Rugby league in New Zealand
Governing body	New Zealand Rugby League
National team	New Zealand
First played	13 June 1908, Wellington
Registered players	less than 50,000 (total) 3,550 (adult)
Clubs	142
Competitions
Club
- Bartercard Cup
- Auckland Rugby League
- Northland Rugby League
- Waikato Rugby League
Audience records
Single match	47,363 - 1988 Kiwis vs Australia. Eden Park, Auckland

Rugby league in New Zealand is a team sport which attracts spectators at the highest levels, though with less than 50,000 participants, it does not figure in the top 15 most popular sports in New Zealand. Rugby union in New Zealand is a far more popular game. The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of Rugby League in New Zealand. ... is the 164th day of the year (165th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... For the first Duke of Wellington, see Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. ... The Bartercard Cup (successor of the Lion Red Cup) is the top level rugby league club competition in New Zealand. ... ARLs logo The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of Rugby league in the Auckland Region. ... Eden Park is the main sports ground in Auckland, New Zealand for both rugby union during winter, and cricket in summer. ... For other uses, see Auckland (disambiguation). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_New_Zealand. ... Wally Lewis passing the ball in Rugby League State of Origin. ... Womens Australian rules football is a team sport. ... The All Blacks playing the Wallabies. ...

History

Main article: History of rugby league

A professional New Zealand team was touring England and Australia before it was even considered that there should be a professional league in New Zealand. The history of rugby league began with the schism of 1895 in the sport of Rugby football. ... New Zealand team shirt The Logo of the New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand national rugby league side represent New Zealand at rugby league, and are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. ...

The first makings of a New Zealand rugby football schism, such as seen in other countries was the creation of Albert Henry Baskerville who set out to sign a group of professional rugby players to tour England. Baskerville's team of professional "All Golds", on their way to England, made a stop over in Australia, playing a 3 game series against a professional New South Wales rugby team. From there, they went on to England and for the first time, played by the Northern Union's rules. On their return home, they stopped over in Australia to play another 10 games against clubs from the newly formed New South Wales Rugby League. Albert Henry Baskerville Albert Henry Baskerville (sometimes spelt Baskiville) was a Wellington postal clerk, a rugby union forward, author of the book Modern Rugby Football : New Zealand Methods ; Points for the Beginner, the Player, the Spectator and a pioneer of rugby league. ... The Rugby Football League (RFL) is the governing body for Rugby League in the United Kingdom. ...

During the All Gold's tour, their founder, Baskerville fell ill and later died of pneumonia. June 13, 1908 saw the first game of rugby league played by the Northern Union's new rules on New Zealand soil; as a benefit match for Baskerville's widowed mother. The first match in New Zealand was played at Wellington on 13 June 1908 before a crowd of nearly 7,000, which saw an exhibition between two teams drawn from the touring side. is the 164th day of the year (165th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ... is the 164th day of the year (165th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar). ...

Rugby league had now its sights firmly set on New Zealand, however, the New Zealand Rugby Union's infiltration into every aspect of New Zealand society, government and business would prove a lot tougher than the unions of Australia or England. The NZRU took it upon themselves to pressure potential converts, officials, sponsors and ground owners into not giving the rugby league upstarts any room to move. This did not stop the establishment of the game and by 1910 it was being played in Auckland, Taranaki, Rotorua, Nelson, Southland, Wanganui, Marlborough, Invercargill, Hawke's Bay, and South Auckland. The New Zealand Rugby League was formed in 1909 and other provinces joined the league. For other uses, see Auckland (disambiguation). ... View of Mount Taranaki or Mount Egmont from Stratford, facing west. ... Rotorua is a city located on the southern shore of Lake Rotorua in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island of New Zealand. ... The City of Nelson is situated very close to the centre of New Zealand. ... Southland is the name of New Zealands southernmost region and is also the name of a district within that region. ... Wanganui   is an urban area and district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. ... Marlborough is one of the regions of New Zealand, located in the northeast of the South Island. ... Cnr of Esk and Dee Streets, looking up Esk st, one of the main shopping streets of Invercargill. ... Hawkes Bay is a region of New Zealand. ...

In the year after that, Auckland Rugby League became the first to start a regular competition. The Auckland League had a full season in 1912, with its headquarters at Eden Park. That same year saw the formation of Wellington's local rugby league competition.

Rugby league made great advances since the Second World War. It was well established between 1918 and 1939, but many strong leagues went into recess between 1939 and 1945, never to revive, or to suffer severely from the loss of players. Rotorua, Otago, and Northland were examples. Those areas, strong provinces before the war, are only starting to make good progress.

Ironically, New Zealand founded the fully international rugby league, was responsible for strengthening English professional rugby and gave the rugby rebels of Australia a leg up, which resulted in the formation of the New South Wales Rugby League. However, they weren't able to replicate their over seas success to the same levels on home soil.

A New Zealand club team, the Auckland Warriors, was added to the top-level Australian Rugby League competition in 1995. Soon after when the Australian Super League war shook the game to its very foundations in that country, the New Zealand Rugby League, along with the governing body in Britain, aligned itself with Super League. The Warriors continued to participate in the National Rugby League competition after many expansion teams were cut and foundation teams merged. In 2001 the club's name was changed to New Zealand Warriors. The New Zealand Warriors (formerly Auckland Warriors) are a rugby league team based in Auckland, New Zealand who compete in the Australian based National Rugby League competition. ... The Australian Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in Australia. ... The 1995 Australian Rugby League premiership was the eighty-eighth season of the rugby league competition based in Sydney, and the first to be run by the Australian Rugby League. ... The Super League war was a battle for the control of broadcast rights for the sport of Rugby League. ... The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of Rugby League in New Zealand. ... The National Rugby League (NRL) is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. ... The year 2001 saw the fourth season of the National Rugby League premiership, the 94th season of professional rugby league football in Australia. ...

In 2005, the New Zealand national side won the tri-nations final, beating Australia 24-0. This was the first series defeat of Australia in 25 years. The Rugby League Tri-Nations (also known as the Gillette Tri-Nations for sponsorship reasons) is a rugby league tournament involving the top three nations in the sport: Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain. ...

Governing body and competitions

Main article: New Zealand Rugby League

The New Zealand Rugby League is responsible for governing of rugby league in New Zealand. The Auckland Rugby League is a partner of the NZRL and is responsible for the governing the sport in the Auckland Region. The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of Rugby League in New Zealand. ... ARLs logo The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of Rugby league in the Auckland Region. ... The Auckland Region is one of the sixteen regions of New Zealand, named for Auckland City, the large city at its heart. ...

The premier competition organised by the governing body of rugby league in New Zealand is the Bartercard Cup. Previously a similar competition was run, the Lion Red Cup, from 1994-6. The Bartercard Cup (successor of the Lion Red Cup) is the top level rugby league club competition in New Zealand. ... Lion Red Cup The Lion Red Cup was a New Zealand domestic rugby league competition that ran from 1994-1996 . ...

New Zealand also has many smaller competitions dedicated to individual regions or districts including: Auckland Region, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Coastline, Gisborne, Hawke's Bay, Manawatu, Nelson/Marlborough, Northland, Otago, Southland, Taranaki, Waikato, Wellington and West Coast. The Auckland Region is one of the sixteen regions of New Zealand, named for Auckland City, the large city at its heart. ... The Bay of Plenty, often abbreviated to BoP, is a region in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name. ... The New Zealand region of Canterbury is mainly composed of the Canterbury Plains and the surrounding mountains. ... For other uses of Gisborne see Gisborne (disambiguation). ... Hawkes Bay is a region of New Zealand. ... Manawatu is a district in the Manawatu-Wanganui region in the North Island of New Zealand. ... The City of Nelson is situated very close to the centre of New Zealand. ... Marlborough is one of the regions of New Zealand, located in the northeast of the South Island. ... The Northland Region (Māori: ), one of the 16 regions of New Zealand, is, as the name suggests, the northernmost of New Zealands administrative regions. ... Otago (help· info) is one of the regions of New Zealand and lies in the south-east of the South Island. ... Southland is the name of New Zealands southernmost region and is also the name of a district within that region. ... View of Mount Taranaki or Mount Egmont from Stratford, facing west. ... Waikato is the name of a region in the North Island of New Zealand. ... The Wellington region of New Zealand occupies the southern end of the North Island. ... The West Coast is one of the administrative regions of New Zealand, located on the west coast of the South Island, and is one of the more remote and most sparsely populated areas of the country. ...

Demographics

There is a very strong sporting tradition in New Zealand but rugby league struggles to gain acceptance by the majority of the public; however it is not without its strengths.

Ethnicity

Rugby league is the 7th most popular sport amongst Māori which equates to 10% of Māori having played the sport over a 12 month period. In comparison, 7% of 'other ethnicities' play the sport, placing rugby league as the 11th most played sport among people of other ethnicities. This article is about the Māori people of New Zealand. ...

The National Rugby League, in recent years has become a hotbed of talent for up and coming New Zealand players. Most of these players are of Māori or other Pacific Islander origin. Great Britain also has a number of Māori playing in the Super League. The National Rugby League (NRL) is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. ... Super League (Europe) began in March 1996 and is the only full-time professional rugby league competition operating in the northern hemisphere. ...

There may be many reasons why rugby league is more popular among those of Pacific Islander origin. Size is an important aspect in rugby league which emphasizes heavy body contact and Pacific Islanders are on average significantly larger than caucasian New Zealanders.

Another theory is that Auckland has more Māori and Pacific Islanders than other parts of New Zealand and Auckland is the centre of rugby league in New Zealand.

By geographical area

Young people

The young of Auckland, Manukau, Greater Auckland, North Harbour and Waitakere participate in rugby league more so then any other area of New Zealand. This is not surprising, as Auckland is New Zealand rugby league's founding city. In any 2 week period, 3% of young people in Auckland will play rugby league; 50% greater than the next largest participants of rugby league, Waikato and the Bay of Plenty, not too far from Auckland. For other uses, see Auckland (disambiguation). ... Manukau City (orange). ... North Harbour is the name of a suburb of North Shore city, in the conurbation of Auckland, new Zealand. ... Waitakere City is New Zealands fifth largest city, with an annual growth of about 2%. It is part of the Auckland region, and is incorporated in the Auckland metropolitan area. ... Waikato is the name of a region in the North Island of New Zealand. ... The Bay of Plenty, often abbreviated to BoP, is a region in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name. ...

Heading further south, the likelihood of finding those who participate in rugby league decrease the further south one goes. The next largest regions to play rugby league are those of the southern and western areas of the northern island; Northland, Taranaki, Wanganui and Manawatu, Wellington and the central east and western parts of the south island: Canterbury and Westland. These areas share a decrease in participation by 50% in comparison to Waikato and the Bay of Plenty or by 66% in comparison to Auckland. The Northland Region (Māori: ), one of the 16 regions of New Zealand, is, as the name suggests, the northernmost of New Zealands administrative regions. ... View of Mount Taranaki or Mount Egmont from Stratford, facing west. ... Wanganui   is an urban area and district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. ... Manawatu is a district in the Manawatu-Wanganui region in the North Island of New Zealand. ... For the first Duke of Wellington, see Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. ... The New Zealand region of Canterbury is mainly composed of the Canterbury Plains and the surrounding mountains. ... The West Coast is one of the administrative regions of New Zealand, located on the west coast of the South Island, and is one of the more remote and most sparsely populated areas of the country. ...

Perhaps the most interesting thing to have come from these statistics is that rugby league appears to be less popular in the Hawke's Bay & Eastland regions of the northern island then some areas of the southern island. This goes against the general perception that rugby league is a strong sport in this region of New Zealand. The Hawke's Bay region has a participation rate of: nil, less than 1% or just not worth recording; much like the areas of the New Zealand, not yet mentioned: Otago, Southland, Tasman and Northland; Northland also being on the North Island. Hawkes Bay is a region of New Zealand. ... Otago (help· info) is one of the regions of New Zealand and lies in the south-east of the South Island. ... Southland is the name of New Zealands southernmost region and is also the name of a district within that region. ... Tasman District is a region of New Zealand. ... The Northland Region (Māori: ), one of the 16 regions of New Zealand, is, as the name suggests, the northernmost of New Zealands administrative regions. ...

Adults

Participation among adults is more spread out, although methods for gathering adult participation and youth participation vary widely. One should realise this when drawing conclusions from what follows.

Nearly every region in New Zealand participates in rugby league to some extent; again the general perception of the north being the strongest regions for rugby league are echoed in adult participation figures. The Hawks Bay and Eastland region represents an area where massive differences are seen in terms of rugby league participation. Going by participation rates alone for juniors, this region could be perceived as a rugby league waste land; for adults, the picture couldn't be much different; in any 4 weeks, 3% of its adults population will participate in rugby league; equal to the participation rate of Auckland.

Another interesting difference between adults and youth participation is the proximity between rugby league and rugby union participation. In each case, rugby union is the more popular code, but rugby league in many cases throughout the Auckland region is almost on par with rugby union . This is out of line with the junior and youth participation, where rugby union far outnumbers league.

Taking New Zealand as a whole, rugby league does not rate among the top 15 sports in New Zealand among male adults. In comparison, rugby union is the 5th most popular sport in New Zealand for men, behind other team sports such as touch rugby and cricket. However, the 18-24 year age bracket suggests rugby league is the 13th most played sport by adults (male and female); the same segregation rates rugby union as 7th most popular sport.

So whilst rugby league is not the most popular sport in New Zealand, there are regions and people that share significant interest in it. One should also note, that this section talks only about participation. Various sports may suffer from participation for various reasons, such as, issues specific to demographics discussed or risk of injury. Risk of injury is a major topic when looking at participation for rugby league. For more information on the impact of risk of injury in rugby league, refer to the age section of Rugby league in Australia article. Rugby league is a popular team sport played in Australia. ...

The national team

Main article: New Zealand national rugby league team

The New Zealand national rugby league side represent New Zealand at rugby league, and are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. They are administered by the New Zealand Rugby League. New Zealand team shirt The Logo of the New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand national rugby league side represent New Zealand at rugby league, and are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. ... The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of Rugby League in New Zealand. ...

See also

• List of New Zealand rugby league clubs

This is an incomplete list of past and present rugby league clubs in New Zealand // See Also: New Zealand Rugby League New Zealand Kiwis New Zealand Kiwiferns New Zealand Māori New Zealand Residents/New Zealand A Junior Kiwis See Also: National Rugby League New Zealand Warriors/Auckland Warriors Auckland...

External links

• History of rugby league in New Zealand From the 1966 An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand,
• New Zealand rugby league from rlwc2000
• Sports profiles NZ
• Stastical facts NZ, 97/01
• Participation in Sport
• Newspaper extracts from a thesis on conflict between Union and League in New Zealand