Tasman Rugby Union Explained

Tasman Rugby Union
Abbrev:TRU
Logosize:250px
Sport:Rugby union
Aff:New Zealand Rugby
Headquarters:Nelson
Url:http://www.tasmanrugby.co.nz/
Countryflag:NZL

The Tasman Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere, a bay at the north end of the South Island in New Zealand. Headquartered in Nelson, TRU is New Zealand's newest provincial union, founded in 2006 with the amalgamation of the existing Marlborough and Nelson Bays sub unions.[1]

The union's premier team is the Tasman Mako which compete in New Zealand's provincial rugby competition, the Bunnings NPC.

Club rugby

There are 22 clubs in the Tasman Union.

  • Awatere Rugby Club
  • Buccaneers Rugby Club
  • Central Rugby Club
  • Collingwood Rugby Club
  • Harlequins Rugby Club
  • Huia Rugby Club
  • Kahurangi Rugby Club
  • Marist Rugby Club
  • Motueka United Rugby Club
  • Moutere Rugby Club
  • Murchison Rugby Club
  • Nelson Rugby Club
  • Pelorus Rugby Club
  • Rangers Rugby Club
  • Renwick Rugby Club
  • Riwaka Rugby Club
  • Stoke Rugby Club
  • Takaka Rugby Club
  • Tapawera Rugby Club
  • Waimea Old Boys Rugby Club
  • Waitohi Rugby Club
  • Wanderers Rugby Club

History

When the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) reviewed the domestic competitions in 2005, a new 14 team premier division of competition was created, as the Air New Zealand Cup, taking the place of the National Provincial Championship (NPC).

The restructured domestic competition opened the door for the Nelson Bays and Marlborough Rugby Unions to form a relationship, forming one organisation in an attempt to be awarded a position in the new competition.

Early years: 2006 to 2010

A Tasman 15 played Canada 'A' on April 26, 2006 at Trafalgar Park.[2] The Tasman side won by 40 points, the final score being 48 points to 8. The Mako were grouped in Pool A of the 2006 Air New Zealand Cup.

In their first ever match in the Air New Zealand Cup, the Mako earned a bonus point in a loss to the North Harbour team, losing 33 points to 27. They were defeated by Auckland the following week by 40 points. However, the Mako won their first match in round three, defeating Manawatu by 43 points to 0.Their only other win of the season came at home against, with an impressive 56–15 win.Despite the season record of just 2 wins and 7 losses, the Mako showed the ability to compete and provided a platform to build for the future.Ti'i Paulo captained the side.[3]

The 2007 season was disappointing for the Mako, finishing the season with a record of 2 wins and 8 losses. Wins came against and, with close losses against and .[4]

Early on in the 2008 season, the NZRU announced that Tasman and would be relegated from the competition at the end of the season, due to failing to meet a set of criteria including financial stability. With the axe hovering over them, the Mako produced their best season yet, silencing their critics.

In round 2 against, Tasman first five Miah Nikora nailed a stunning last minute drop goal to snatch a 14–16 victory and claim the Mako first scalp over a major union. This was followed with wins over,, and a draw against to see the Mako finish the season 7th on the ladder. Facing a strong side in the quarter-finals, the Mako lost 48–10. However, their strong season coupled with public pressure forced the NZRU to reverse its decision and announce that Tasman and would remain in the competition.[5]

There were doubts as to whether Tasman would contest the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup, with funding issues and disagreement amongst its stakeholders on its future.[6] However, these disputes were resolved and Tasman finished the 2009 season in 9th place with 6 wins and 7 losses, with their most memorable performance coming in round 9 against . Tasman won 12–8 in the most significant result of their short history. The Mako had come from the brink of extinction to topple the biggest union in the country.[7]

2010 was disappointing for the Mako, finishing the season in 12th place on the ladder with just 4 wins, failing to hold on to their mid table status achieved in the previous two seasons.[8] However, the Mako managed to upset eventual champions and neighbours in round 4, with a famous 27–25 victory at Trafalgar Park.[9]

Championship division: 2011 to 2013

In 2011, the ITM Cup was restructured into two competitions, with the top 7 teams competing for the Premiership title and the next 7 teams competing for the Championship title. Each province played the other 6 teams in their own division once, plus 4 interdivisional matches.[10]

The Tasman Mako played in the Championship for 2011. Despite taking just 2 wins and finishing in last spot for the season, the Mako were well received by their fans by playing a positive attacking brand of rugby that included 4 losses by 4 points or less. Upset victories were achieved against 21–19 in Napier,[11] and (again) 30–28 in Nelson.[12] Shane Christie and James Marshall were selected for the New Zealand sevens team that year.[13] [14]

2012 was a good season for the Mako, recording a win over to start their season the Mako went on to win 5 out of their 10 round robin games and made the semi-final where they lost to 41-34.[15] [16]

In 2013 for the first time in their short history the Mako gained promotion to the Premiership division as they won the Championship playing 12 games in the season and coming away with 10 wins, including a 49-28 win over in the semi-final at Lansdowne Park and the victory which sent them to the Premiership which was a tight 26-25 win over at Trafalgar Park.[17] [18]

Premiership division: 2014 to 2021

Tasman was promoted to the ITM Cup Premiership division for the 2014 season.

The Mako had a very good first year in the Premiership in 2014, making it all the way to the Premiership final where they lost in a close contest 36-32 to at Yarrow Stadium. The Mako played 12 games in the 2014 season with 8 wins, 3 losses and a 16-16 draw against at Eden Park.[19] [20]

2015 was again a solid year for the Mako, playing 11 games with 7 wins and 4 losses. The Mako made it to the semi-final but lost 44-24 against at Eden Park.[21]

2016 and 2017 were very similar years for the Mako, making the final in both seasons. The 2016 season saw the Mako play 12 games with 8 wins, 3 losses and a 27-27 draw against at North Harbour Stadium.[22] While the 2017 season saw the Mako play 12 games, winning 7 and losing 5. Both years though saw the Mako go down to in the final, played at Christchurch Stadium both years, with the 2016 scoreline being 43-27 and the 2017 scoreline being 35-13.[23] [24] The team also went through a rebrand, changing the logo and team colours ahead of the 2016 season.[25] The logo was later changed back after it received widespread criticism.[26]

2018 was again a very good year for the Mako, winning 9 out of 10 of their round robin fixtures - losing only to 36-10 at Eden Park. The team made the semi-finals but lost 16-21 to in a controversial game at Trafalgar Park.[27] 20 of the Mako squad from the 2018 season would go on to earn Super Rugby contracts for the 2019 Super Rugby season.[28] Ahead of the 2018 season, the team changed their name from the Tasman Makos to Tasman Mako, with 'Mako' being the correct plural of the Māori name.[29]

After just 14 seasons the Tasman Mako reached the pinnacle of New Zealand provincial rugby, winning the 2019 Mitre 10 Cup and doing it unbeaten. After going through the round robin with 10 wins from 10 games the Mako played at Lansdowne Park coming away with an 18-9 win in a game that went right down to the wire. The Mako then had their fourth crack at the Premiership title when they faced at Trafalgar Park and it was fourth time lucky as the Mako came away with the win 31-14.[30] [31] [32]

The Mako became just the second team to win back to back premiership titles, winning the 2020 Mitre 10 Cup. Hit hard by injury and without many players from their 2019 heroics the Mako were not as dominant in 2020 with heavy losses in the regular season to (40-24), (31-10) and (0-29). The Mako finished second on the premiership standings and came up against in the semi-final at Trafalgar Park, coming away with the win 19-10. They qualified for their sixth final in eight years, coming up against at Eden Park. In what was a thrilling game the Mako came away with the win 12-13.[33] [34] [35]

Tasman were unable to defend their premiership title in 2021, it was a great start to the season with wins over (14–27), (16–11) and (29–48) before the side suffered a first loss 22–39 at the hands of . The Mako bounced back thumping 51–14 before having a crack at the Ranfurly Shield against where they were again unsuccessful 34–22. The side then played a non competition match against in miserable conditions, coming away with the win 26–9. A third loss came against 24–20 in Christchurch meaning it was a must win game for the Mako in Round 10 against where they came away with an impressive 34–22 win. were favourites ahead of the semi-final in Napier after losing only 1 game in the regular season, Tasman came up big hanging on to win 27–33. Yet another final for the Mako and they had a chance to make it a three peat when they met in the final in Hamilton, the side conceded 2 intercept tries and because of this lost 23–20.

Combined competition: 2022 to present

2022 was a season full of disappointment for the Mako with just 4 wins from 10 games, failing to make the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. The side was missing many key players with injury and All Blacks duties but still managed to drop many games they should have won. The best performance of the season came over (52-17).

The Mako bounced back in 2023 as they made the quarter finals before losing to, the most impressive wins came over (24-12), (58-19) and (18-29 in the regular season). Anton Segner had a stand out season and Alex Nankivell played his final season for the side after 81 appearances.

Ranfurly Shield

Tasman has not held the Ranfurly Shield but Marlborough held the shield for six challenges in 1973.[36]

Tasman have been involved in four Ranfurly Shield challenges since the union's inception in 2006.[37] Tasman lost their first challenge 26–20 at the hands of Wellington in 2008,[38] and their second challenge 49–40 to Taranaki in 2012.[39] Their third challenge was against Hawke's Bay in 2021, where they were defeated 34–22.[40] They had another challenge in 2023, a 7-0 loss to .

Season standings

The following is a summary of every season for the Tasman Mako since 2006.

YearPositionPlayedWonDrawnLostPointsCaptainHead Coach Finals<--P W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts -->
200612th9 2 0 7 13 Dennis Brown
200711th10 2 0 8 12
20087th11 4 1 6 23 Todd BlackadderLost to Canterbury in quarterfinal
20099th13 6 0 7 28 Kieran Keane
201012th13 4 0 9 20 Chris Jack<-- comment out
Championship -->
20117th10 2 0 8 13 Andrew Goodman
20123rd11 5 0 6 24 Lost to Otago in semifinal
20131st12 10 0 2 36 Shane Christiealign=left style="background:#bbf3bb;"Beat Hawke's Bay in final, promoted to Premiership
Premiership -->
20142nd12 8 1 3 38 Lost to Taranaki in final
20153rd11 7 0 4 35Lost to Auckland in semifinal
20162nd12 8 1 3 34 Leon MacDonaldLost to Canterbury in final
20172nd12 7 0 5 31 Alex AinleyLost to Canterbury in final
20183rd11 9 0 2 43 David HaviliLost to Canterbury in semifinal
20191st12 12 0 0 48 Andrew Goodmanalign=left style="background:#bbf3bb;"Beat Wellington in final
20201st12 9 0 3 33align=left style="background:#bbf3bb;"Beat Auckland in final
20212nd11 7 0 4 28 Mitchell Hunt and Quinten StrangeLost to Waikato in final
20225th10 4 0 6 24 Gray Cornelius and Dan Perrin
20237th11 6 0 5 31 Lost to in quarter final
20244th2 2 0 0 9 Gray Cornelius

Key:

Blue bar denotes Championship division
Green fill denotes Cup winner

Records and statistics

All Blacks

Players that have represented Tasman Mako in any fixture since their inception in 2006, and also played for the All Blacks.

  1. Represents the players 'All Black cap number'.
PlayerDebutCaps
970Caleb Ralph199816
987Greg Feek199910
1003Chris Jack200168
1035Brad Thorn200360
1043200420
1046Jimmy Cowan200453
1056Campbell Johnstone20053
1084Ben Franks200848
1088Isaac Ross20098
1091200972
1151Liam Squire201624
1152Kane Hames201610
1161David Havili201729
1162Tim Perry20178
1168Atu Moli20175
1172Shannon Frizell201833
1180Tyrel Lomax201836
1182Sevu Reece201927
1191Will Jordan202033
1195Ethan Blackadder202113
1196Finlay Christie202123
1200Leicester Fainga'anuku20227
1207Mark Tele'a202213
1216Noah Hotham20241

Centurions

Players that have played 100 or more games for the Tasman Mako since their inception in 2006.[41]

  1. Represents the players 'Tasman Mako cap number'.
PlayerDebutCaps
15Robbie Malneek2006104
19Alex Ainley2006100
48Quentin MacDonald2007120


Source: New Zealand Rugby History

50 or more

Players that have played 50 or more games for the Tasman Mako since their inception in 2006.

  1. Represents the players 'Tasman Mako cap number'.
PlayerDebutCaps
6Mark Bright200652
7Jonathan Poff200661
15Robbie Malneek2006104
19Alex Ainley2006100
33Andrew Goodman200755
48Quentin MacDonald2007120
60Joe Wheeler200880
81Vernon Fredericks201056
82Shane Christie201073
90Kieron Fonotia201172
104Tim Perry201270
113Billy Guyton201352
118David Havili201466
128Alex Nankivell201581
138Finlay Christie201655
140Mitchell Hunt201668
141Andrew Makalio201665
143Quinten Strange201671
79Tom Marshall201052
153Levi Aumua201760


Source: New Zealand Rugby History

Top points scorers

PlayerClubPoints
1Waimea 628
2Mitchell HuntStoke562
3Andrew GoodmanNelson291
4David HaviliNelson154
5Robbie MalneekNelson125


Source: New Zealand Rugby History

Top try scorers

PlayerClubTries
1Nelson25
2Will JordanNelson22
3Leicester Fainga'anukuNelson21
4David HaviliNelson20
4James LoweWaimea20
4Quentin MacDonaldCentral20
5Andrew MakalioHarlequins17


Source: New Zealand Rugby History

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Tasman rugby. 15 July 2021. nzhistory.govt.nz. en.
  2. News: Canadian development team to tour. The New Zealand Herald. 3 March 2006. 30 August 2020.
  3. Web site: 2006 Air New Zealand Cup. Tasman Mako. 30 August 2020.
  4. News: 2007 Air New Zealand Cup. Tasman Mako. 30 August 2020.
  5. News: 2008 Air New Zealand Cup. Tasman Mako. 30 August 2020.
  6. News: Fans sign-up to save provinces. ESPN Rugby. 13 November 2009. 30 August 2020.
  7. News: 2009 Air New Zealand Cup. Tasman Mako. 30 August 2020.
  8. News: 2010 ITM Cup. Tasman Mako. 30 August 2020.
  9. News: Tasman beat Canterbury for first time. RNZ. 21 August 2010. 30 August 2020.
  10. Web site: 2011 ITM Cup structure . rugbyunplugged.com.
  11. News: Fowler . Peter . ITM Cup: Tasman Makos beat Hawke's Bay Magpies at McLean Park . Hawke's Bay Today . 2 August 2011.
  12. News: Tasman upset Auckland, again . Radio New Zealand . 17 August 2011.
  13. News: Four new caps among 2011/12 Sevens squad . . 19 November 2011.
  14. Web site: New Zealand Sevens contracted squad named . allblacks.com . 25 January 2011.
  15. News: 2012 ITM Cup. Tasman Mako. 30 August 2020.
  16. News: Rugby: Tasman keen for more Canterbury loan. Otago Daily Times. 23 October 2012. 30 August 2020.
  17. News: 2013 ITM Cup. Tasman Mako. 30 August 2020.
  18. News: Tasman Makos reach promised land. ESPN Rugby. 24 October 2013. 30 August 2020.
  19. News: 2014 ITM Cup. Tasman Mako. 30 August 2020.
  20. News: Taranaki crowned Champions of New Zealand. ESPN Rugby. 24 October 2014. 30 August 2020.
  21. News: 2015 ITM Cup. Tasman Mako. 30 August 2020.
  22. News: 2016 Mitre 10 Cup. Tasman Mako. 30 August 2020.
  23. News: 2017 Mitre 10 Cup. Tasman Mako. 30 August 2020.
  24. News: Tasman Makos qualify for their third premiership rugby final in four years. Stuff.co.nz. 22 October 2017. 30 August 2020.
  25. News: New season, new look for Tasman Makos. Stuff.co.nz. 12 April 2016. 30 August 2020.
  26. News: Tasman Rugby Union logo revised after widespread public criticism. Stuff.co.nz. 25 May 2016. 1 September 2020.
  27. News: 2018 Mitre 10 Cup. Tasman Mako. 30 August 2020.
  28. News: 20 Mako earn 2019 Super contracts. Tasman Rugby. 1 November 2018. 30 August 2020.
  29. News: Tasman rugby: it's Mako, not Makos. The Spinoff. 12 December 2017. 30 August 2020.
  30. News: Rugby: Tasman complete perfect season with win over Wellington in Mitre 10 Cup Premiership final. The New Zealand Herald. 26 October 2019. 30 August 2020.
  31. Champion Tasman Mako to be honoured with Key to the City. Nelson City Council. 30 October 2019. 30 August 2020.
  32. News: From rags to riches: Tasman complete 14-year journey. Marlborough Weekly. 30 October 2019. 30 August 2020.
  33. Web site: Tasman Mako go back to back. mitre10cup.co.nz. 28 November 2020. 29 November 2020.
  34. Web site: Tasman Mako win tense Mitre 10 Cup final against Auckland. stuff.co.nz. 28 November 2020. 29 November 2020.
  35. Web site: Tasman coach Clarke Dermody admits Mitre 10 Cup final win over Auckland was 'ugly'. stuff.co.nz. 28 November 2020. 29 November 2020.
  36. Web site: The day Marlborough roared . Stuff . 27 July 2013.
  37. Web site: O'Connell . Tim . Tasman throw down challenge against Otago - with or without Ranfurly Shield . Stuff . 1 August 2019.
  38. News: Rugby: Wellington dice with Shield misery . . 27 September 2008.
  39. Web site: Alexander . John . Tireless Tasman left heartbroken . Stuff . 3 September 2012.
  40. News: NPC: Five-try Hawke's Bay beat Tasman to hold on to the Ranfurly Shield. Stuff.co.nz. 9 October 2021. 9 October 2021.
  41. Web site: Bitter-sweet milestone for Robbie Malneek in 100th Tasman outing. stuff.co.nz. 27 September 2015. 12 September 2020.