Northland Rugby Union

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.

Northland Rugby

Sport	Rugby union
Jurisdiction	Northland Region
Abbreviation	NRU
Founded	1920; 104 years ago (1920)
Affiliation	New Zealand Rugby
Headquarters	Whangārei
CEO	Cameron Bell
Men's coach	Dale MacLeod
Women's coach	Janna Vaughan
Official website
www.taniwha.co.nz

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.

• Awanui Rugby Football Club^[2]
• Dargaville High School
• Eastern United Rugby & Sports Club^[3]
• The Hora Hora Rugby Union Football Club^[4]
• Kaeo Rugby and Sports Club^[5]
• Kaihu Valley Rugby Football Club^[6]
• Kaikohe Rugby Football and Sports Club^[7]
• Kaitaia City Rugby Union Football Club^[8]
• Kaitaia College
• Kamo High School
• Kamo Rugby and Squash Club^[9]
• Kerikeri High School
• Kerikeri Rugby Union Football Club^[10]
• Mangakahia Rugby Club^[11]
• Mid-Northern Rugby Football Club^[12]
• Midwestern Rugby Union And Squash Club^[13]
• Moerewa Rugby Football and Recreation Sports Club^[14]
• Northland College
• Old Boys Marist Rugby & Sports Club^[15]
• Old Boys Rugby Football & Softball Club^[16]
• Onerahi Rugby Football Club^[17]
• Otamatea Hawks Rugby Club^[18]
• Rodney College
• Taiamai Ohaeawai Rugby Football and Sports Club^[19]
• Te Rarawa Rugby Club^[20]
• The Aupouri Rugby Football and Sports Club^[21]
• The City Rugby Union Football Club^[22]
• The Dargaville Rugby and Sports Club^[23]
• The Hikurangi Rugby Union Football Club^[24]
• The Okaihau Rugby Union Football and Sports Club^[25]
• The Otiria Rugby Union Football and Sports Club^[26]
• The Southern Football Club^[27]
• The Tomarata Rugby Football Club^[28]
• Tikipunga Rugby Club^[29]
• United Kawakawa Rugby Football Club^[30]
• Waipu Rugby Squash Club^[31]
• Wellsford Rugby Football Club^[32]
• Whangārei Boys' High School
• Whangaruru Rugby Football Club^[33]

Bunnings NPC

For the side that represents Northland Rugby Union in the Bunnings NPC, see Northland (National Provincial Championship).

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 overall finish.

Year	Position	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Points	Captain	Head Coach	Finals
2006	10th	9	3	1	5	14	David Holwell	Mark Anscombe
2007	10th	10	3	1	6	19	Justin Collins
2008	9th	10	4	0	6	22
2009	13th	13	3	1	9	16	Jared Payne	Bryce Woodward
2010	10th	13	5	0	8	29
2011	5th	10	4	0	6	19		Adriaan Ferris
2012	5th	10	3	0	7	17	Rene Ranger
2013	6th	10	2	1	7	13		Derren Witcombe
2014	3rd	11	5	0	6	25	Cameron Eyre		Lost to Hawke's Bay in semi final
2015	7th	10	0	0	10	1	Matt Moulds	Richie Harris
2016	6th	10	1	0	9	11
2017	4th	11	5	0	6	25		Derren Witcombe	Lost to Wellington in semi final
2018	4th	11	4	0	7	24			Lost to Waikato in semi final
2019	6th	10	2	0	8	11	Jordan Olsen
2020	2nd	12	6	0	6	24		George Konia	Lost to Hawke's Bay in final
2021	5th	9	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.

#	Player	Debut	Caps
240	Charles Fletcher	1921	1
305	Innes Finlayson	1925	36
364	Bill Heke	1929	6
367	Alf Waterman	1929	7
461	Johnny Smith	1946	9
482	Peter Smith	1947	3
518	Nau Cherrington	1950	7
541	Ian Irvine	1952	1
556	Peter Jones	1953	37
605	Des Webb	1959	1
621	Victor Yates	1961	9
655	Sid Going	1967	86
681	Bevan Holmes	1970	31
682	Richie Guy	1971	9
700	Hamish Macdonald	1972	48
723	Murray Jones	1973	5
726	Peter Sloane	1973	16
733	Joe Morgan	1974	22
742	Ken Going	1974	3
790	Eddie Dunn	1978	20
800	Mike Burgoyne	1979	6
822	Fred Woodman	1980	14
829	Wayne Neville	1981	4
835	Ian Dunn	1983	13
844	Alastair Robinson	1983	4
855	Kawhena Woodman	1984	6
877	Michael Speight	1986	5
902	Ian Jones	1989	105
930	Glenn Taylor	1992	6
976	Norm Berryman	1998	1
1106	Rene Ranger	2010	6
1165	Jack Goodhue	2017	19

References

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

External links

• Official site
• Northland rugby (NZHistory.net.nz)