Auckland v South Auckland, 16 June, 1928

The Waikato rugby league team (also known as the Waikato Cougars, formerly as South Auckland) is a

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

Waikato Rugby League Waikato Rugby League is the local sporting body responsible for the administration of rugby league in the Waikato region of New Zealand. The WRL are represented by the Waikato rugby league team. They are currently part of the Upper Central Zone alo ...

New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. 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 ''T ...

competitions. They competed 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 ...

from 1994 to 1996, the Super League Challenge Cup in 1997 and the Bartercard Premiership in 2008 and 2009.

History

Lion Red Cup

Between 1994 and 1996, the Waikato region was represented by the Waikato Cougars in the

competition. The team's inaugural captain was Tukere Barlow while Joe Gwynne was the coach. The team was originally going to be called the Stags or the Chiefs before the Cougars nickname was selected. Notable players included;

Martin Moana Martin Moana (born 13 August 1973) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who was an international representative and played club football in England and New Zealand. Early years Moana started his senior career in 1989, pl ...

Gavin Hill Gavin Lyle Hill (born 11 December 1965) is a New Zealand former rugby union and rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, and coached rugby union the 2000s. He resided in Wellington for 10-years before moving back to A ...

, Tama Hohaia,

Francis Leota Francis Poipoi Leota is a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand between 1989 and 1990, including in games that counted towards the 1992 World Cup. Early years Leota attended De La Salle College and played rugby union until ...

, Darryl Beazley, 1994 captain Tukere Barlow, Butch Tua, 1995 captain Aaron Tucker, Tony Waikato, Kiwi Mark Woods and Hekewaru Muru.''Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1994'',

New Zealand Rugby Football League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. 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 '' ...

, 1994. p.114''Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1995'',

, 1995. p.95

Late 1990s

The Waikato Cougars won the Super League Challenge Cup in 1997, defeating

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. ...

in the final. During this year they also defeated

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

Carlaw Park Carlaw Park was a multi-purpose stadium in Parnell, a central suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It neighboured the Auckland Domain's Northern end. It was primarily used for rugby league and had a peak spectator capacity of around 28,000 in the 1 ...

for the first time since 1943 and won the Rugby League Cup. They defended the Rugby League Cup in 1998.

Bartercard Cup

The Waikato region 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 by the

Waicoa 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 ...

, a co-operative team involving players from Waikato, Coastline and Bay of Plenty federations.

Bartercard Premiership

Waikato Rugby League were one of the six teams that compete in the National Provincial Competition in 2008 and 2009. In both years they finished third.

References

New Zealand rugby league teams Rugby league in the Waikato {{Rugbyleague-team-stub