Zealand have been the dominant team throughout the series' history, winning the first six editions (2000–2005), and again in 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011. New Zealand hosts one leg, the New Zealand International Sevens
Wellington Sevens
The Wellington Sevens or the New Zealand International Sevens is an annual rugby sevens tournament held in Wellington, New Zealand. The tournament, the third on the IRB Sevens World Series circuit, is played at Wellington's Westpac Stadium in early February and includes teams from 16 countries...
, at Westpac Stadium
Westpac Stadium
Westpac Stadium, is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. Due to its shape and silver coloured external walls, it is colloquially known as The Cake-Tin to the locals and other New Zealanders...
in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
.
Further reading
- Richards, Huw A Game for Hooligans: The History of Rugby Union (Mainstream PublishingMainstream PublishingMainstream Publishing is a publishing company in Edinburgh, Scotland, founded in 1978. It is associated with the Random House Group, who bought Mainstream in 2005....
, EdinburghEdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, 2007, ISBN 9781845962555)