Marlborough Rugby Union was a New Zealand

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 it ...

team that played from 1888 until 2005. Marlborough was founded in 1888 and played at

Lansdowne Park Lansdowne Park is a urban park, historic sports, exhibition and entertainment facility in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, owned by the City of Ottawa. It is located on Bank Street adjacent to the Rideau Canal in The Glebe neighbourhood of central Ot ...

Blenheim Blenheim ( ) is the English name of Blindheim, a village in Bavaria, Germany, which was the site of the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. Almost all places and other things called Blenheim are named directly or indirectly in honour of the battle. Places ...

Championships

Marlborough won three New Zealand Championships during the old NPC, consecutive South Island Division with two titles in 1978 and 1979, and Division 3 in 1997.

Ranfurly Shield

Marlborough held the

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challen ...

briefly in the early 1970s which they won against

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a 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. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of t ...

in 1973. They managed six defences before losing to

South Canterbury South Canterbury is the area of the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand bounded by the Rangitata River in the north and the Waitaki River (the border with the Otago Region) to the south. The Pacific Ocean and ridge of the Southe ...

, in the second challenge of 1974. Their last challenge came in the first challenge of the 2005 season, however Marlborough could not match Canterbury's strength this time and lost heavily, 3–67.

Hong Kong Sevens

Marlborough reached the final of the 1977

Hong Kong Sevens The Hong Kong Sevens () is an rugby sevens tournament held annually in Hong Kong on a weekend in late March or early April. Considered the premier tournament on the World Rugby Sevens Series competition, the Hong Kong Sevens is currently the s ...

, finishing runner-up, losing 18–28 to Fiji.

Tasman

Marlborough joined with Nelson Bays Rugby Union to become

Tasman Rugby Union The Tasman Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere, a bay at the north end of the South Island in New Zealand. Headquartered in Nelson, TRU is New Zealand's newest provincial union, founded in 2006 wit ...

in 2006. Rugby clubs established in 1888 Defunct New Zealand rugby union teams Defunct New Zealand rugby union governing bodies Sport in the Marlborough Region 1888 establishments in New Zealand {{NewZealand-rugbyunion-team-stub