West Coast Rugby Football Union

West Coast
Club information
Full name West Coast Rugby Football Union
Website westcoastrfu.com
Colours Red and White
Founded 1890
Current details
Ground(s)
Competition Heartland Championship

The West Coast Rugby Football Union, formed in 1890, is the official governing body for rugby union in a substantial part of the West Coast region of New Zealand and is affiliated to the New Zealand Rugby Union. The team is based in Greymouth and plays home matches at Rugby Park. In 2011 they launched their new Official website at http://westcoastrfu.com

Representative Rugby

The West Coast team play from Rugby Park, Greymouth and play in the Heartland Championship, and in 2015 celebrate their 125th Jubilee, with celebrations occurring in Greymouth on the weekend of August 28 and 29.

West Coast in Super Rugby

West Coast along with Canterbury, Tasman, Buller, Mid Canterbury and South Canterbury make up the Crusaders Super Rugby franchise.

Clubs

West Coast Rugby Football Union is made up of 7 clubs:

All Blacks

There have eight players selected for the All Blacks whilst playing their club rugby in the West Coast.

Championships

West Coast have yet to win a Provincial Championship, but they are consistently improving in the Heartland Championship. From 2006 where they finished 12th, to 2009 when they made the Lochore Cup Final, whilst making the Meads Cup Semi-Finals in 2013.

Heartland Championship placings

Heartland Championship Results[1]
Year Played Win Draw Loss PF PA Playoffs
2012 8 2 0 6 140 145
2013 11 7 0 4 250 242 lost to Mid Canterbury 25-28 (Meads Cup semifinal)
2014 10 3 0 7 222 292

Ranfurly Shield

West Coast have never held the Ranfurly Shield. West Coasts Ranfurly Shield challenges:

Rundle Cup

The Rundle Cup is contested by the West Coast and Buller when they meet in senior fixtures.

The Rundle Cup was donated to the West Coast provincial union during their Annual General Meeting at the Albion Hotel on the 24th of May 1911 by William Rundle as a trophy for West Coast v Buller matches. Rundle was a local business man in the mining industry and former player for the Grey Football Club. He later perished on the frontline in France during World War One. The first contest for the Rundle Cup was held in 1911 in Westport, and it replaced the Molloy Cup as the region’s symbol of rugby supremacy.

The first game between the two Unions occurred in 1896 and bragging rights on the Coast now come via the Rundle Cup.

Of the 37 challenge trophies contested by two provinces in New Zealand rugby it is of the longest continuous existence, it is also the second oldest provincial trophy after the Ranfurly Shield.

References

  1. "Heartland Championship Tables". Lassen Creative Technologies Ltd. Retrieved 8 May 2006.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, February 13, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.