Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

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 ...

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

are the prominent sporting rivalries between

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

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 ...

. In addition, respective national teams have competed in other sports such as indoor bowls,

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...

and touch football.

Olympic Games

Australia attended its first

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

in 1896. New Zealand first attended in 1908, with the two countries competing together as

Australasia Australasia is a region that comprises Australia, New Zealand and some neighbouring islands in the Pacific Ocean. The term is used in a number of different contexts, including geopolitically, physiogeographically, philologically, and ecologica ...

. After World War I, the two nations split and since the 1920 Games have competed separately. From 1952 both nations have sent teams to the

Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were he ...

, except the non participation of New Zealand in 1956 and 1964. Both nations have competed against each other and other

Commonwealth nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

at the

British Empire Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

and

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

starting from 1930. Australia has attended every Summer

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

since their inception in 1960; New Zealand first attended eight years later in 1968.

Basketball

In 1938, the New Zealand Basketball Association sent the first

New Zealand women's national basketball team The New Zealand's elite women's basketball team is affectionately known to their home fans as the Tall Ferns. The team has been coached by Guy Molloy since 2018. The assistant coaches are Aik Ho and Jody Cameron. The Tall Ferns have a FIBA worl ...

to tour Australia. The men's teams have opposed each other in qualification for the

2002 FIBA World Championship The 2002 FIBA World Championship was the 14th edition of the competition now known as the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the international world championship for men's basketball teams. The tournament held by the International Basketball Federation in ...

and at the

2004 Athens Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

. Australasia's National Basketball League has included the

New Zealand Breakers The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Sky Sport Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at ...

as its sole non-Australian team since 2003. They are the two best-performing nations in

FIBA Oceania The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its na ...

. Teams from New Zealand's Women's Basketball Championship have no history of playing against those of Australia's Women's NBL.

Cricket

The

Australian cricket team The Australia men's national cricket team represents Australia in men's international cricket. As the joint oldest team in Test cricket history, playing in the first ever Test match in 1877, the team also plays One-Day International (ODI) an ...

first toured New Zealand in 1878 and recognised first class Test cricket between the respective national teams commenced in 1945–46. The

underarm incident The underarm bowling incident of 1981 is a sporting controversy which took place on 1 February 1981, when Australia played New Zealand in a One Day International cricket match, the third in the best-of-five final of the 1980–81 World Series ...

of 1981 stands as memorable for bringing

Australian cricket The Australia men's national cricket team represents Australia in men's international cricket. As the joint oldest team in Test cricket history, playing in the first ever Test match in 1877, the team also plays One-Day International (ODI) a ...

into infamy and causing anger in New Zealand as well as being remarked upon by the respective

heads of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...

. The two nations have exclusively and directly competed for the

Trans-Tasman Trophy The Trans-Tasman Trophy is awarded to the winner of the Australia–New Zealand Test match series in cricket. The trophy is awarded to the team that wins a Test series, or one-off Test match, between the two nations. If the series is a draw, the ...

test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last fo ...

since 1985–86 and for the

Chappell–Hadlee Trophy The Chappell–Hadlee Trophy in cricket is a One Day International cricket series between Australia and New Zealand. It is named after legendary cricketing families from the two countries: the Chappell brothers (Ian, Gregory, and Trevor) of Au ...

in ODI

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

since 2006–07. They have competed at

Twenty20 internationals A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket, played between two of the international members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), in which each team faces a maximum of twenty overs. The matches have top-class status and are the ...

and

tournaments A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

since their first such match occurring on 17 February 2005.

Mixed Martial Arts

The highest attended

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

event in history took place in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

when Australian Robert Whittaker attempted to defend his UFC middleweight championship against New Zealander

Israel Adesanya Israel Mobolaji Odunayo Oluwafemi Temitayo Owolabi Adesanya (born 22 July 1989) is a New Zealand professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer, and former boxer with multiple championships in all three disciplines. As a mixed martial artist, h ...

in front of 57,127 people at

Marvel Stadium Docklands Stadium, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as Marvel Stadium, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the Docklands area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Construction started in October 1997 and was ...

. Adesanya would win the bout via a second-round knockout.

Netball

and

are the top two ranked teams in international netball. On 20 August

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

, at

Royal Park, Melbourne Royal Park is the largest of Melbourne's inner city parks (). It is located north of the Melbourne CBD, in Victoria, Australia, in the suburb of Parkville. Many sporting facilities are provided including the North Park Tennis Club, Royal P ...

, Australia defeated New Zealand 40–11. This was the first netball Test between Australia and New Zealand. It was also the world's first international netball match. Between

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

and

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, the two teams dominated the

World Netball Championships The Netball World Cup is a quadrennial international netball world championship organised by the World Netball, inaugurated in 1963. Since its inception the competition has been dominated primarily by the Australia national netball team and t ...

and

tournaments. Since 2010 the two teams have also competed for the

Constellation Cup The Constellation Cup is an international netball competition contested by Australia and New Zealand. The competition features a series of test matches. The two teams have competed for the trophy since 2010. Australia won the inaugural series ...

. Notable and memorable clashes have included the finals of the

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

and

2011 World Netball Championships The 2011 World Netball Championships was the 13th edition of the INF Netball World Cup, a quadrennial premier event in international netball. It was held in Singapore from 3–10 July. All 48 matches were played at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Sin ...

, the finals of the

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

and the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games ( gd, Geamannan a' Cho-fhlaitheis 2014), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014, ( sco, Glesca 2014 or Glesga 2014; gd, Glaschu 2014), was an international multi-sport ev ...

and the final match of the 2013 Constellations Cup.

Rugby league

The rivalry between the two national rugby league teams, the

Kangaroos Kangaroos are four marsupials from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, the red kangaroo, as well as the antilopine kangaroo, eastern gre ...

and the Kiwis, commenced with matches at the conclusion of the professional 1907 ''All Golds'' tour. A collaborative side, that toured Great Britain, was fielded in 1911–12, but with the exception of a 2007 team this has not been repeated. An ANZAC Test, for the Bill Kelly Memorial Trophy, has been contested between the two countries since 1997, and is held close to ANZAC Day. Additionally, at the end of each season the two countries compete in the

Rugby League Four Nations The Rugby League Four Nations (known as the Ladbrokes Four Nations in 2016, for sponsorship purposes) was a biennial rugby league football tournament run in partnership between the Australian Rugby League Commission, Rugby Football League and N ...

tournament. Women's national teams of the two nations have directly competed at the

Women's Rugby League World Cup The Women's Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league tournament, contested by the women's national team of the International Rugby League (IRL). The competition has been held since 2000 in Great Britain and since 2008 has been ...

s of 2000, 2005 and 2008. Since 1995 a New Zealand professional team, the

Warriors A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have be ...

, have played in the Australia-centred

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

Rugby union

An early 1882

New South Wales Waratahs The New South Wales Waratahs ( or ;), referred to as the Waratahs, are an Australian professional rugby union team representing the majority of New South Wales in the Super Rugby competition. The Riverina and other southern parts of the state, ...

tour of New Zealand was followed by an

1884 New Zealand rugby union tour of New South Wales The first New Zealand team was selected in 1884, for a tour to New South Wales, Australia. It was a privately organized selection as the New Zealand Rugby Union was founded not until eight years later. On 22 May 1884, before the tour start, the ...

and then with the

history of rugby union matches between Australia and New Zealand The first clash in Rugby Union between Australia and New Zealand took place in a test match on 15 August 1903 in Sydney, New South Wales. On that occasion, New Zealand won 22–3. Since 1931, the overall winner of the annual test matches (betwe ...

commencing in 1903. Since 1931 that rivalry has been pursued for the prize of possession of the

Bledisloe Cup The Bledisloe Cup is an annual rugby union competition originally staged between the national teams of Australia's Wallabies and New Zealand's All Blacks that has been contested since the 1930s. The frequency that the competition is held has va ...

. Both nations together hosted the inaugural

1987 Rugby World Cup The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. It was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia – New Zealand hosted 21 matches (17 pool stage matches, two quarter-finals, the third-place play-off and the final) while Australia hosted 11 ...

and have since furthered a spirited rivalry directly and indirectly competing against each other for the sport's

Webb Ellis Cup The Webb Ellis Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the men's Rugby World Cup, the premier competition in men's international rugby union. The Cup is named after William Webb Ellis, who is often credited as being the inventor of rugby footba ...

world championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

trophy on every subsequent occasion. The first

women's international rugby Women's international rugby union has a history going back to the late 19th century, but it was not until 1982 that the first international fixture (or "test match") involving women's rugby union took place. The match was organised in connection w ...

test between the

Wallaroos The Australia women's national rugby union team, also known as the Wallaroos, has competed at all Women's Rugby World Cups since 1998, with their best result finishing in third place in 2010. Australian women have been playing rugby since th ...

and

Black Ferns The New Zealand women's rugby union team, called the Black Ferns, represents New Zealand in women's international rugby union, which is regarded as the country's national sport. The team has won six out of nine Women's Rugby World Cup tournamen ...

occurred in 1994. From 1996 their men's national teams compete annually in the Tri Nations, as do their elite provincial teams in

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

Soccer

From 1966 to the end of 2005 the two countries competed in the

Oceania Football Confederation The Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) is one of the six continental confederations of international association football. The OFC has 13 members, 11 of which are full members and two which are associate members not affiliated with FIFA. It ...

and a New Zealand club side has played against Australian clubs in the professional soccer

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

since 2005–06. Their national youth teams competed in the

OFC U-20 Championship The OFC U-19 Championship is a tournament held once every two years to decide the under-19 champions of Oceania and also decides who will represent Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) at the biennial FIFA U-20 World Cup. Between 1974 and 2012, ...

between 1978 and 2001. A first match between the

Matildas The Australia women's national soccer team is overseen by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia, which is currently a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and the regional ASEAN Football Federation (AFF) si ...

and

Football Ferns The New Zealand women's national football team, nicknamed the Football Ferns, is governed by New Zealand Football (NZF). The New Zealand national team qualified for the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, held in China in September 2007, sending the t ...

female teams occurred in 1975. The women's teams competed for the

Oceania Cup The Oceania Cup is an international men's field hockey competition organised by Oceania Hockey Federation (OHF). It is held every two years to determine which teams will receive an automatic berth to the Men's FIH Hockey World Cup and Summer Olymp ...

seven times between 1983 and 2003.

Other sports

Australasian Championships The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. ...

in tennis commenced in 1905, later becoming the Australian Open. Between 1905 and 1915 the two nations combined their best players to compete in the

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...

, winning in all of 1907, 1908, 1909, 1911 and 1914. Congalton mark against india international cup 2008

The introduction of

Australian rules football in New Zealand Australian rules football in New Zealand is notable as the first colony outside of Australia to take up the sport as early as the 1860s and was home to the first club formed outside Australia in 1876. The sport's official name was changed in 189 ...

occurred around 1868 and maintained some cultural significance there until 1914 and then from the 1974 restarting of senior competition in three of its major cities.Camilla Obel, "Unions, Leagues and Franchises: The Social Organisation of Rugby Union in New Zealand", University of Canterbury thesis, 2001 In 1890 an

Australasian Football Council The Australian National Football Council (ANFC) was the national governing body for Australian rules football in Australia from 1906 until 1995. The council was a body of delegates representing each of the principal leagues which controlled the ...

was formed including delegates from New Zealand and in 1908 New Zealand defeated both

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and Queensland at the

Jubilee Australasian Football Carnival The 1908 Melbourne Carnival was the inaugural Australian National Football Carnival, an Australian rules football interstate competition, held in Melbourne in August 1908. It was known at the time as the Jubilee Australasian Football Carnival b ...

.Christchurch Football Club History
In 1961, the

Melbourne Football Club The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed the Demons, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's elite competition. It is based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, ...

toured New Zealand during its off season, becoming the first VFL/AFL club to do so. The New Zealand Falcons have represented their country in the sport since 1995 and the New Zealand AFL has existed since 1997. No international AFL exhibition matches have been played in New Zealand since 2001.

AFL AFL may refer to: Sports * American Football League (AFL), a name shared by several separate and unrelated professional American football leagues: ** American Football League (1926) (a.k.a. "AFL I"), first rival of the National Football Leagu ...

matches have been broadcast live into New Zealand since 2006 and there is regular coverage of AFL matches in ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

''. Women's AFL in New Zealand found its first expression through a match convened by the Canterbury AFL in 2006. Harness Racing (Pacers)

The Inter Dominion harness racing competition has been contested since 1936 at venues in both countries. The Tasman Series of motor racing, motor races across Australia and New Zealand was held from 1964 to 1975 and from 2001, the Pukekohe Park Raceway#V8 Supercars, V8 Supercar Round at Pukekohe and subsequently the Hamilton 400 has been promoted as the New Zealand leg of the V8 Supercars category of touring car racing otherwise predominantly contested in Australia. At ISF Women's World Championships from 1965 and in softball at the Summer Olympics – except the Championships of 1978, 1982, 1986 and 1990 – Australia can be seen to have consistently distinguished itself ahead of New Zealand. The Black Socks, Black Sox men's team won the inaugural Commonwealth Championships over Australia and other nations in 2006 and have otherwise outperformed Australia in world championships. International indoor bowls competition began in 1975 when Australia and New Zealand first met for the Henselite Trophy. Trans-Tasman matches are held bi-annually with Australia being the current holder of the trophy as the test was a draw and Australia were the previous holders of the Trophy and therefore retained it. The New Zealand men's national field hockey team, Black Sticks Men (New Zealand) defeated Australia men's national field hockey team, the Kookaburras (Australia) to win gold in field hockey at the 1976 Summer Olympics. Competition between the New Zealand women's national field hockey team, Black Sticks Women (New Zealand) and the Australia women's national field hockey team, Hockeyroos (Australia) female teams is recorded back to 1935. Both teams from both countries have contested the Oceania Cup biennially since 1999. Respective touch football (rugby league), touch football national teams of either and mixed gender, and across age categories, have sustained close competitive rivalry for championship honours through Touch Football World Cups contested since 1988. New Zealand men's national ice hockey team#All-time Record against other nations, As of 25 May 2009 and starting from 1987 the two nations had met 10 times at the sport of ice hockey. Biennially since 1987 Australasian Masters Games have been contested in a range of sports by mature-aged athletes and teams of participants. A PGA Tour of Australasia for men's golfers commenced under its current name in 1991. The Australasian Pacers Grand Circuit for standardbred horses commenced in 1992 and the Australasian Breeders Crown futurity race series for 2 and 3-year-old horses bred in Australia and New Zealand is contested on a Sunday in late August each year at a venue in the Victoria, Australia, Australian State of Victoria. From 1997 both nations are known to have hosted the Oceania Badminton Championships. Badminton at the Commonwealth Games#Medal table, Overall in badminton at the Commonwealth Games it might be considered that Badminton Australia has marginally outperformed the Black Cocks. They have had common membership of the International Korfball Federation since 1998 and they are recorded to have competed at the 2004 Asia-Oceania Korfball Championship. Men's teams for both nations have contested the Oceania Handball Nations Cup from 2004 with both nations being members of the Oceania Handball Federation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Australia-New Zealand sports rivalries Australia–New Zealand sports relations, Sport in Australia Sport in New Zealand Sports rivalries