Whakarua Park is a sports facility which is located on Whakarua Park Road in Ruatoria, Gisborne, New Zealand. The main sport that is played is rugby union, being the home ground of the East Coast Rugby Football Union, known as Ngāti Porou East Coast, who play in the

Heartland Championship The Heartland Championship competition, known for sponsorship reasons as the Bunnings Warehouse Heartland Championship, is a domestic rugby union competition in New Zealand. It was founded in 2006 as one of two successor competitions to the countr ...

and formerly played in the National Provincial Championship's Second and Third divisions.

History

It has been used by the East Coast Rugby Football Union since it split from the

Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union The Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union within the Gisborne district, in the area surrounding Poverty Bay on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The men's representative team play from Rugby Park ...

in 1922. Since then it has hosted numerous notable games including two Ranfurly Shield matches in 1997 against Auckland and in 2013 against Waikato. On both occasions East Coast suffered heavy losses. Whakarua Park also hosted the 1999 NPC Third Division final between East Coast and Poverty Bay in which the Ngāti Porou won 18–15. The 2000 NPC Third Division saw East Coast defeat Wairarapa Bush 18–17, however they would go on to lose the final at Centennial Park in Oamaru against

North Otago North Otago in New Zealand covers the area of Otago between Shag Point and the Waitaki River, and extends inland to the west as far as the village of Omarama (which has experienced rapid growth as a developing centre for astronomy and for glid ...

. More recently, one of the semifinals and the final of the

2012 Heartland Championship The 2012 Heartland Championship The Heartland Championship competition, known for sponsorship reasons as the Bunnings Warehouse Heartland Championship, is a domestic rugby union competition in New Zealand. It was founded in 2006 as one of two ...

took place in Whakarua Park as East Coast went on to win the championship for the first time since the disestablishment of the NPC in 2006. Ahead of the

2016 Super Rugby season The 2016 Super Rugby season was the 21st season of Super Rugby and the first season featuring an expanded 18-team format. It was also the first season that teams outside Australia, New Zealand and South Africa featured, with the Jaguares from Ar ...

, the Hurricanes prepared during preseason in Ruatoria and Gisborne.

References

External links

Official website of the East Coast Rugby Football UnionEast Coast rugby on NZHistory.net
{{Gisborne District Rugby union stadiums in New Zealand Buildings and structures in the Gisborne District Sport in the Gisborne District

History

See also

References

External links