West Coast Rugby Football Union
| File:West Coast Logo.jpg | |
| 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
Contents
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:
- Blaketown
- Grey Valley
- Kiwi
- Marist
- South Westland
- Wests
- Kokatahi
All Blacks
There have eight players selected for the All Blacks whilst playing their club rugby in the West Coast.
- Henry Atkinson
- Sam Bligh
- Henry Butland
- John Corbett
- Frank Freitas
- Mike Gilbert
- Ronald King
- Jack Steel
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:
- 27-8-1932 Canterbury 5 West Coast 3 (L.T.Martyn try)
- 2-9-1933 Canterbury 23 West Coast
- 7-9-1935 Canterbury 16 West Coast 11 (E.Pfahlert, R.R.King tries, L.T.Martyn two penalties, one conversion)
- 26-9-1936 Otago 30 West Coast 0
- 20-9-1952 Waikato 20 West Coast 6 (A.J.Lindbom two penalties)
- 11-9-1954 Canterbury 8 West Coast 0
- 24-9-1955 Canterbury 20 West Coast 11 (F.W.Gugich, R.N.Inkster tries, A.A.McNabb one penalty, one conversion)
- 25-8-1962 Auckland 52 West Coast 6 (T.N.McAra drop goal, J.M.Earthorne one penalty)
- 16-9-1972 Canterbury 47 West Coast 3 (R.Nelson one penalty)
- 27-7-1974 Marlborough 18 West Coast 0
- 29-7-1978 Manawatu 51 West Coast 10 (C.R.Skates try, A.F.Kissick two penalties)
- 25-8-1984 Canterbury 68 West Coast 3 (G.Cook drop goal)
- 4-7-2000 Waikato 99 West Coast 3 (M.Foster one penalty)
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
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- The Shield by Lindsay Knight
