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Rugby union in New Zealand

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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, are currently the top ranked international team in the world.[1]

History

Rugby union was first introduced to New Zealand in 1870 by Charles John Monro, son of the then-speaker 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.[2] 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. It is thought that by the mid-1870s, the game had been taken up by the majority of the colony; it was this same year that the first representitive team was formed, being a cumulative Auckland team which toured the South.

The latter stages of the decade 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 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 colony to visit Britain. In 1892 the New Zealand Rugby Football Union was established, to act as the national governing body of the sport. Following the establishment of a national governing body, the first NZRFU national sanctioned tour was undertaken in 1893, when a ten game tour of Australia was played.

 
The 1905 All Blacks.

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 toured England, defeating all of the English teams apart from one (which was controversial). As the team swept through England, some of the players took note of how rugby (league) was being played in the North of England. One player, Aucklander George W. Smith met with Sydney entrepreneur James J. Giltinan on his way home, and discussed the opportunities of such a game.[3] 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 found out about this, and strongly discouraged any involvement from its players and officials, none the less, 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.[3] Although they played an important part for rugby league in Northern England and New South Wales, the game did not take off in a similar fashion in New Zealand.

The 1930s saw a period of skill development for rugby in New Zealand.[4] The 1940 All Black tour of South Africa was one of the first sporting events cancelled due to the Second World War.[5] 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.[5] In 1976, the first ever season of the National Provincial Championship went underway. In its inaugural format, Division One was made up of seven North Island teams andfour 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.

South African apartheid policies saw that some Māori players were passed up for South African tours. However, public protests and political pressure forced on the NZRFU to either not select such sides, or simply not tour the Republic. In 1976, New Zealand prime minister, Robert Muldoon "allowed" the All Blacks to tour South Africa. In response to this, over 20 African nations protested this apparent breach of the Gleneagles Agreement, and went on to boycott the 1976 Summer Olympics, wanting New Zealand to be excluded, as in their view, New Zealand gave support to the apartheid regime. 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. However the tour was controversial long before the side arrived, with many seeing it as support of white rule in South Africa, whils others saw it as a reminder of issues within New Zealand. Some people urged Muldoon to pull the tour, though he claimed that politics should not be mixed with sports. 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 beemed 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.

 
The 2005 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand.

In 1987, the NZRFU wrote to the International Rugby Football Board requesting the posibility of hosting an inugural 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 the French. 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, and the Springboks and the Wallabies. The All Blacks won the first series. New Zealand was supposed to joint host the 2003 Rugby 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 Rugby World Cup, though the decesion was very controveresial.

Popularity

There are presently 138,000 registered players in New Zealand, and 520 clubs.[6] A 2001 census estimates that 14% of all young people (ages five to 17) and 6% of the adult population (18 to 65+) regularly participate in rugby union.[7][8] The highest levels of youth participation was found in the Bay of Plenty,[9] Northland,[10] Otago and Southland[11] and Waikato.[12] Although rugby has been found to have have more support then participation, it is the top of participation and interest for a male population (aged 12 to 17).[13][14] In females however, rugby union is behind five other sports in interest.[14] One reason for rugby's popularity is it being considered a classless game in New Zealand, combining the gentry and working class populations.[4] The popularity of rugby in New Zealand has also resulted in a pay-TV channel dedicated to it.

Culture

Rugby union is the unofficial national sport of new Zealand, and is sometimes affectionately referred to as a religion in New Zealand. In colonial New Zealand, rugby football served to hold loyalty to the Crown within the emigrant population, whilst it introduced British culture to the Māori population.[15] It was the New Zealand Natives' Rugby Tour of 1888/89 showed that New Zealand could compete on the world stage with other nations, something they had trouble doing in another traditional sport, cricket. Similarly, the 1905-06 tour, in which the All Blacks went went close to undefeated, 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 emergance of the Kiwi as a national symbol.[16] Rugby is considered to be a part of New Zealand life - dominating the sports media.[17] The Haka, a Māori war 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 attendences, both in New Zealand and in other rugby nations. As many as 5000 people have simply turned out to All Black training sessions.[18]

Governing body

The New Zealand Rugby Football Union is responible for rugby in the country. The NZRFU was formed in 1892, 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 27 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 Cup.

National teams

All Blacks

 
The All Blacks playing the Wallabies.

The All Blacks are the most famous and successful team in the history of international rugby. As of May 2006, the All Blacks have a record of 296 wins, 17 draws and 91 losses out of 404 matches played.[19] 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...'.[20] The name All Blacks is derived from two stories; one being that a media printing area calling them All Backs in reference to their style of play, the other being that the name was in reference to their whole attire being black, apart from the silver fern and their bootlaces. To date, the major rugby playing nations of Scotland, Ireland and Argentina have yet to defeat the All Blacks in a test match.[19] The All Blacks were winners of the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 and were runners-up in 1995. The All Blacks are the only team to have reached the semi-final stage at every world cup.

Junior All Blacks

The Junior All Blacks are not an age grade side, but are the second national team behind the All Blacks. They compete in the IRB Pacific 5 Nations competition alongside Fiji, Japan, Samoa and Tonga.

New Zealand Māori

The New Zealand Māori is a representitive side that traditionally play teams touring New Zealand. A prerequisite for playing in this team is that the player must be at least 1/16th Māori descent. Due to the number of New Zealanders with some degree of Māori heritage, the New Zealand Māori team can be a virtual all-Black team with only descendents of recent immigrants not being eligible.

Black Ferns

The Black Ferns are the top national womens team in New Zealand. They are the current Women's Rugby World Cup champions, being back-to-back winners after they won the 1998 tournament and then again in 2002 in Barcelona.

Sevens

The New Zealand Sevens team compete in the World Sevens Series, the Sevens World Cup, and the Commonwealth Games Sevens. Sevens is game which involves Seven players per team rather than 15 in Rugby Union. The games are Seven minutes per half rather than 40 minutes per half in Rugby Union. In recent times the New Zealand Sevens team have dominated the World Sevens Series, however in 2006 Fiji have gained the title.

Domestic competitions

Super 14

The Super 14 is an international provincial 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. The current format is five teams from both New Zealand and South Africa and four teams from Australia. Each team plays each other team once in a round robin format followed by a knockout finals series featuring the top four finishers. New Zealand is represented by the following franchises: Crusaders, Blues, Hurricanes, Chiefs and Highlanders. New Zealand teams have dominated the Super 12/14 winning all but two of the ten titles decided to date. The Crusaders are the most successful franchise having won 6 titles in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005 and 2006. The Blues are the only other New Zealand team to have captured the title, having won in 1996, 1997 and 2003. The ACT Brumbies, from Australia, are the only team from outside New Zealand to have won a title, which were won in 2001 and 2004.

National Provincial Championship

The National Provincial Championship (NPC) is the premier domestic competition in New Zealand rugby. The competition, started in 1976, is organised over two divisions with 26 teams competing.[21]

Ranfurly Shield

The Ranfurly Shield, 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.

Club

In each of the NPC regions are local inter-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.[citation needed] In total, there are 520 clubs that are affilated to the NZRFU.

International competition

Rugby World Cup

The Rugby World Cup 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 most recently to Australia in the semi-final. Intense lobbying by the NZRFU and the New Zealand Government helped New Zealand secure hosting rights to the 2011 Rugby World Cup

Tri Nations

The Tri Nations is an annual competition involving New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa. Previously this involved each country playing one home and one away game against both other countries. From 2006 the competion has been expanded with each nation playing both the other nations three times. 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 six times in total, compared to the Springboks two and the Wallabies' two.

Bledisloe Cup

The Bledisloe Cup 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. In total, the All Blacks have won 67 Bledisloe Cup games, Australia 30, with four draws.

Pacific Five Nations

The Pacific Five Nations is a competion which started in 2006 involving the Junior All Blacks, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, and Tonga. The Junior All Blacks will be playing their homes games at North Harbour Stadium, Yarrow Stadium and Carisbrook. The Pacific Five Nations is an IRB tournament that is funded as part of the $US50 million, three-year, global strategic investment programme that was launched in August 2005.

Churchill Cup

The Churchill Cup 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, there was no womens event that year. The Māori competed in and won the 2006 tournament.

Notes

  1. ^ "Official IRB World Rankings". irb.com. Retrieved 24 May. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ "New Zealand Rugby". activenewzealand.com. Retrieved 6 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ a b "The 1905 All Blacks Gave Life to Rugby League". rl1908.com. Retrieved 10 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ a b "Rugby in New Zealand". massey.ac.nz. Retrieved 10 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ a b "Sport in New Zealand 1940-1960". nzhistory.net. Retrieved 10 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ "New Zealand". irb.com. Retrieved 7 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ "Participation young people". sparc.org.nz. Retrieved 10 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "Participation - NZ adults". sparc.org.nz. Retrieved 10 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ "Participation - Bay of Plenty". sparc.org.nz. Retrieved 10 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ "Participation - Northland". sparc.org.nz. Retrieved 10 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ "Participation - Otago & Southland". sparc.org.nz. Retrieved 10 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ "Participation - Waikato". sparc.org.nz. Retrieved 10 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ "Organised sports". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 10 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ a b "Interest and participation in selected sports among New Zealand adolescents". nzma.org.nz. Retrieved 10 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ "The New Zealand Natives' Rugby Tour of 1888/89". nzhistory.net.nz. Retrieved 10 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ "Rugby triumphs and national pride". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 10 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ "The Māori Rugby Culture in New Zealand". rugbymag.com. Retrieved 10 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ "Crowds flock to All Blacks training". rugby.com.au. Retrieved 10 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ a b "All Blacks Test Match Record since first test match". rugbymuseum.co.nz. Retrieved 11 May. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  20. ^ Palenski, Ron (2003). Century in Black: 100 Years of All Black Test Rugby. Auckland: Hodder Moa Beckett Publishers Limited. ISBN 1-86958-937-8.
  21. ^ "NPC makeover - everyone's a winner". nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 11 May. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
 
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