Taranaki Rugby League is the local sporting body responsible for the administration of Rugby league in the

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth D ...

region of

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 ...

. The TRL are represented by the

Taranaki rugby league team The Taranaki rugby league team (also known as the Taranaki Wildcats, formerly the Taranaki Sharks and the Taranaki Rockets) are New Zealand rugby league team that represents the Taranaki Rugby League. They currently compete in the NZRL National C ...

. They are in the Mid-Central zone along with the

Manawatu Rugby League Manawatu Rugby League was formed in 1957. They are currently part of the Mid-Central zone along with Taranaki Rugby League. Kiwi Players Only one player from Manawatu has ever made the New Zealand national rugby league team. This was Kiwi number ...

Regional senior competition

Five Taranaki senior clubs compete in the Western Alliance, alongside five clubs from the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Taranaki clubs in the Western Alliance include: *Coastal Cobras *Bell Block Marist Dragons *Hawera Hawks *Waitara Bears *Western Suburb Tigers *Normanby/Okaiawa Knights

History

The Taranaki Rugby League was founded with the help of

Adam Lile Adam "Addie" Lile (1885-1954) was a New Zealand rugby footballer who was part of the professional 1907-1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain. Early years Originally from Taranaki, Lile enlisted in the Army for the South African War but ...

, one of the members of the 1907-1908 "All Golds" tour.John Haynes ''From All Blacks to All Golds: Rugby League's Pioneers'', Christchurch, Ryan and Haynes, 1996. In 2008 the Taranaki Rugby League named its Team of the Century:

Dave Watson David Watson (born 20 November 1961) is an English football manager and former professional footballer. As a player, he was a defender from 1980 to 2001. He played his entire career for Norwich City and Everton. With the Toffees he played in ...

; Babe Hooker;

Ron McKay Ron McKay is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand in the 1954 World Cup. Playing career McKay played in the Taranaki Rugby League competition and represented Taranaki. He was first selected to play for the New ...

;

Willie Talau Viliamu "Willie" Talau (born 25 January 1976) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. A Samoa and New Zealand international representative , he played in the National Rugby League (NRL) for the Canterb ...

; Ernest Buckland; Tony Kemp;

Issac Luke Issac Luke (born 29 May 1987) is a former New Zealand professional rugby league footballer He previously played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, New Zealand Warriors, St. George Illawarra Dragons, and the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugb ...

;

Bruce Gall Bruce Gall is a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand. Playing career Gall played in the Taranaki Rugby League and represented Taranaki. In 1976 Gall played for the North Island against the touring Sydney Metropolitan ...

;

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 ...

;

Wille Southorn Willie Southorn is a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand national rugby league team, New Zealand. Playing career Southorn played for Taranaki rugby league team, Taranaki and the New Zealand Māori rugby league team, New Z ...

;

Graeme West Graeme Leonard West (born 5 December 1953) is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer and coach. Standing at six-foot, five inches, he played in the forwards, captaining English club Wigan Warriors. West also played representative rugby l ...

;

Barry Harvey Barry Kenneth Harvey is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand in three test matches, including matches that counted towards the 1988 World Cup. Playing career A 1983 Junior Kiwi, Harvey played for the Western ...

. Bench: Jack McLeod; Fred White;

Lance Moir Lancelot Ernest Moir (18 June 1886 – 29 July 1962) was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand in 1912. No test matches were played on that year's tour of Australia. In 2008 he was named in the Taranaki Rugby League ...

; Jim Parker; Charles Hunt. Referee of the century: Graham Church. Coach of the century: Alan Marshall. Player of the century:

Lion Red Cup

Between 1994 and 1996, the Taranaki region was represented by the Taranaki Rockets 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 ...

competition. The Rockets were notable for having

, John Farrar on their roster, both players played for their Club Western Tigers Wille who now competes in the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

with St. Helens.and John Farrar who was selected and played for the New Zealand Maori Rugby league team against Great Britain and Papua New Guine.

Bartercard Cup

Taranaki was represented in 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 ...

competition for two years by the Taranaki Wildcats. They finished in last place both seasons, before folding at the completion of the 2003 season.

National provincial competition

Taranaki Rugby League were awarded a place in the new six-team National Provincial Competition which began in 2008. In the first season the team finished in sixth place.

Regional senior competition

History

Lion Red Cup

Bartercard Cup

National provincial competition

References

External links