The Northland Rugby Union is the governing body for

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

in Northland,

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 ...

; Northland is a region of New Zealand that covers areas in the districts of Far North, Kaipara, and

Whangārei Whangārei () is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the regional capital of Northland Region. It is part of the Whangārei District, a local body created in 1989 from the former Whangārei City, Whangārei County and Hikurangi Town coun ...

. Established in 1920, they represent the

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side, Northland Taniwha, and Farah Palmer Cup side, Northland Kauri. It is also affiliated with the Blues Super Rugby franchise. Their home playing colours are sky blue and they play their home games at Semenoff Stadium in Morningside.

Affiliated clubs

There are currently 39 registered clubs incorporated and secondary schools affiliated with the Northland Rugby Union, most of which have teams at both senior and junior levels. *Awanui Rugby Football Club * Dargaville High School *Eastern United Rugby & Sports Club * The Hora Hora Rugby Union Football Club *Kaeo Rugby and Sports Club *Kaihu Valley Rugby Football Club *Kaikohe Rugby Football and Sports Club *Kaitaia City Rugby Union Football Club * Kaitaia College *

Kamo High School Kamo is a suburb in Northern Whangārei. approximately five minutes drive from the Whangārei CBD. The name comes from a Māori word meaning "eyelash", but has also been said to mean "to bubble up", referring to hot springs in the area. Mount Pa ...

*Kamo Rugby and Squash Club * Kerikeri High School *Kerikeri Rugby Union Football Club *Mangakahia Rugby Club *Mid-Northern Rugby Football Club *Midwestern Rugby Union And Squash Club *Moerewa Rugby Football and Recreation Sports Club * Northland College *Old Boys Marist Rugby & Sports Club *Old Boys Rugby Football & Softball Club *Onerahi Rugby Football Club *Otamatea Hawks Rugby Club *

Rodney College Wellsford ( Māori: ''Whakapirau'') is a town on the Northland Peninsula in the northern North Island of New Zealand. It is the northernmost major settlement in the Auckland Region, and is 77 kilometres northwest of the Auckland CBD. Wellsford ...

*Taiamai Ohaeawai Rugby Football and Sports Club *Te Rarawa Rugby Club *The Aupouri Rugby Football and Sports Club *The City Rugby Union Football Club *The Dargaville Rugby and Sports Club *The Hikurangi Rugby Union Football Club *The Okaihau Rugby Union Football and Sports Club *The Otiria Rugby Union Football and Sports Club *The Southern Football Club *The Tomarata Rugby Football Club *Tikipunga Rugby Club *United Kawakawa Rugby Football Club *Waipu Rugby Squash Club *Wellsford Rugby Football Club * Whangārei Boys' High School *Whangaruru Rugby Football Club

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History

Early years

Northland Rugby Union was known as North Auckland Rugby Union following the amalgamation of

, Northern

Wairoa Wairoa is a town and territorial authority district in New Zealand's North Island. The town is the northernmost in the Hawke's Bay region, and is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west o ...

Bay of Islands The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for it ...

, and Otamatea initially and then followed by Mangonui, Kaipara,

Hokianga The Hokianga is an area surrounding the Hokianga Harbour, also known as the Hokianga River, a long estuarine drowned valley on the west coast in the north of the North Island of New Zealand. The original name, still used by local Māori, is ' ...

Whangaroa Whangaroa is a settlement on Whangaroa Harbour in the Far North District of New Zealand. It is 8 km north-west of Kaeo and 35 km north-west of Kerikeri. The harbour is almost landlocked and is popular both as a fishing spot in its o ...

, and Rodney in 1925.

Rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

was first played in Northland in late 1880, and the first union was set up in the province in 1895, known as the Marsden Football Union. In 1994, North Auckland changed its name to the Northland Rugby Football Union. They played their first ever match as a union on 3 August 1920, in an 11-0 victory over South Island Country. However, they did not play their first inter-union match until 27 July 1922, an 8-6 loss to

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

. Their first inter-union win came in August 1923, when they beat

King Country The King Country (Māori: ''Te Rohe Pōtae'' or ''Rohe Pōtae o Maniapoto'') is a region of the western North Island of New Zealand. It extends approximately from the Kawhia Harbour and the town of Otorohanga in the north to the upper reaches of ...

The Auckland Rugby Union and Northland Rugby Union became regular rivals. They had

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challeng ...

victories over them in 1960 and 1971. Northland won the Ranfurly Shield on two further occasions. 1950, when they defeated

South Canterbury South Canterbury is the area of the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand bounded by the Rangitata River in the north and the Waitaki River (the border with the Otago Region) to the south. The Pacific Ocean and ridge of the Southe ...

and 1978, when they defeated Manawatu. In the 1971 challenge Northland won 17-12 in a narrow match played in front of 47,000 people at Eden Park,

. The following season 40,000 spectators packed Whangārei

Okara Park Okara Park, currently known commercially as Semenoff Stadium (previously known as Toll Stadium due to a sponsorship agreement) is a multi-purpose stadium in Whangarei, New Zealand. It is currently used mostly for rugby union matches and is the ...

to watch the rematch. With the city's population only 34,000, this showcased the significance of both the shield and the rivalry with Auckland. However they lost 15-16. The reputation of Northland rugby took a downfall following its controversial victory over Manawatu in 1978. After what seemed to be an excessive amount of stoppage time, Northland kicked a winning penalty. What followed was the refusal that the union wouldn’t put the shield on the line for its final home matches of the season against

Southland 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 ...

and Otago. However no rules were broken.

Professional era

Northland began their professional era playing in the inaugural

Air New Zealand Cup The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

competition. They are known as the Taniwha, a reference to the mascot adopted in the professional era. Along with Auckland and North Harbour, Northland is part of the Blues Super Rugby franchise.

Season standings

The following is a summary of every season for the Northland Taniwha since 2006. Position indicates the teams regular season finish. Key:
''Blue bar denotes Championship division''

Records and statistics

All Blacks

Northland has produced 32

All Blacks 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, ...

to date. Below is a list of Northland New Zealand national rugby union players along with their All Black number, year of debut and number of All Black games.

References

External links

Official siteNorthland rugby
(NZHistory.net.nz) {{Rugby union in New Zealand New Zealand rugby union teams New Zealand rugby union governing bodies Rugby clubs established in 1920 Sport in the Northland Region Sports organizations established in 1920