# Auckland Rugby Union

The Auckland Rugby Union is a New Zealand provincial rugby union. The union was established in 1883 and was originally responsible for the administration of the sport in most of the former Auckland Province, although its boundaries have since shrunk to include only a portion of the Auckland urban area. The union governs the Auckland representative team, which has won New Zealand's first-tier domestic provincial competition 17 times, more than any other team. Their most recent title was the 2018 Mitre 10 Cup Premiership. The union administers all club rugby within its boundaries, including the Gallaher Shield and other senior club rugby, as well as school rugby. Auckland also acts as a primary feeder to the Blues, who play in the Super Rugby competition.

## History

The Auckland Rugby Football Union (ARFU) was officially formed in 1883, when it joined the Canterbury, Wellington and Otago unions in the fledgling New Zealand Rugby Football Union.
Auckland has been the most successful union in New Zealand rugby history, having won a record 16 ITM Cup (and predecessor competition) titles. Auckland also holds the record for the most Ranfurly Shield wins (16), successful defences (148), and longest streak of successful defences (61). All Blacks statistics also reveal the extent of Auckland's influence: of the 1071 players to have worn the national jersey from 1888 to 2008, 133 were born in Auckland, compared to Christchurch (74), Wellington (60) and Dunedin (53).
In 1996, with the advent of professional rugby union, Auckland became the host, and primary feeder, to the Blues, known from 1996 to 1999 as the Auckland Blues.

### Golden eras

Auckland went undefeated for six seasons from 1897, with victory over the British and Irish Lions in 1904. There was an undefeated run in the early 1920s under Sir Vincent Meredith. The 1960 to 1963 period, known as the Golden Era, was summed up in The Golden Years written by Don Cameron in 1983. Sir Wilson Whineray, who captained Auckland through those years and the All Blacks in 30 tests from 1957 to 1965, describes the period as one of "excitement, drama and fervor that transformed Eden Park into an oasis of magic during the winters of 1960, 1961, 1962 and 1963." The period from 1982 to 2007 is also regarded as a golden period, with Auckland winning more than half (16 out of 26 ) of all NPC titles and five South Pacific Championship titles during the era and winning the team of the year award at the 1992 Halberg Awards.

### Ranfurly Shield years

Auckland were the first holders of the Ranfurly Shield in 1902 and have won 153 out of 194 shield matches – the most successful record of any provincial union. Notable periods include from 1905 to 1913, when they defeated 23 successive challenges, 1960 and 1963, when 25 challenges were defeated, 1985 to 1993, when a record 61 were defeated. Auckland most recently held the shield between 2007 and 2008, when 5 challenges were defeated. Players like Andy Haden, Sean Fitzpatrick, John Drake, Olo Brown, Zinzan and Robin Brooke, Gary and Alan Whetton, Michael Jones, Steve McDowall, Grant Fox, Bernie McCahill, Grant Dickson, Mark Carter, Joe Stanley, John Kirwan and Terry Wright were important in Auckland's success in that last period.
In 1993, Auckland defeated the British Lions by 23–18 during their tour to New Zealand.
With six titles in the 1990s and four in the 2000s, Auckland's domination of the New Zealand rugby landscape continued. The 2007 team was the first since the 1990 side to remain unbeaten in a season and win the Ranfurly Shield and the provincial championship. Players like Kees Meeuws, Keven Mealamu, Ali Williams, Justin Collins, Xavier Rush, Steve Devine, Brad Mika, Ben Atiga, Doug Howlett, Daniel Braid, Brent Ward and Angus Macdonald contributed to that success.
Auckland' fortunes collapsed when New Zealand Rugby moved to being a professional sport. It was 2018 before an Auckland side once again won the National Provincial Championship.

## Honours

* National Provincial Championship/Air New Zealand Cup/ITM Cup/Mitre 10 Cup (17):
1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2018
* South Pacific Championship/Super 6/Super 10 (4):
1987 (shared with Canterbury), 1988, 1989, 1990
* Ranfurly Shield
1902–04 (0), 1905–13 (23), 1934–35 (1), 1952 (0), 1959 (2), 1960–63 (25), 1965 (3), 1971 (1), 1972 (0), 1974–76 (10), 1979 (6), 1985–93 (61), 1995–96 (3), 1996–97 (6), 2003–04 (2), 2007–08 (5)

## Other representative teams

In addition to the Men's 1st XV, the ARU has a number of other representative teams for both Men and Women. Their women's team, known as the Auckland Storm, are the most successful women's team in New Zealand.

## Club rugby

Among the earliest founding clubs in Auckland were Grafton (1874), Ponsonby (1874) and College Rifles (1897), Marist (1908), University (1888), Grammar (1914) and Suburbs (1918). The premier competition's championship round was renamed the Gallaher Shield in 1922, in memory of Ponsonby, Auckland and New Zealand player Dave Gallaher who captained the 1905 All Blacks, known as The Originals, before retiring after the tour. He became the sole selector to the Auckland team, leading the side to eight successive Ranfurly Shield wins, before he served on the All Blacks selection committee from 1907 to 1914. He then joined the army at a relatively late age, and was killed in the Passchendaele offensive in 1917 aged 43. His Ponsonby side has dominated the Gallaher Shield, winning it 33 times.

### Structure

The Auckland Rugby Football Union consists of 20 clubs from the Auckland isthmus. The premier competition runs from March to August and is split into three segments: the Waka Nathan Challenge Cup from March to May (primarily a pre-season tournament), the Alan McEvoy Round-Robin, and the Championship Round (finals series).
* The Waka Nathan Challenge Cup and Pollard Cup
The Waka Nathan Challenge Cup is contested at the beginning of the season in a knockout style competition. Teams play for the cup and a winners prize of $2500. Eight teams compete for the Waka Nathan Cup while the bottom seven teams from the previous year's competition contest the Pollard Cup.
* The Alan McEvoy Round-Robin
The 15 teams entered into the Premier Competition play a 15-week round-robin, played on Saturdays. The team with the highest competition points at the end of this round will be awarded the Alan McEvoy Memorial Trophy which commemorates Alan McEvoy an Auckland rep and All Black Trialist who drowned tragically at Baylys Beach in the early 1950s. To determine this, the bonus points system is used. Teams will be seeded 1–16 after this round. The Fred Allen Trophy is also played for during the round-robin phase. It is similar to the Ranfurly Shield, where it is only up for grabs at home games of the trophy holder. It is not contested in the Championship Round.
* Championship Round
In the Championship Round the sixteen teams are split into the top and bottom eight. It is played over three weeks. The top eight compete for the Gallaher Shield, named after former Auckland and All Blacks player Dave Gallaher, while the bottom eight compete for the Portola Trophy. The first week is a quarter-finals style format where the top seeded team play the bottom seeded team and the second seeded team play the second to last seeded team etc. The four losers from each group of eight go on to play for the Jubilee Trophy (Gallaher Shield Losers) and the President's Cup (Portola Trophy Losers). The next week is semi-finals and the two winners compete for the four trophies mentioned, with the overall champion being the winner of the Gallaher Shield Final.

### Affiliated clubs

| College Rifles RFC East Tamaki RFC Eden RFC Grammar TEC RC Manukau Rovers RFC Marist Brothers Old Boys RFC Mt Wellington RFC Otahuhu RFC Pakuranga United RC | Papatoetoe RFC Ponsonby RFC Roskill Districts RFC Suburbs RFC Te Papapa Onehunga RFC University RFC Waiheke RFC Waitakere City RFC Waitemata RFC Puketapapa Roskill RFC |

### Gallaher Shield

The Gallaher Shield is awarded to the winner of the senior premier club rugby competition, for overall club records see Gallaher Shield page.

## School competition

The union are one of three organisations (the others being Collegesport and the Secondary Schools Executive Committee) responsible for administering the local secondary school competitions. Notable rugby schools in Auckland include Auckland Grammar School, De La Salle College, Kelston Boys High School, King's College, Mount Albert Grammar School, Sacred Heart College and St Kentigern College. The 1st XV competition is split across three divisions, these being 1A, 1B and 1C. In addition to the 1st XV competition there a number of lower-grade (non-1st XV) and girls competitions.

## Supporters

The Auckland Rugby Union Supporters Club (ARUSC) was established in 1976 after a meeting between ARFU administration and a group of supporters. The club's emblem is the "Flying Elephant", which was agreed upon after a competition to find a mascot was found. The winner of the competition was Mr J.E. Hannan. The supporters club is currently located under the North (ASB) Stand at Eden Park.
The ARUSC also has the Junior Rugby Foundation (JRF) to provide education, assistant and support for the promotion and development of participation by young people in rugby within the areas governed by the ARFU. Recent JRF bursary recipients include Liaki Moli, Sean Polwart and Tyrone Ngaluafe.

## Stadium

Auckland play their home matches at Eden Park, and have done so since 1925. The ground opened in 1900 and also is used for cricket. Eden Park has the largest crowd capacity of any New Zealand sporting venue, with a capacity of 50,000 for rugby matches.

## All Blacks

This is a list of players who have represented New Zealand from the Auckland representative rugby union team. Players are listed by the decade they were first selected in and players in bold are current All Blacks.

### 1880–1899

* George Carter - 1884
* John Gage Lecky - 1884
* Timothy Beehane O'Connor - 1884
* Thomas Ryan - 1884
* Joseph Astbury Warbrick - 1884
* Francis Mahon Jervis - 1893
* Frederick Murray - 1893
* Charles Richard Barton Speight - 1893
* Maurice Herrold - 1893
* Robert McKenzie - 1893
* Frank Surman - 1896
* Robert Alexander Handcock - 1897
* George William Smith - 1897
* Alexander Wilson - 1897

### 1900–1919

| William Cunningham - 1901 William Edward Hay-MacKenzie - 1901 Robert Wylie McGregor - 1901 Albert Asher - 1903 David Gallaher - 1903 Henry Arthur Douglas Kiernan - 1903 Andrew Thomas Long - 1903 George William Nicholson - 1903 George Alfred Tyler - 1903 Charles Edward Seeling - 1904 | William Henry Mackrell - 1905 Arthur Reginald Howe Francis - 1905 Harold Owen Hayward - 1908 Michael Joseph O'Leary - 1910 Frank Reginald Wilson - 1910 James Richard Maguire - 1910 Albert Joseph Downing - 1913 Alwin John McGregor - 1913 George Maurice Victor Sellars - 1913 James Thomas Wylie - 1913 | John Alexander Bruce - 1913 James Barrett - 1913 William McKail Geddes - 1913 John Victor Macky - 1913 James Douglas Stewart - 1913 John Gerald O'Brien - 1914 Lynley Herbert Weston - 1914 |

### 1920–1939

| Cecil Edward Oliver Badeley - 1920 Vivian Whitta Wilson - 1920 Karl Donald Ifwerson - 1921 Andrew James O'Brien - 1922 Victor Ivan Roskill Badeley - 1922 Leonard Stephen Righton - 1923 Frederick William Lucas - 1923 Albert Edward Cooke - 1924 Lawrence Alfred George Knight - 1925 Arthur Robert Lomas - 1925 | Herman Alfred Mattson - 1925 Donald Hector Wright - 1925 Arthur Knight - 1926 Thomas Reginald Sheen - 1926 William Alexander Wright - 1926 Swinbourne Hadley - 1928 Ruben George McWilliams - 1928 Walter Batty - 1928 Victor Claude Butler - 1928 Llewellyn Simpkin Hook - 1928 | Bertram Pitt Palmer - 1928 Mervyn Miles Nelson Corner - 1930 Frank Solomon - 1931 Thomas Harcourt Clarke Caughey - 1932 William Edward Hadley - 1934 Cyril Stennart Pepper - 1935 David Solomon - 1935 Henry Mackay Brown - 1935 Brian Alexander Killeen - 1936 Terence McClatchey Lockington - 1936 | John Dick - 1937 William Nicol Carson - 1938 |

### 1940–1959

| Frederick Richard Allen - 1946 John Markham Dunn - 1946 Maurice James McHugh - 1946 Robert William Henry Scott - 1946 Eric George Boggs - 1946 John George Simpson - 1947 Percy Laurence Tetzlaff - 1947 Neville Henry Thornton - 1947 Arthur Maitland Hughes - 1947 Neville Wyatt Black - 1949 | Patrick Joseph Bourke Crowley - 1949 Desmond Lawrence Christian - 1949 Ronald Leslie Dobson - 1949 John Wallace Kelly - 1949 John Maurice Tanner - 1950 Charles Percy Erceg - 1951 David Ross Wightman - 1951 Selwyn George Bremner - 1952 Keith Davis - 1952 Jack Robert Skeen - 1952 | Hallard Leo White - 1953 Terence Raymond Lineen - 1957 Raymond Frank McMullen - 1957 Wilson James Whineray - 1957 Adrian Hipkins Clarke - 1958 |

### 1960–1979

| William Anthony Davies - 1960 Steven Roberto Nesbit - 1960 Desmond Michael Connor - 1961 Donald William McKay - 1961 Paul Francis Little - 1961 Waka Joseph Nathan - 1962 MacFarlane Alexander Herewini - 1962 Barry Trevor Thomas - 1962 Malcolm John Dick - 1963 Peter Henry Murdoch - 1964 | Ronald Edward Rangi - 1964 Grahame Stuart Thorne - 1967 Ronald Anthony Urlich - 1970 Bryan George Williams - 1970 Kenneth Roy Carrington - 1971 Peter John Whiting - 1971 Andrew Maxwell Haden - 1972 Bruce Mcleod Gemmell - 1974 Lawrence Gibb Knight - 1974 Jon Stanley McLachlan - 1974 | Christopher Louis Fawcett - 1976 Bradley Ronald Johnstone - 1976 Stuart Bruce Conn - 1976 Colin Paul Farrell - 1977 Barry Graeme Ashworth - 1978 Gary Richard Cunningham - 1979 Timothy Moore Twigden - 1979 |

### 1980–1989

| Gregory Alexander John Burgess - 1980 Gary William Whetton - 1981 David Edward Kirk - 1983 Alan James Whetton - 1984 John James Kirwan - 1984 Grant James Fox - 1984 John Gordon Mills - 1984 Kurt Sherlock - 1985 Steven Clark McDowall - 1985 John Alan Drake - 1985 Mark Brooke-Cowden - 1986 | Gregory John Luke Cooper - 1986 Sean Brian Thomas Fitzpatrick - 1986 Joseph Tito Stanley - 1986 Terence John Wright - 1986 Michael Niko Jones - 1987 Zinzan Valentine Brooke - 1987 Bernard Joseph McCahill - 1987 Va'aiga Lealuga Tuigamala - 1989 Craig Ross Innes - 1989 Matthew John Ridge - 1989 |

### 1990–1999

| Olo Max Brown Mark Peter Carter - 1991 Jason Alexander Hewett - 1991 Frank Eneri Bunce - 1992 Eroni Clarke - 1992 Robin Matthew Brooke - 1992 Patrick Richard Lam - 1992 Craid William Dowd - 1993 Lee Stensness - 1993 Shane Paul Howarth - 1993 | Carlos James Spencer - 1995 Adrian Richard Cashmore - 1996 Andrew Francis Blowers - 1996 Ofisa Francis Junior Tonu'u - 1996 Charles Calvin Riechelmann - 1997 Jeremy Crispian Stanley - 1997 Kees Junior Meeuws - 1998 Xavier Joseph Rush - 1998 Dylan Gabriel Mika - 1999 |

### 2000–

| Doug Howlett - 2000 Steve Devine - 2002 Ali Williams - 2002 Brad Mika - 2002 Keven Mealamu - 2002 Daniel Braid - 2002 Joe Rokocoko - 2003 Mils Muliaina - 2003 Ben Atiga - 2003 Sam Tuitupou - 2004 | Saimone Taumoepeau - 2004 Jerome Kaino - 2004 Piri Weepu - 2004 Derren Witcombe - 2005 Angus Macdonald - 2005 John Afoa - 2005 Isaia Toeava - 2005 Benson Stanley - 2010 Charlie Faumuina - 2012 Steven Luatua - 2013 | Charles Piutau - 2013 Malakai Fekitoa - 2013 Patrick Tuipulotu - 2014 Ofa Tu'ungafasi - 2016 Rieko Ioane - 2016 Akira Ioane - 2017 Angus Ta'avao - 2019 Caleb Clarke - 2020 Hoskins Sotutu 2020 Alex Hodgman - 2020 |