The Canterbury rugby league team (also known as the Canterbury Bulls) are a rugby league team who represent the Canterbury Rugby League. They currently compete in the

Albert Baskerville Trophy The NZRL Men's National Competition (previously called the National Zonal Competition) is the top-level rugby league competition run by the New Zealand Rugby League. In 2010 the competition replaced the Bartercard Premiership following a Sparc fun ...

. Their home ground is

Orangetheory Stadium Orangetheory Stadium is a rugby football stadium in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was formerly called AMI Stadium, and before that, the Addington Showgrounds. History The park is part of a complex with Christchurch Arena and Addington Raceway a ...

in Christchurch.

History

Early history

Canterbury played its first match on 7 September 1912 against Wellington at the Show Grounds, losing 4–5.Coffey, John. ''Canterbury XIII'', Christchurch, 1987 The following weekend the hosted the touring New South Wales side and lost 5–28. Included in the Canterbury team was captain

Charlie Pearce Charlie James Pearce was a New Zealand rugby footballer who was part of the professional 1907-1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain.\\ Early life Charlie Pearce was born on January 28, 1881. His parents were Charles Julius Pearce (185 ...

Jim Auld James Wilton Auld (1889-1974) was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand in 1913. Early life Jim Auld was born on January 6, 1889. He was the son of Jessie Auld and Hugh Ballie Auld. Playing career In 1912, Auld was part o ...

Abbie Shadbolt Albert "Abbie" Shadbolt (29 May 1887 – 13 July1971) was a New Zealand rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played representative rugby league (RL) for New Zealand. Early life Albert Edward Shadbolt was born on May 28, 188 ...

, Billy Mitchell,

Bill Bussell William Samuel Bussell (19 February 1887 – 7 June 1917) was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand. Bussell was killed in action during World War I. Personal life Bussell was the son of William and Hester Bussell and ...

and

David McPhail David Alexander McPhail (11 April 1945 – 14 May 2021) was a New Zealand comedic actor and writer whose television career spanned four decades. McPhail first won fame on sketch comedy show ''A Week of It'', partly thanks to his impressions of ...

. Canterbury's first win was in their third match, against Hawke's Bay, with Canterbury winning 10–8 in Napier.

and

scored tries and Shadbolt kicked two goals.

Touring teams

In 1955 Canterbury defeated the touring French side 24–12.Coffey and Wood ''The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League'' They defeated Great Britain 18–10, in 1990.

The 1990s

The early nineties saw a Canterbury side that included many future stars. The side was coached by Frank Endacott and included players such as Quentin Pongia, Terry Hermansson, Mark Nixon, Whetu Taewa

Aaron Whittaker Aaron Whittaker (born 9 July 1968) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer. A New Zealand international representative halfback, he played club football in Australia, England and New Zealand. Early years Whittaker grew up i ...

, Logan Edwards,

Brendon Tuuta Brendon Ephia Tuuta (born 29 April 1965) is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer of Māori (Ngāti Mutunga) and Moriori descent. Tuuta played a variety of positions including and . He was known as "the baby-faced assassin" and had a r ...

and

Mike Dorreen Michael Thomas Dorreen (born 19 January 1967) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played at representative level for New Zealand and Canterbury, and at club level for Addington (of ...

. With the creation of the Lion Red Cup however, many moved franchises and eventually ended up in Australia or England. Canterbury defeated Auckland in the 1993 final, winning 36–12. In the

Lion Red Cup The Lion Red Cup was a New Zealand domestic rugby league competition that ran from 1994 to 1996 sponsored by brewers Lion Nathan. It was created due to the increase in public awareness of domestic rugby league due to the Auckland Warriors being a ...

, from 1994 to 1996, Canterbury Rugby League was represented by the

Christchurch City Shiners The Christchurch City Shiners were a New Zealand rugby league club that represented Christchurch in the Lion Red Cup from 1994 to 1996. They were administered by the Canterbury Rugby League. Feeder clubs included Addington, Sydenham and Linwood ...

and the

Canterbury Country Cardinals The Canterbury Country Cardinals were a New Zealand rugby league club that represented Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury in the Lion Red Cup from 1994 to 1996. They were administered by the Canterbury Rugby League. The Country Cardinals drew f ...

. When this was folded Canterbury reverted to having one representative team, initially called "the Reds". However eventually "the Bulls" was adopted as a nickname and this was used when the

Bartercard Cup The Bartercard Cup (successor of the Lion Red Cup) was the top level rugby league club competition in New Zealand from 2000 until 2007. For the entire life of the tournament it was sponsored by Bartercard. The cup was administered by the New Zeala ...

was formed.

Bartercard Cup

Between 2000 and 2007 the Bulls played in the now defunct Bartercard Cup. They won two Bartercard Cup trophies, in 2000 and 2003. In addition, they were defeated in the last seconds of the 2004 final. This makes them one of the most successful teams in the competition, alongside the

Mt Albert Lions The Mount Albert Lions are a rugby league club based in Mount Albert, New Zealand. The Lions home ground is at Fowlds Park. Their patron is the former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark. In 2008 and 2009 the Lions won the Fox Memorial. ...

. Out of the seven seasons they only missed the finals once, in 2002. The Bulls were the only team from 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 ...

to ever compete in the Bartercard Cup and were the only club to compete in every season. During this time they were coached by

Ged Stokes Gerard James Stokes (1955 – 8 December 2020) was a New Zealand rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s, and coached in the 1980s through to the 2010s, who represented New Zealand. He was a coach of the Serbian national side, ...

and Phil Prescott.

2006 results

They finished second in the 2006 season standings and defeated the

Waitakere Rangers The Waitakere Rangers were a team in the now defunct Bartercard Cup Rugby league competition in New Zealand. They represented five clubs based in Waitakere City including the Glenora Bears who previously represented the City in the Bartercard Cu ...

26–20 in the non-elimination Semi-final. This qualified them for the Qualifying Semi-final which they lost to the Auckland Lions 27–14 at

Western Springs Stadium Western Springs Stadium is a stadium in Auckland, New Zealand. Built within a natural amphitheatre, it is primarily used for rugby union matches during the winter and for speedway during the summer. It is also occasionally used for large concer ...

. They bounced back in the preliminary final, smashing the

Tamaki Leopards The Tamaki Titans (originally Tamaki Leopards) were a franchise in the now defunct New Zealand rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact spor ...

30–6 but could not defeat the Lions, losing the Grand Final 25–18.

2007 results

Before the start of the 2007 season legendary coach Philip Prescott retired and was replaced by former New Zealand national rugby league team prop Brent Stuart. The Bulls finished the regular season in 3rd place. The highlight of the season was a 72–8 thrashing of the

Waicoa Bay Stallions The Wai-Coa-Bay Stallions were a rugby league team that represent the Upper Central Zone of the New Zealand Rugby League. The Zone comprises four districts: Waikato, Coastline Rugby League, Bay of Plenty, and Gisborne Tairawhiti Rugby League. The ...

. The Bulls lost the Preliminary Final to

Harbour League Harbour League were a franchise in the now defunct Bartercard Cup rugby league competition in New Zealand. They represented Aucklands North Shore City. They were formed in 2006 to take over from the Hibiscus Coast Raiders and the North Harbour ...

Bartercard Premiership

In 2008 and 2009 they played in the Bartercard Premiership where they made both grand finals. They finished minor premiers both years and defeated Auckland in the 2009 final.

Current

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 ...

the team was replaced in national competitions by one represented the new South Island Zone.Geoff Longle
It's go the South Island, No Bull
''The Press'', 4 June 2010 Canterbury lost 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 ...

to Auckland on Queen's Birthday 2012, after holding it since 2009. In 2013 the Canterbury Bulls were added to the

, replacing the South Island Scorpions. Until 2016 the Bulls represented the entire South Island and were able to select players from the other South Island districts.Canterbury Bulls team to make a comeback
''The Press'', 10 April 2013

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canterbury Rugby League Team New Zealand rugby league teams Rugby league in Canterbury, New Zealand 1912 establishments in New Zealand