Northland Rugby Union Explained

Northland Rugby
Abbrev:NRU
Logosize:115
Sport:Rugby union
Jurisdiction:Northland Region
Aff:New Zealand Rugby
Headquarters:Whangārei
Chiefexec:Cameron Bell
Coach:George Konia
Womenscoach:Cheryl Smith
Url:www.taniwha.co.nz
Countryflag:NZL

The Northland Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in Northland, New Zealand; Northland is a region of New Zealand that covers areas in the districts of Far North, Kaipara, and Whangārei. Established in 1920, they represent the Bunnings NPC side, Northland Taniwha, and Farah Palmer Cup side, Northland Kauri.[1] It is also affiliated with the Blues Super Rugby franchise. Their home playing colours are sky blue and they play their home games at Semenoff Stadium in Morningside.

Affiliated clubs

There are currently 39 registered clubs incorporated and secondary schools affiliated with the Northland Rugby Union, most of which have teams at both senior and junior levels.

History

Early years

Northland Rugby Union was known as North Auckland Rugby Union following the amalgamation of Whangārei, Northern Wairoa, Bay of Islands, and Otamatea initially and then followed by Mangonui, Kaipara, Hokianga, Whangaroa, and Rodney in 1925. Rugby union was first played in Northland in late 1880, and the first union was set up in the province in 1895, known as the Marsden Football Union.[34] In 1994, North Auckland changed its name to the Northland Rugby Football Union. They played their first ever match as a union on 3 August 1920, in an 11-0 victory over South Island Country. However, they did not play their first inter-union match until 27 July 1922, an 8-6 loss to Auckland. Their first inter-union win came in August 1923, when they beat King Country[35]

The Auckland Rugby Union and Northland Rugby Union became regular rivals. They had Ranfurly Shield victories over them in 1960 and 1971. Northland won the Ranfurly Shield on two further occasions. 1950, when they defeated South Canterbury and 1978, when they defeated Manawatu. In the 1971 challenge Northland won 17-12 in a narrow match played in front of 47,000 people at Eden Park, Auckland. The following season 40,000 spectators packed Whangārei Okara Park to watch the rematch. With the city's population only 34,000, this showcased the significance of both the shield and the rivalry with Auckland. However they lost 15-16.[35]

The reputation of Northland rugby took a downfall following its controversial victory over Manawatu in 1978. After what seemed to be an excessive amount of stoppage time, Northland kicked a winning penalty. What followed was the refusal that the union wouldn’t put the shield on the line for its final home matches of the season against Southland and Otago. However no rules were broken.[35]

Professional era

Northland began their professional era playing in the inaugural Air New Zealand Cup competition. They are known as the Taniwha, a reference to the mascot adopted in the professional era. Along with Auckland and North Harbour, Northland is part of the Blues Super Rugby franchise.[35]

Season standings

The following is a summary of every season for the Northland Taniwha since 2006. Position indicates the teams regular season finish.

YearPositionPlayedWonDrawnLostPointsCaptainHead Coach Finals<--P W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts -->
200610th9 3 1 5 14
200710th10 3 1 6 19
20089th10 4 0 6 22
200913th13 3 1 9 16 Bryce Woodward
201010th13 5 0 8 29 <-- comment out
Championship -->
20115th10 4 0 6 19 Adriaan Ferris
20125th10 3 0 7 17 Rene Ranger
20136th10 2 1 7 13 Derren Witcombe
20143rd11 5 0 6 25 Cameron EyreLost to in semi final
20157th10 0 0 10 1 Richie Harris
20166th10 1 0 9 11
20174th11 5 0 6 25 Derren WitcombeLost to in semi final
20184th11 4 0 7 24Lost to in semi final
20196th10 2 0 8 11 Jordan Olsen
20203rd12 6 0 6 24 George KoniaLost to in final
20215th9 1 0 8 12

Key:

Blue bar denotes Championship division

Records and statistics

All Blacks

Northland has produced 32 All Blacks to date.[36] Below is a list of Northland New Zealand national rugby union players along with their All Black number, year of debut and number of All Black games.

PlayerDebutCaps
240Charles Fletcher19211
305Innes Finlayson192536
364Bill Heke19296
367Alf Waterman19297
461Johnny Smith19469
482Peter Smith19473
518Nau Cherrington19507
541Ian Irvine19521
556Peter Jones195337
605Des Webb19591
621Victor Yates19619
655Sid Going196786
681Bevan Holmes197031
682Richie Guy19719
700Hamish Macdonald197248
723Murray Jones19735
726Peter Sloane197316
733Joe Morgan197422
742Ken Going19743
790Eddie Dunn197820
800Mike Burgoyne19796
822Fred Woodman198014
829Wayne Neville19814
835Ian Dunn198313
844Alastair Robinson19834
855Kawhena Woodman19846
877Michael Speight19865
902Ian Jones1989105
930Glenn Taylor19926
976Norm Berryman19981
1106Rene Ranger20106
1165Jack Goodhue201719

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Northland Rugby Union . 2024-05-25 . www.northlandrugby.co.nz.
  2. Web site: Awanui Rugby Football Club . New Zealand Business Number . 11 March 1965 . 9 September 2020 .
  3. Web site: Eastern United Rugby & Sports Club . New Zealand Business Number . 12 September 1977 . 9 September 2020 .
  4. Web site: The Hora Hora Rugby Union Football Club . New Zealand Business Number . 25 May 1951 . 9 September 2020 .
  5. Web site: Kaeo Rugby and Sports Club . New Zealand Business Number . 6 November 1963 . 9 September 2020 .
  6. Web site: Kaihu Valley Rugby Football Club . New Zealand Business Number . 16 August 1977 . 9 September 2020 .
  7. Web site: Kaikohe Rugby Football and Sports Club . New Zealand Business Number . 22 March 1949 . 9 September 2020 .
  8. Web site: Kaitaia City Rugby Union Football Club . New Zealand Business Number . 16 July 1956 . 9 September 2020 .
  9. Web site: Kamo Rugby and Squash Club . New Zealand Business Number . 10 July 1958 . 9 September 2020 .
  10. Web site: Kerikeri Rugby Union Football Club . New Zealand Business Number . 23 May 1968 . 9 September 2020 .
  11. Web site: Mangakahia Rugby Club . New Zealand Business Number . 7 December 2015 . 9 September 2020 .
  12. Web site: Mid-Northern Rugby Football Club . New Zealand Business Number . 9 July 1970 . 9 September 2020 .
  13. Web site: Midwestern Rugby Union And Squash Club . New Zealand Business Number . 27 September 1972 . 9 September 2020 .
  14. Web site: Moerewa Rugby Football and Recreation Sports Club . New Zealand Business Number . 3 May 1971 . 9 September 2020 .
  15. Web site: Old Boys Marist Rugby & Sports Club . New Zealand Business Number . 4 October 1951 . 9 September 2020 .
  16. Web site: Old Boys Rugby Football & Softball Club . New Zealand Business Number . 18 July 1979 . 9 September 2020 .
  17. Web site: Onerahi Rugby Football Club . New Zealand Business Number . 10 July 1957 . 9 September 2020 .
  18. Web site: Otamatea Hawks Rugby Club . New Zealand Business Number . 1 May 2002 . 9 September 2020 .
  19. Web site: Taiamai Ohaeawai Rugby Football and Sports Club . New Zealand Business Number . 24 April 2006 . 9 September 2020 .
  20. Web site: Te Rarawa Rugby Club . New Zealand Business Number . 20 June 1984 . 9 September 2020 .
  21. Web site: The Aupouri Rugby Football and Sports Club . New Zealand Business Number . 25 July 1983 . 9 September 2020 .
  22. Web site: The City Rugby Union Football Club . New Zealand Business Number . 7 July 1948 . 9 September 2020 .
  23. Web site: The Dargaville Rugby and Sports Club . New Zealand Business Number . 30 March 1965 . 9 September 2020 .
  24. Web site: The Hikurangi Rugby Union Football Club . New Zealand Business Number . 23 February 1953 . 9 September 2020 .
  25. Web site: The Okaihau Rugby Union Football and Sports Club . New Zealand Business Number . 1 April 1975 . 9 September 2020 .
  26. Web site: The Otiria Rugby Union Football and Sports Club . New Zealand Business Number . 6 December 1971 . 9 September 2020 .
  27. Web site: The Southern Football Club . New Zealand Business Number . 9 December 1947 . 9 September 2020 .
  28. Web site: The Tomarata Rugby Football Club . New Zealand Business Number . 23 March 1962 . 9 September 2020 .
  29. Web site: Tikipunga Rugby Club . New Zealand Business Number . 15 April 1977 . 9 September 2020 .
  30. Web site: United Kawakawa Rugby Football Club . New Zealand Business Number . 24 May 1971 . 9 September 2020 .
  31. Web site: Waipu Rugby Squash Club . New Zealand Business Number . 16 December 1975 . 9 September 2020 .
  32. Web site: Wellsford Rugby Football Club . New Zealand Business Number . 3 December 1973 . 9 September 2020 .
  33. Web site: Whangaruru Rugby Football Club . New Zealand Business Number . 19 March 2019 . 9 September 2020 .
  34. Web site: Northland Rugby History About . Murray Dunn . Northland Rugby Union . 15 September 2020 . 15 September 2020 .
  35. Web site: Northland Rugby History . Ministry for Culture and Heritage . New Zealand History . 9 October 2015 . 15 September 2020 .
  36. News: Northland All Blacks . Northland Rugby Union . 16 September 2020 . 16 September 2020.