The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the

sport Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

rugby league football Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playing field, field measur ...

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 ...

. 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 ''The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League'' The NZRL administers the ''New Zealand'' ''Kiwis'' and the '' New Zealand Kiwi Ferns.'' Currently they manage the NZRL National Secondary Schools Tournament, the NZRL Women's National Tournament and the NZRL National 20's Competition, a seven Zone national competition played at 16s, 18s grades. The premier competition is known as the National Premiership and the National Championship which is a tier below. NZRL launched the Inaugural National 20's Competition in 2021 as a new pathway for developing elite talent, this includes 2 teams from Auckland, Auckland Blue and Auckland White, Wai-Coa Bay, Central Districts, Northland and South Island. They are also responsible for elite pathway programmes including the NZ 16s and NZ 18s teams, the NZ Taurahere and the

Junior Kiwis The Junior Kiwis side represents New Zealand in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. Since 2010, they are an under-20s side, with players selected from the NRL, Intrust Super ...

. They have previously managed the now defunct

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 ...

and Bartercard Cup competitions. The NZRL is an

incorporated society In New Zealand, an incorporated society is a group of at least 15 people who have applied for registration under the ''Incorporated Societies Act 1908''. Once registered the Society constitutes a distinct legal entity In law, a legal person ...

under the Incorporated Societies Act 1908. The current patron of the NZRL is

Sir Anand Satyanand Sir Anand Satyanand, (born 22 July 1944) is a former lawyer, judge and ombudsman who served as the 19th Governor-General of New Zealand from 2006 to 2011. Satyanand was chair of the Commonwealth Foundation for two 2-year terms, ending in D ...

, who replaced Sir Peter Leitch in the role in 2019.

History

In April 1910, the New Zealand Rugby League was formed for the purpose of administering the new code in New Zealand and "with the blessing of the

Northern Rugby Football Union Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

, on the condition that the Auckland District would not have the management of the entire game in New Zealand". SPARC, 2009: 15

Staff

Board * Reon Edwards (Chairman) * Andrew Fraser * Paula Kearns * Hugh Martyn * Tawera Nikau * Grant Stapleton * Natasha Tere Staff *CEO: Greg Peters *President:

Howie Tamati Howard Kevin Tamati (born 3 January 1953), generally known as Howie Tamati, is a New Zealand politician and former professional rugby league footballer and coach who played for New Zealand. He is the cousin of fellow international Kevin Tamati ...

National Competition

The National Competition (previously called the National Zonal Competition) is the top-level

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 11 ...

competition run by the New Zealand Rugby League. In 2010 the competition replaced the

Bartercard Premiership The NZRL Bartercard Premiership was a six-team rugby league competition that ran in 2008 and 2009. It replaced the now-defunct Bartercard Cup competition as the highest level of rugby league in New Zealand. Matches have been broadcast on SKY Networ ...

following a

Sparc SPARC (Scalable Processor Architecture) is a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) instruction set architecture originally developed by Sun Microsystems. Its design was strongly influenced by the experimental Berkeley RISC system develope ...

funded review and restructure of the New Zealand Rugby League. Since 2019, the competition has consisted of a four-team national premiership and an eight-team national championship (split into North and South Island Conferences) with a promotion and relegation between the two divisions.

Zones

Throughout New Zealand, the sport is administered by seven zones and fifteen districts and has seven Affiliates. Zones * Rugby League Northland ( Northern Swords) * Akarana ( Akarana Falcons) *Counties Manukau (

Counties Manukau Stingrays The Counties Manukau rugby league team represents the Counties Manukau zone in the Albert Baskerville Trophy. Previously, teams representing Southern Auckland and the Franklin district of New Zealand have competed in the Lion Red Cup and Barterca ...

) *Upper Central (

Wai-Coa-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 ...

) *Mid Central (

Central Vipers The Central Vipers were a New Zealand rugby league team that represented the Mid-Central Zone in the Albert Baskerville Trophy.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 metr ...

(

Wellington Orcas The Wellington Rugby League Team (also known as the Wellington Orcas) are a rugby league team that represents the Wellington Rugby League in New Zealand Rugby League competitions. They currently compete in the National Competition. History ...

) *Southern (

Canterbury Bulls 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. Their home ground is Orangetheory Stadium in Chri ...

) Districts * Auckland Rugby League *

Aoraki Rugby League Aoraki / Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand. Its height, as of 2014, is listed as . It sits in the Southern Alps, the mountain range that runs the length of the South Island. A popular tourist destination, it is also a favourite ...

Bay of Plenty Rugby League Bay of Plenty Rugby League is the local sporting body responsible for the administration of Rugby league in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand. Following the restructuring of the New Zealand Rugby League they are part of the Upper Central Zone ...

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 ...

* Coastline Rugby League * Gisborne Tairawhiti Rugby League * Manawatu Rugby League * Otago Rugby League * Southland Rugby League * Rugby League Hawke's Bay *

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 ...

* Tasman Rugby League * Waikato Rugby League *

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 ...

* West Coast Rugby League * Whangarei City & Districts Affiliates * Kiwis Association * Masters of Rugby League * Defence Forces * Māori Rugby League * Universities and Tertiary Students * Women's Rugby League * Pacific Island Rugby League

Legends of League

47 players have been inducted since the Legends of League was introduced in 1995. 1995 Inductees * Ron Ackland *

Bert Avery Herbert "Bert" Avery (1895–1966) was a New Zealand rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played representative rugby league (RL) for New Zealand. Early years Born in 1895 in Whakapirau Northland, Avery originally played r ...

Roger Bailey Charles Roger Bailey (born October 3, 1970) is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who played for the Colorado Rockies from 1995 to 1997. A native of Chattahoochee, Florida, Bailey attended Chattahoochee High School, ...

Tom Baxter Tom Baxter (born Thomas Baxter Gleave, 29 October 1973) is an English singer-songwriter based in London. He was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, and grew up in Camborne Cornwall with his 4 siblings. The second son of Jeff and Julie Gleave (who were r ...

Mel Cooke Melville Lance Cooke (30 May 1934 – 5 September 2013) was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand twenty three times between 1959 and 1964. Playing career Cooke was a member of the Hornby club in the Canterbury Rugby Le ...

Cyril Eastlake Cyril Aston Eastlake (21 August 1930 – 30 September 2007) was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented his nation in the sport. He captained New Zealand at the 1954 World Cup and also played at the 1960 World Cup. Early years Eastl ...

* Mark Graham * Cliff Johnson *

Hugh McGahan Hugh Joseph McGahanMcGAHAN, Hugh Joseph 1982 - 90 - Kiwi #566

George Menzies George Menzies (30 September 1930 – 16 March 2016) was a New Zealand rugby league player and coach who represented New Zealand at three World Cups and coached New Zealand at another World Cup. In 2007 he was named the greatest New Zealand had ...

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 ...

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 ...

Des White Desmond Henry White (born 1927) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. A record-breaking goal-kicking , he was named amongst the country's finest players of the 20th century. His total for ...

* Dennis Williams 2000 Inductees *

Dean Bell Dean Bell, also known by the nicknames of "Mean Dean", and "Deano", is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer, and coach. A New Zealand international representative centre, he played his club football in England, Australia a ...

* Lory Blanchard *

Travers Hardwick Travers Harry Hardwick (13 March 1923 – 25 April 1979) was a New Zealand rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played representative rugby league (RL) for New Zealand and coached them in the 1960 World Cup. Early years Ha ...

Karl Ifwersen Karl Donald Ifwersen (1893–1967) was a New Zealand rugby football player who represented New Zealand in both rugby league and rugby union. Early years Karl Donald Ifwersen was born on January 6 in Auckland, New Zealand. His parents were Char ...

Charlie McBride Charles Joseph McBride (10 April 1925 – 3 October 2013) was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand. Early life McBride was born in Greymouth. He was educated at the Marist Brothers School, Greymouth. Playing caree ...

Bill McLennan William Patrick McLennan (26 January 1942 – 19 March 2022) was an Australian statistician who was Director of the Central Statistical Office (CSO) of the United Kingdom and Australian Statistician, head of the Australian Bureau of Statistic ...

* Cecil Mountford *

Maurie Robertson Maurice Hunter Wilson Robertson (also known as Maurie or Morrie) was a New Zealand rugby league player, captain and coach who represented, captained and coached New Zealand. He was sibling to Bruce Robertson who also represented New Zealand, a ...

* Bill Sorensen * Kurt Sorensen 2001 Inductees * Albert Baskerville *

Jock Butterfield John Rutherford "Jock" Butterfield (18 January 1932 – 14 February 2004) was a New Zealand rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He was named amongst the finest that New Zealand produced during the 20th century. A New Zeala ...

* Phillip Orchard * Charlie Seeling 2007 Inductees * Roy Christian * Tony Coll * Olsen Filipaina * Gary Freeman * Scotty McClymont *

Ron McGregor Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

* Frank Mulcare * Pat Smith *

Ken Stirling Kenneth Lorrie Stirling is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer, coach and administrator who represented New Zealand in the 1975 World Championship. Playing career Stirling played for the Ellerslie club in the Auckland Rugby League a ...

Lance Todd Lancelot Beaumont "Lance" Todd (26 May 1883 – 14 November 1942) was a New Zealand-born rugby league footballer and manager of the early 20th century. As a player, he represented New Zealand in 1907 and 1908 and played in England for the Wiga ...

2008 Inductees *

Albert Asher Arapeta Paurini Wharepapa (3 December 1879 – 8 January 1965), or Albert Asher as he was more commonly known, was a New Zealand dual-code international rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1890s, 1900s, 1910s ...

Tawera Nikau Tawera Nuieia Nikau (born 1 January 1967) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. A New Zealand national rugby league team, New Zealand international representative forward, he played club ...

Jim Rukutai Puhipi James Rukutai (1877 – 11 January 1940) was a New Zealand rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played representative rugby league (RL) and coached New Zealand. The Auckland Rugby League's minor premiership, the Ruku ...

* Puti Tipene (Steve) Watene 2010 Inductees * Don Hammond * Tom Hadfield 2012 Inductees (

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 metr ...

centenary) * Stephen Kearney * Colin O'Neil * John Whittaker 2013 Inductees (

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 ...

centenaryNew legends inducted as part of 100 year celebrations
''nzrl.co.nz'', 4 June 2013) *

Jimmy Haig James Scott Haig (7 December 1924 – 28 October 1996) was a Scottish-born New Zealand rugby footballer who represented New Zealand in both rugby league and rugby union. Early years Haig was born in Scotland but emigrated to New Zealand at a y ...

Alister Atkinson Alister James Atkinson (1925-2002) was a New Zealand rugby union and professional rugby league footballer who played representative rugby league (RL) for New Zealand in the 1954 World Cup. His position of preference was at Loose forward. Play ...

* Mocky Brereton * Mark Broadhurst

References

External links

Official site
* {{NZ Sport

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 11 ...

Sports organizations established in 1910