Thames Valley Rugby Football Union
| File:Thames Valley rugby logo.png | |
| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Thames Valley Rugby Football Union |
| Nickname(s) | Swamp Foxes |
| Website | http://www.thamesvalleyswampfoxes.co.nz/ |
| Colours | Gold, Red, Black |
| Founded | 1921 |
| Current details | |
| Ground(s) | |
| Coach(s) | Roger Wilton |
| Competition | Heartland Championship |
The Thames Valley Rugby Football Union (TVRFU) is the governing body of rugby union in the region of Thames Valley in the North Island of New Zealand. Their senior representative team compete in the Heartland Championship. Thames Valley Rugby Football Union was founded in 1921 when it broke away from the now defunct South Auckland Rugby Football Union. The Thames Rugby Union, a sub-union that had remained affiliated with the Auckland Rugby Football Union, eventually joined the Thames Valley Union in 1951.[1]
The Thames Valley team plays at Boyd Park, Te Aroha and Paeroa Domain, Paeroa.
Contents
History
Rugby has been played in the region since the 1870s and 1880s.[2][3]
The Ohinemuri Union was founded at Waihī in 1896, and by 1904 this union was named the Goldfields Rugby Union. It consisted of a number of even smaller unions, but was itself a sub-union of the Auckland Rugby Football Union (ARFU), and was therefore not directly affiliated to the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU).[2] Along with a number of other sub-unions, the Goldfields ceded from the ARFU to form the South Auckland Rugby Football Union in 1909.[4]
Several sub-unions split away from the South Auckland Union between 1909 and 1921 to form new independent unions, and in 1921 the Hauraki Plains, Paeroa, Piako, Waihī sub-unions did the same to form the Thames Valley Rugby Football Union (TVRFU). The union was from then on directly affiliated to the NZRU.[3] The Thames Valley Union, which had remained affiliated to the ARFU up until then, joined the TVRFU in 1951.[1]
Championships
Thames Valley won the NPC 3rd division in 1988, 1990 and 1995.
Heartland Championship placings
| Heartland Championship Results[5] | |||||||||||
| Year | Played | Win | Draw | Loss | PF | PA | Diff | BP | Points | Place | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 192 | 177 | −15 | 5 | 21 | 9th | Lost 15–17 to King Country (Lochore Cup) |
| 2007 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 147 | 215 | −68 | 4 | 12 | 10th | Lost 3–65 to Poverty Bay (Lochore Cup) |
| 2008 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 107 | 225 | −118 | 1 | 5 | 11th | Did not qualify |
| 2009 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 110 | 237 | −127 | 4 | 4 | 12th | Did not qualify |
| 2010 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 158 | 188 | −40 | 3 | 15 | 10th | Qualified for Lochore Cup Pool |
| 2011 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 229 | 181 | +48 | 3 | 21 | 7th | Lost 27–30 to South Canterbury (Lochore Cup) |
| 2012 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 203 | 263 | −60 | 3 | 11 | 11th | Did not qualify |
| 2013 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 153 | 200 | −37 | 1 | 17 | 8th | Lost in Lochore Cup playoff |
| 2014 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 139 | 135 | +4 | 3 | 17 | 9th | Did not qualify |
Ranfurly Shield
Thames Valley have never held the Ranfurly Shield. They have challenged for the shield unsuccessfully on 14 occasions; their most recent challenge was a 68–0 loss to Counties Manukau.
Thames Valley in Super Rugby
Thames Valley along with Waikato, Counties Manukau, Bay of Plenty and King Country make up the Chiefs Super Rugby franchise. Albeit, they were initially part of the Blues.
All Blacks
Two players have been selected for the All Blacks while playing their club rugby within the Thames Valley Rugby Football Union:[1]
Clubs
Thames Valley Rugby Football Union is made up of 13 clubs:
- COBRAS (Home of the Housefly)Colledge Old Boys Rugby And Sports Senior A
- Coromandel Town Senior B
- Hauraki North Senior A Senior B B reserve
- Mercury Bay Senior B
- Ngatea Senior B Senior C
- Paeroa Old Boys senior B
- Paeroa West Senior A and Senior C
- Tairua Senior A
- Te Aroha (COBRAS) Senior B and B reserves
- Thames Rugby and Sports Club Senior A Senior B
- Waihi Athletic Senior A Senior B Senior C
- Waihou Senior A and B
- Whangamata Senior B Senior C
Notes and references
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- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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