| Founded | 1883 |
|---|---|
| Region | Auckland Region |
| Ground(s) | Eden Park (Capacity: 50-60,000) |
| Chairman | Ken Baguley |
| CEO | Andy Dalton |
| League(s) | ITM Cup |
| Official website | |
| aucklandrugby.co.nz | |
The Auckland Rugby Football Union (ARFU) is the governing body of rugby union in the Auckland Region, in the North Island of New Zealand. Its colours are navy blue and white in a hoop design. Auckland's top representative team have won New Zealand's top provincial rugby competition (NPC and Air New Zealand Cup) 16 times, more than any other team, most recently the 2007 competition. The Auckland union acts as a primary feeder to the Blues, who play in Super Rugby, a competition between New Zealand, Australian and South African teams.
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The blue-and-white hooped jerseys have been worn by Auckland rugby players since 1875, but it was not until 1883 that Auckland joined Canterbury, Wellington and Otago in the fledgling New Zealand Rugby Football Union. During its history, Auckland rugby has seen extensive rule changes in the early part of the 20th century, the evolution of 15-man rugby in early 1960s, the creation of the NPC through the efforts of Pakuranga United life member Barry Smith, Lew Pryme's introduction of entertainment at Eden Park from 1986, and tours of the Ranfurly Shield to the provinces. Notable players include Bert Cooke in the 1920s, Des Connor, Waka Nathan and Mac Herewini in the 1960s, Bryan Williams and Tim Twigden in the 1970s, Lindsay Harris, John Kirwan and Eroni Clarke in the 1980s, and Carlos Spencer and Doug Howlett in more recent times. Coaches included Sir Vincent Meredith, Fred Allen, Maurice Trapp, John Hart and Graham Henry. All Black statistics reveal the extent of Auckland's influence: of the 1071 players to have worn the black jersey from 1888 to 2008, 133 were born in Auckland, compared to Christchurch (74), Wellington (60) and Dunedin (53).
Auckland were the first holders of the Ranfurly Shield in 1902 and have won 153 out of 194 shield matches – the most successful record of any provincial union. From 1905 to 1913 they defeated 23 challenges, another 25 between 1960 and 1963, and 61 in the period from 1985 to 1993.
The team went undefeated for six seasons from 1897, and there was a undefeated run in the early 1920s under Sir Vincent Meredith. The 1960 to 1963 period, known as the Golden Era, was summed up in The Golden Years written by Don Cameron in 1983. Sir Wilson Whineray, who captained Auckland through those years and the All Blacks in 30 tests from 1957 to 1965, describes the period as one of "excitement, drama and fervor that transformed Eden Park into an oasis of magic during the winters of 1960, 1961, 1962 and 1963."
There was also a relatively undisturbed spell of success from 1982 through to the 2007 Air New Zealand Cup victory. Auckland won 16 of the 26 titles available in that time – a period that includes the 61 Ranfurly Shield defences mentioned earlier. Players like Andy Haden, Sean Fitzpatrick, John Drake, Olo Brown, Zinzan and Robin Brooke, Gary, Michael Jones, Steve McDowell, Grant Fox, Joe Stanley, John Kirwan and Terry Wright were important in Auckland's success at the time. With six titles in the 1990s, and four since 2000, Auckland's domination of the New Zealand rugby landscape continues. The 2007 team is the first since the 1990 side to remain unbeaten in a season and win the Ranfurly Shield and the provincial championship. Players like Kees Meeuws, Keven Mealamu, Ali Williams, Justin Collins, Xavier Rush, Steve Devine, Brad Mika, Ben Atiga, Doug Howlett, Daniel Braid, Brent Ward and Angus Macdonald have contributed to Auckland's success.
Among the earliest founding clubs in Auckland were Grafton (1874), Ponsonby (1874) and College Rifles (1897), Marist (1908), University (1888), Grammar (1914) and Suburbs (1918). The premier competition's championship round was renamed the Gallaher Shield in 1922, in memory of Ponsonby, Auckland and New Zealand player Dave Gallaher who captained the 1905 All Blacks, known as The Originals, before retiring after the tour. He became the sole selector to the Auckland team, leading the side to eight successive Ranfurly Shield wins, before he served on the All Blacks selection committee from 1907 to 1914. He then joined the army at a relatively late age, and was killed in the Passchendaele offensive in 1917 aged 43. His Ponsonby side has dominated the Gallaher Shield, winning it 28 times.
The Auckland Rugby Football Union consists of 20 clubs from the Auckland isthmus. The premier competition runs from March to August and is split into three segments: the Waka Nathan Challenge Cup from March to May, primarily a pre-season, the Alan McEvoy Round-Robin, and the Championship Round (finals).
The Waka Nathan Challenge Cup is contested at the beginning of the season in a knockout style competition. Teams play for the cup and a winners prize of $2500. Winners of the first round progress to the next round of the Waka Nathan Cup, while the losers move to the plate section and compete for the Pollard Cup and a prize of $1000. Round two sees eight teams compete for the Waka Nathan Cup while the losing teams from Round 1 contest the Pollard Cup. From round two Premier Reserve teams will also follow their Premier team. Round three will be the semi finals for both sections. Clubs eliminated will have games organised for them by the ARFU for the following week against other eliminated clubs. The final for both the Waka Nathan and Pollard Cup will be played when the two finalists in each division meet each other in the Alan McEvoy Round Robin.
The 16 teams entered into the Premier Competition play a 15 week round-robin, played on Saturdays. The team with the highest competition points at the end of this round will be awarded the Alan McEvoy Memorial Trophy. To determine this, the Rugby Union Bonus Points System is used. Teams will be seeded 1-16 after this round.
The Fred Allen Trophy will also be played for during the round-robin phase. It is similar to the Ranfurly Shield in the Air New Zealand Cup where it is only up for grabs at home games of the trophy holder. It is not contested in the Championship Round.
In the Championship Round the sixteen teams are split into the top and bottom eight. It is played over three weeks. The top eight compete for the Gallaher Shield, named after former Auckland and All Blacks player Dave Gallaher, while the bottom eight compete for the Portola Trophy. The first week is a quarter-finals style format where the top seeded team play the bottom seeded team and the second seeded team play the second to last seeded team etc. The four losers from each group of eight go on to play for the Jubilee Trophy (Gallaher Shield Losers) and the President's Cup (Portola Trophy Losers). The next week is semi-finals and the two winners compete for the four trophies mentioned, with the overall champion being the winner of the Gallaher Shield Final.
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The Auckland Rugby Football Union has 12 representative teams. The top team competes for the Air New Zealand Cup.
Note: Flags indicate national union as has been defined under IRB eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-IRB nationality.
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