The Southland rugby league team are

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 ...

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 ...

team that represents the

Southland Rugby League Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Re ...

. In the past they have been nicknamed the Rams.

History

In 1908 Southland was involved in some of the first provincial matches in the country when it played a home and away series against

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

. The first game was played at Caledonia Ground in Dunedin on 3 October and used goalposts which were rented from the

Otago Rugby Union The Otago Rugby Football Union is the official governing body of rugby union for the Otago region of New Zealand. The union is based in the city of Dunedin, and its home ground is Forsyth Barr Stadium. The top representative team competes in ...

. The Southland side included

Ned Hughes Edward Hughes (26 April 1881 – 1 May 1928), was a New Zealand rugby union and rugby league footballer who played 9 times (6 of these were test matches) as an All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All ...

, a former

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

. Otago won the match 11-8. A return match was played at Queens Park, Invercargill on 7 October. Southland was able to win the match 30-14 and draw the series. In 1998 Southland recorded its first ever win over the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

.''New Zealand Rugby League Annual '98'', New Zealand Rugby Football League, 1998. p.122 In 2010 former

Southland Stags Rugby Southland (formerly the Southland Rugby Football Union) is the provincial rugby union who govern the Southland region of New Zealand. Their headquarters are at Rugby Park Stadium in Invercargill, which is also the home ground of the unio ...

player

Iona Sipa Iona (; gd, Ì Chaluim Chille (IPA: �iːˈxaɫ̪ɯimˈçiʎə, sometimes simply ''Ì''; sco, Iona) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there ...

switched codes and represented the Rams. A home and away series will be held in 2011 between

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. ...

Tasman Tasman most often refers to Abel Tasman (1603–1659), Dutch explorer. Tasman may also refer to: Animals and plants * Tasman booby * Tasman flax-lily * Tasman parakeet (disambiguation) * Tasman starling * Tasman whale People * Tasman (name), ...

, the West Coast,

and Southland.

References

{{Rugby League in New Zealand New Zealand rugby league teams Rugby league in Southland, New Zealand 1908 establishments in New Zealand