Canterbury Rugby League

Canterbury Rugby League

Club information
Nickname(s)	Bulls
Founded	1912
Current details
Ground(s)	Rugby League Park
CEO(s)	Graeme Sole

Canterbury Rugby League is the regional body that administers rugby league in Canterbury, New Zealand. CRL manages local competitions from senior level down to age group competitions. Canterbury Rugby League also manages the Canterbury rugby league team which represents the region in New Zealand competitions. Previously teams have competed in the Bartercard Cup and Lion Red Cup. The CRL is currently part of the South Island Zone which includes the Tasman, West Coast, Otago and Southland regions.

Rugby League Park

Canterbury Rugby League owns Rugby League Park which was formerly known as the Addington Showgrounds.^[1]

Local Competition

Eight teams currently compete in the Travel King Premiership;

• Linwood Keas
• Northern Bulldogs
• Celebration Lions
• Aranui Eagles
• Halswell Hornets
• Papanui Tigers
• Riccarton Knights
• Hornby Panthers

The winner is awarded the Smith Trophy, which dates back to 1913.

History

Foundation

The organisation was founded on 13 July 1912 at a meeting that included William Moyle, Robert Brunsden, New Zealand representative Charlie Pearce and David McPhail, who had played with St Helens and Wigan.^[2] A.E. Hooper was elected chairman on 17 July and would serve in that position until 1922. Henry Thacker, a Mayor and MP, was the first president of the CRL and served from 1912 until 1929.^[3] He donated the Thacker Shield in 1913.

Canterbury first played on 7 September 1912 at the Show Grounds against Wellington. Ernie Buckland scored the first rugby league try in Canterbury as Wellington prevailed 5-4.^[2] The first local club competition was held in 1913, with four clubs participating. Addington was founded on 31 January 1913, Sydenham one week later on 7 February, Linwood on 12 March and on the 14 March St. Albans was formed. The first Canterbury Rugby League Annual General Meeting was held on 31 March 1913.^[2]

Touring teams

In 1955 Canterbury defeated the touring French side 24-12.^[3] They defeated Great Britain 18-10, in 1990.

Glory Years

The early nineties saw a regional Canterbury side that included many future stars. The side was coached by Frank Endacott and included players such as Quentin Pongia, Terry Hermansson, Whetu Taewa, Logan Edwards, Brendon Tuuta and Mike Dorreen. With the creation of the Lion Red Cup however, many moved franchises and eventually ended up in Australia or England.

Lion Red Cup

In the Lion Red Cup, from 1994–1996, Canterbury was represented by the Christchurch City Shiners and the Canterbury Country Cardinals.

Bartercard Cup

The Canterbury Bulls competed in the Bartercard Cup from 2000–2007, winning the title in 2000 & 2003. They were the only franchise from the South Island and the only franchise to play in every season.

Bartercard Premiership

The Canterbury Bulls competed in the 2008 and 2009 Bartercard Premiership, winning the 2009 competition.

The Canterbury side was again be coached by Brent Stuart and Dave Perkins. Former Kiwis assistant coach and Bartercard cup winning Phil Prescott returned as the director of coaching.^[4] The Canterbury U16's and U18's sides were involved in curtain raiser matches before the Senior home games.^[5]

References

v t e Rugby league in New Zealand Federations New Zealand Rugby League Representative teams Men's ("Kiwis") Women's ("Ferns") Junior Māori Residents New Zealand Kiwis Players Coaches Matches Zones Northern Auckland Counties-Manukau Upper Central Mid-Central Wellington Southern Districts Auckland (team) Bay of Plenty (team) Canterbury (team) Coastline (team) Gisborne Tairawhiti (team) Manawatu (team) Northland (team) Otago (team) Southland (team) Hawke's Bay (team) Taranaki (team) Tasman (team) Waikato (team) Wellington (team) West Coast (team) Australian competition teams New Zealand Warriors (NRL) Auckland Vulcans (NSW Cup) Auckland Lions (defunct) Competitions National Competition Rugby League Cup Bartercard Premiership (defunct) Bartercard Cup (defunct) Lion Red Cup (defunct) New Zealand domestic seasons 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017