New Zealand Rugby

New Zealand Rugby Union

File:Nzrfu logo.png
Sport	Rugby union
Founded	1892 (1892)
World Rugby affiliation	1949
President	Andy Leslie
Men's coach	Graham Henry
Women's coach	Jed Rowlands
Website	www.nzru.co.nz

The New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) (formerly the New Zealand Rugby Football Union) is the governing body of rugby union in New Zealand, it was founded in 1892, 12 years after the first Provincial Unions in New Zealand, and in 1949, became an affiliate to the International Rugby Board, the governing body of Rugby Union for the world. The Union's main objectives, as displayed in the NZRU Constitution is to, promote and develop rugby throughout New Zealand; arrange and participate in international, trial and other rugby matches and tours in New Zealand and Overseas; represent New Zealand on the International Rugby Board; form and manage NZ representative teams; and encourage participation in, and support for, rugby players and supporters at all levels of the game.

NZRU Headquarters are located in Wellington, New Zealand and John Sturgeon was elected President in 2009, who received the position from Andy Leslie.

The NZRU currently have eight representative teams, while the New Zealand Maori rugby union team was postponed for the 2009 Pacific Nations Cup, replaced by the Junior All Blacks, with NZRU Chief Executive Steve Tew stating "while the long-term view was that the New Zealand Maori team was the best fit for the Pacific Nations Cup, the development of the top level of players as a pathway to the All Blacks was a more urgent priority in 2009".

Structure

The NZRU was initially governed by a committee of delegates from the Provincial Unions, in 1894, it replaced by a Wellington-based management committee comprised of seven representatives. 43 years later, the governing body was expanded to create two entities: the ruling NZRU Council and an executive committee. In 1986, the NZRU introduced the three zones and the executive committee was replaced by an administration committee. Ten years later, the Council was replaced by the current NZRU Board, which included independent Board members. Administrative responsibilities were initially held by Honorary Secretaries, followed by Secretaries, from 1907. Since 1990, the NZRU has been managed by a Chief Executive Officer.

Patrons and Officers

The NZRU Patron fills an honorary role as the figurehead for the organization. The current Patron is former All Blacks captain Sir Wilson Whineray, who has held the title since 2003 and was last re-elected for a three-year term starting in 2007. Previously, the role was filled ex officio by the Governor-General of New Zealand.

The President and Vice President of the NZRU are the Union's two officers who represent the NZRU and New Zealand Rugby at rugby and non-rugby functions and events. Unlike the NZRU Patron, the President and Vice President are entitled to attend NZRU Board Meetings, but are not entitled to vote on Board matters. The President and Vice President are elected for two years each. The current President is John Sturgeon, former All Blacks Manager, and the current Vice President is Bryan Williams.

NZRU Board

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The NZRU Board is charged with setting strategy, direction and policy for the NZRU, and is ultimately responsible for the decisions and actions of NZRU management and staff. Many of the decisions concerning New Zealand’s national teams, domestic competitions, financial management and rugby traditions are made the Board. The Board is comprised of nine Board Members: six zonal representatives, one Maori representative and two independent Board Members.

Zonal Representatives

New Zealand’s 26 Provincial Unions are divided into three zones – North, Central and South – and two representatives from each zone are elected to the Board. These zonal representatives are nominated by a Provincial Union within their zone and are elected by a vote of all 26 Unions at the Annual General Meeting. From the six zonal representatives, a Chairman is elected, currently Jock Hobbs holds this title and was first elected in 2002 as a Central Representative.

Maori Representatives

The Maori representative may be nominated by any Provincial Union and is elected by a vote of all the Unions at the Annual General Meeting. The Maori representative is automatically appointed as NZRU representative on and Chairman of the New Zealand Maori Rugby Board.

Independent Board Members

The two independent Board Members must be independent of any Provincial Union and are not nominated for the role. Instead, independent Board Members must apply for the position and are selected on the basis of their professional qualifications and experience by a committee of the NZRU Board.

All Blacks and NZ rugby history

The first game of rugby played in New Zealand took place before the New Zealand union was formed. From early European times, football in various forms had been played but from the description of the game in local papers, it is certain that the match between Nelson College and Nelson football club, played on 14 May 1870, was played under rugby rules.

Credit for the introduction of rugby to New Zealand goes to Charles John Monro, son of Sir David Monro, Speaker in the House of Representatives from 1860 to 1870. Charles Monro, who was born at Waimea East, was sent to Christ's College, Finchley in England to complete his education and while there he learned the rugby game. On his return to Nelson he suggested that the local football club try out the rugby rules. The game must have appealed to the club members for they decided to adopt it.

A visit to Wellington by Monro later in 1870 resulted in a game being arranged between Nelson and Wellington. This match was played at Petone on 12 September and was won by Nelson by two goals to one.

In 1871 the game became organised in Wellington and it had spread to Wanganui by the following year. Auckland adopted rugby in 1873 while Hamilton followed suit in 1874. By 1875 the game had become established all over the colony and a team representing Auckland clubs undertook a two-week southern tour. Matches were played (and lost) against teams from Wellington, Dunedin, Christchurch, Nelson and Taranaki.

First New Zealand unions

In 1879, unions were formed in Canterbury and Wellington, indicating that the game was becoming more formally organised. Other unions soon followed but it was not until 1892 that the New Zealand Rugby Football Union was formed to administer the game at national level.

Even before the New Zealand union came into being, overseas tours had been arranged. In 1882 the first rugby team from overseas visited New Zealand when New South Wales toured both islands late in the season. In 1884, a New Zealand team, wearing blue jerseys with a gold fern, returned the visit, winning all its matches in New South Wales. New South Wales sent another side to New Zealand in 1886 and the first British team to visit arrived in 1888. The New Zealand Native Team became the first from the colony to visit Britain when it undertook the longest tour ever in 1888-89. The first national side to take the field under the auspices of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union did so in 1893, when 10 games were played on a tour of Australia.

Since 1893, New Zealand has sent teams to every major rugby country.

The beginnings of world dominance

Tours of foreign countries early in the twentieth century were long and arduous. Players spent, literally, years away from their families. The personal sacrifices of such men, and the close team culture that developed over the course of such tours, began to have a magical effect on New Zealand rugby. National representative honours were becoming hugely respected, as much for the acknowledgement of those sacrifices and the recognition of the pride involved in making them as for the outstanding winning record New Zealand was developing.

The 1905 "All Blacks" swept through Britain and Europe displaying a style of rugby that took the other nations by surprise. New Zealand's long history of innovation in the game really began here, as a team from "the colonies" had never before handed out thrashings of that order to any "Home Unions", let alone showed such a combination of ferocity and grace. The ball was kept in hand, and passed for the fastest to run with rather than kicked for them to chase. Shots at goal were declined in favour of spinning it wide or crashing it forward. Fear of the black jersey was born.

Other sides carried on that dominance, as teams led by the Brownlie brothers in the twenties and thirties kept the New Zealand tradition of innovation alive. George Nepia is still regarded by those who remember him as the greatest player not just of that era but of all time, and set a standard of excellence for future generations of players to aspire to. Teams of New Zealand soldiers in the second World War were instrumental in bridging the gap between the two halves of the century. Most able-bodied New Zealanders enlisted for army service, but no matter which part of the world they found themselves in they would still pick sides during breaks in the fighting and play the game they loved.

Modern era

The All Blacks had become the most feared opponent in the sport. Fierce rivalries existed between all the rugby powers, but the men wearing the black jerseys with the silver fern and delivering the formal challenge of the haka had a psychological edge on the opposition whenever they stepped onto the field.

Men like Colin Meads, Don Clarke, Waka Nathan and Wilson Whineray did nothing to dispel such thinking. The sixties were a decade where New Zealand's pre-eminence was unchallenged. Meads was a sinewy and raw-boned draft-horse of a man, whose outstanding lineout jumping complemented superb skills in open play. He was as famous for his uncompromising attitude as for these skills. Waka Nathan was a bullet off the back of the lineout or the side of the scrum, who terrorised inside backs all over the world and shared that same attitude. Don Clarke was the rock required at fullback, who never missed a tackle and, if the opposition infringed inside their own half, could be relied upon to deliver an almost guaranteed three points. Wilson Whineray commanded the respect of them all, and captained them to wins wherever they played.

All Black teams since then have proudly continued the legacy. Players like Sid Going, Bryan Williams, Ian Kirkpatrick, Fergie McCormick, Graham Mourie, Bruce Robertson, Wayne Shelford, Stu Wilson, Joe Stanley, Sean Fitzpatrick, John Kirwan, Grant Fox, Michael Jones, Zinzan Brooke... all have given their heart and soul on New Zealand's behalf. The sport of rugby now has a World Cup tournament, held every four years since 1987, New Zealand's success in only one of these so far shows that other rugby nations are tending to place more emphasis on the World Cup than New Zealand. New Zealand has conintued to focus on winning every test match they play and have been succesfull in maintaing a win loss ratio of over 80% in the professional era, the best record of any nation. The game in New Zealand remains an integral part of the culture and identity as a nation.

CEO

In January 2003, Chris Moller became the CEO of the NZRFU but on 2 April 2007 he announced that he would not renew his contract after the 2007 Rugby World Cup and that his deputy Steve Tew would take over the position.

President

On 26 April 2007 at the NZRU's Annual General Meeting former All Black Andy Leslie was elected to succeed John Graham.

National teams

The NZRU has several teams under its control

Men

• All Blacks - the national men's rugby union team of New Zealand
• Junior All Blacks - the second national team behind the All Blacks and not an age graded side.
• Sevens - the national rugby sevens team of New Zealand. Established in 1983, when the first full international side was sent to the famous Hong Kong Sevens tournament.
• New Zealand Māori - the national men's Māori team of New Zealand. Members of this team must have at least 1/16 Māori ancestry (one great-great-grandparent).
• Under 19s - an age graded side that has developed some of today's current All Blacks, sometimes referred to as the "Baby Blacks."
• Under 21s - an age graded side that has developed some of today's current All Blacks, also sometimes referred to as the "Baby Blacks."
• Heartland XV - established in 1988 to expose players from Divisions Two and Three in the Air New Zealand NPC to rugby at a higher level. After the 2006 reorganisation of the NPC into the fully professional Air New Zealand Cup and the nominally amateur Heartland Championship, the team now consists solely of players from the Heartland Championship.
• NZ Schools - a development team of school players who move up to the Under 19s, Under 21s and ultimately the All Blacks.

Women

• Black Ferns - the national women's rugby union team of New Zealand.

Other

• Wheel Blacks - the national men's wheelchair team of New Zealand.

Provincial Unions

The NZRU comprises seventeen North Island provincial unions and nine South Island provincial unions.

North Island

The North Island provincial unions are:

• Auckland
• Bay of Plenty
• Counties-Manukau
• East Coast
• Hawke's Bay
• Horowhenua-Kapiti
• King Country
• Manawatu
• North Harbour
• Northland
• Poverty Bay
• Taranaki
• Thames Valley
• Waikato
• Wairarapa Bush
• Wanganui
• Wellington

South Island

The South Island provincial unions are:

• Buller
• Canterbury
• Mid-Canterbury
• North Otago
• Otago
• South Canterbury
• Southland
• Tasman
• West Coast

High school rugby

• The Press Cup - Crusaders Region High School Rugby Competition

External links

• the official home of the New Zealand Rugby Union and the All Blacks