The 1980 New Zealand rugby league season was the 73rd season of

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

that had been played in New Zealand.

International competitions

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

lost a series against the touring Australian side 0–2. Coached by

Ces Mountford Cecil Ralph Mountford (16 June 1919 – 19 July 2009), also known by the nickname of "The Blackball Bullet", was a New Zealand rugby league footballer and Coach (sport), coach. Mountford was one of ten siblings, he and four of his brothers pl ...

, New Zealand included; Michael O'Donnell, Kevin Fisher,

Olsen Filipaina Olsen Orekewa Filipaina (23 April 1957 – 10 February 2022) was a professional rugby league footballer who represented both New Zealand and Western Samoa. He played for the Balmain Tigers, Eastern Suburbs, and North Sydney Bears during his New ...

James Leuluai A'au James Leuluai (born 4 February 1957) is a New Zealand former international rugby league . Background He is the father of former Widnes Vikings player Macgraff Leuluai and Wigan Warriors and New Zealand international Thomas Leuluai, and th ...

, captain

Dane O'Hara Dane Bradford Mark O'Hara is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand. At the time of his retirement he held the record for most international matches for New Zealand. Early years O'Hara attended St. Paul's Colle ...

Gordon Smith Gordon Smith may refer to: In politics *Gordon H. Smith (born 1952), former U.S. Senator from Oregon, and current Area Authority for the LDS Church * Gordon Elsworth Smith (1918–2005), Canadian politician * Gordon Smith (academic) (1927–2009), ...

, Shane Varley, Mark Broadhurst,

Howie Howie is a Scottish locational surname derived from a medieval estate in Ayrshire, southwest Scotland. While its ancient name is known as "The lands of How", its exact location is lost to time. The word "How", predating written history, appears ...

and

Kevin Tamati Kevin Ronald Tamati (born 21 September 1953) is a New Zealand former rugby league representative player and coach. He played at representative level for New Zealand, New Zealand Māori, Auckland, Central Districts and Wellington, and professio ...

, Paul Te Ariki,

Barry Edkins Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 1950 ...

, Mark Graham,

Graeme West Graeme Leonard West (born 5 December 1953) is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer and coach. Standing at six-foot, five inches, he played in the forwards, captaining English club Wigan Warriors. West also played representative rugby l ...

Lewis Hudson Lewis Hudson is a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand ( Heritage No. 552). Playing career Hudson played for the Linwood Keas (from Linwood, Christchurch) in the Canterbury Rugby League competition, and Warrington. He a ...

, Dennis Williams and

Tony Coll Anthony Peter Coll ( – 14 May 2020) was a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer and coach who represented New Zealand in three World Cups. Early life and family Coll grew up on the West Coast. He was the son of Peter Coll—a West ...

. The second Test match was controlled by referee

John Percival John Percival (3 April 1779 – 7 September 1862), known as Mad Jack Percival, was a celebrated officer in the United States Navy during the Quasi-War with France, the War of 1812, the campaign against West Indies pirates, and the Mexican–Amer ...

, his twenty sixth and last Test match. The Kiwis then toured Great Britain and France, drawing both series 1-all. New Zealand were coached by

and included;

Fred Ah Kuoi Fred "Freddie" Ah Kuoi (born 7 June 1956) is a Samoa-born New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand. Early years Ah Kuoi was born in Apia, Western Samoa, in 1956 and emigrated to New Zealand in 1962 wit ...

, Ray Baxendale, Mark Broadhurst,

, Bruce Dickison,

, Kevin Fisher, captain Mark Graham,

, Michael O'Donnell,

Gary Prohm Gary Prohm (born 3 October 1956) is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer and coach who represented New Zealand national rugby league team, New Zealand, including in matches that counted towards the 1988 Rugby League World Cup, 1988 Worl ...

Alan Rushton Alan Rushton is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand in the 1977 World Cup. Playing career Originally a second-row, Rushton moved to prop and then to hooker as his career evolved. Rushton was a Canterbury an ...

and

Gary Kemble Gary Edward Kemble (born 23 August 1956), also known by the nickname "Crayfish", is a New Zealand rugby league coach and former player. He has both played and coached the New Zealand national rugby league team. He is the current head coach of t ...

and John Whittaker. Australia drew with New Zealand Māori 10-all before defeating

Central Districts The Central Stags, formerly known as Central Districts, are a first-class cricket team based in central New Zealand. They are the men's representative side of the Central Districts Cricket Association. They compete in the Plunket Shield firs ...

23-0 and a New Zealand XIII 51–7. The New Zealand XIII included

Ron O'Regan Ronald Phillip O'Regan is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer, and coach who represented New Zealand between 1983 and 1986. His nephew, Daniel, played for the New Zealand Warriors. Playing career As a young boy he idolised players such ...

. The

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

the upset Australia 12–11, defeating them at the Show Grounds.Coffey, John. ''Canterbury XIII'', Christchurch, 1987. In the final tour game,

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

lost to Australia 7–21 at

Carlaw Park Carlaw Park was a multi-purpose stadium in Parnell, New Zealand, Parnell, a central suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It neighboured the Auckland Domain's Northern end. It was primarily used for rugby league and had a peak spectator capacity of aro ...

. Auckland included;

, Chris Jordan, Dave Lepper, captain Dennis Williams,

, John Smith, Doug Gailey, John Gordon, Pat Poasa,

Tom Conroy Thomas P. Conroy (born July 7, 1962) is an American politician who served as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives for the 13th Middlesex district from 2007 to 2015. Early life and education Conroy was born in New York City, New ...

, Alan McCarthy and

. Bench; Peter Simons and

Ian Bell Ian Ronald Bell (born 11 April 1982) is an English former cricketer who played international cricket in all formats for the England cricket team and county cricket for Warwickshire County Cricket Club. A right-handed higher/middle order batsm ...

.Coffey, John and Bernie Wood ''Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909–2009'', 2009. . Mark Graham and

shared the

New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood ''T ...

's player of the year award.

National competitions

Rugby League Cup

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

held the

Rugby League Cup The Rugby League Cup is a New Zealand rugby league trophy that is contested between districts on a challenge basis. The trophy used to be known as the Northern Union Challenge Cup. It is the oldest rugby league competition in New Zealand. Histo ...

at the end of the season, after they had defeated

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

20–8 in Christchurch. Wellington had earlier defended the trophy against Manawatu,

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

and twice against

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...

. Canterbury included Robin Alfeld, David Field, captain

, Michael O'Donnell, Mark Broadhurst and Bruce Dickison.

Inter-district competition

won the Inter-Districts competition on count back, after they had tied on points with

and the

.Sky Rugby League Annual '98 ''New Zealand Rugby League'', 1998 The South Island lost to Auckland 24–19 at the Show Grounds. Central Districts defeated Auckland 22–13.

played for

, Mark Broadhurst, Bruce Dickison,

Bernie Green Bernard John Green ( – 8 September 2009) was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand. Playing career Green played in the West Coast Rugby League competition and represented the West Coast. In 1980 he played for the South ...

, David Field,

Wayne Dwyer Wayne Patrick Dwyer is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand. Early life Dwyer was originally from the West Coast. He was educated at Marist Brothers High School, Greymouth.Alan Rushton Alan Rushton is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand in the 1977 World Cup. Playing career Originally a second-row, Rushton moved to prop and then to hooker as his career evolved. Rushton was a Canterbury an ...

, captain

and Michael O'Donnell played for the South Island.

Australasian competition

were eliminated in Round one of the Tooth Cup after losing 14–40 to the

Western Suburbs Magpies The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly r ...

Club competitions

Auckland

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

won the

Auckland Rugby League The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is responsible for rugby league in the region, including both club and school rugby league. It began in 1910 when the fi ...

's Fox Memorial Trophy, Kiwi Shield and Rukutai Shield.Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1990 ''New Zealand Rugby League'', 1990. p. 72 Richmond defeated Otahuhu 21–15 in the final. They also shared the Stormont Shield with

Manukau Manukau (), or Manukau Central, is a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand, centred on the Manukau City Centre business district. It is located 23 kilometres south of the Auckland Central Business District, west of the Southern Motorway, so ...

, who had won the Roope Rooster. Mt Albert won the Sharman Cup and Otara won the Norton Cup.

(Mt Wellington) won the Lipscombe Cup, Stan Martin (Richmond) won the

Rothville Trophy The Auckland Rugby League competition has been competed for since 1909 when the first organised match was played between North Shore and City Rovers (won 44–22 by North Shore). The following year an official champion was crowned for the first tim ...

, Gary Evans (Manukau) and Stephen Craike (Ellerslie) won the Bert Humphries Memorial, David Kerr (Mt Wellington) won the Tetley Trophy, Dennis Williams (Te Atatu) won the Painter Rosebowl Trophy and Mike McLennan (Mt Albert) won the Hyland Memorial Cup. Eastern United, a combined senior team from the Howick and

Pakuranga Pakuranga is an eastern suburb of Auckland, in northern New Zealand. Pakuranga covers a series of low ridges and previously swampy flats, now drained, that lie between the Pakuranga Creek and Tamaki River, two estuarial arms of the Hauraki Gul ...

, were coached by Murray Eade.

Wellington

Petone won the

Wellington Rugby League Wellington Rugby League is the local sporting body responsible for the administration of Rugby league in the Greater Wellington region. It is responsible for the local competition of the same name, as well as its representative team, the Wellingto ...

's Appleton Shield.

played for Upper Hutt.

Canterbury

Eastern Suburbs won the

Canterbury Rugby League Canterbury Rugby League is the regional body that administers rugby league in Canterbury, New Zealand. CRL manages local competitions from senior level down to age group competitions. Canterbury Rugby League also manages the Canterbury rugby lea ...

's Pat Smith Challenge Trophy.

Other Competitions

Hawera won the

Taranaki Rugby League Taranaki Rugby League is the local sporting body responsible for the administration of Rugby league in the Taranaki region of New Zealand. The TRL are represented by the Taranaki rugby league team. They are in the Mid-Central zone along with the ...

championship. The Waitara Bears were runner up.Taranaki Grand Final Countdown
''rleague.com'', 11 July 2003 Runanga defeated Marist-Western Suburbs 19–12 to win the

Thacker Shield The Thacker Shield is a rugby league football trophy awarded on an annual basis to the winner of a match between the champion clubs of the Canterbury Rugby League and West Coast Rugby League. History The shield was donated by Dr Henry Thacker in ...

. Eastern Suburbs had relinquished the right to challenge after being upset with the refereeing in the 1979 Thacker Shield match.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1980 New Zealand Rugby League Season New Zealand rugby league seasons Rugby league season