RUGBY LEAGUE NATION

 

 

Foundation Year - 1907

International Team - Kiwis

Highest finish in World Cup - Winner World Cup Final (2008)

Top level domestic competition - The Warriors are the only New Zealand based team that compete in the National Rugby League (NRL). New Zealand has a local competition called the Bartercard Premiership which six teams participate in each year and a provincial competition.

History - New Zealand first played rugby league in 1907. Formed by Albert Baskerville they were nicknamed the All-Golds by the New Zealand media. They stopped over in Australia to play some matches against the newly formed NSWRL before heading off on their first tour of Northern England.

Rugby League has been played in New Zealand for over 100 years. During this time rugby league has cemented itself in and around the Auckland area. On the international scene the Kiwis have done it tough winning the occasional test series or one off test match. All this started to change with the influx of Kiwis into the NRL in the 1980's. In 1998 the Kiwis made their first ever World Cup Final after being involved in the tournament since 1954. Played at a packed Eden Park the Kiwis went onto lose the final but it marked a significant shift in New Zealand's international fortunes.

In 1992 New Zealand's application to have a team participate in the NRL (ARL at the time) was approved. The team was given time to put the appropriate structures in place with the side scheduled to enter the competition in 1995. The team was originally known as the Auckland Warriors but has since changed their name to the New Zealand Warriors. The big moment for the Warriors came in 2002 when they played the Sydney Roosters in the NRL Grand Final. The Warriors had the lead early in the second half but fell away in the last 20 minutes losing 30 - 8.

On the international arena New Zealand made it to their second ever World Cup Final in 2000. Once again they played Australia in the final. They Kiwis stuck with Australia throughout the first 60 minutes of play but the superior fitness of the Australian took hold in the last final 20 minutes. The final score 40 - 12 really didn't indicate the closeness of the match. New Zealand had now made two World Cup Finals with no happy ending.

In 2005 the Kiwis beat Australia in the Tri-Nations final 24 - 0. Before the series NZ were favourites to finish last. The win cemented NZ as the number one Rugby League Nation in the World. In 2006 the Kiwis once again played Australia in the Tri-Nations final. The Australian's won the game in the second period of extra time 16 -12 in one of the best international games in recent times. The Kiwis had come so close to back to back tri-nations wins.

As of early 2008 New Zealand have around 15,000 registered players with 428 teams, a majority of them based around Auckland. Rugby League is the third most watched sport in New Zealand but still face prejudices. Rugby League has had to overcome many hurdles to have the sport played in secondary schools. Even with all these obstacles rugby league has still has managed to field just over 300 secondary school teams in New Zealand.

The Kiwis were grouped with AUS, ENG and PNG in a Super Pool for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup. New Zealand played Australia in the official opening ceremony game in Sydney. The Kiwis campaign didn't get of to a great start as they were outclassed by the Kangaroos 30 - 6. The Kiwis then defeated Papua New Guinea to register their first win of the tournament. They then defeated England in the last pool game to book a place in the semi final were they faced England again. The Kiwis booked a place in the World Cup final by defeating a disappointing English team.

In the World Cup Final Australia went into the game as un-backable favourites. What happened next will go down as one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history. The Kangaroos were outplayed by the Kiwis in every aspect of the game and failed to retain the World Cup that they had held since 1975, going down 20 - 34. The Kiwis had defied the odds and the critics to win their first ever Rugby League World Cup title.

The future looks bright for New Zealand Rugby League as current world champions. The Kiwis World Cup win has produced unprecedented interest and media exposure at home and internationally. This is expected to see an increase in grass roots participation. To capitalise on this the NZRL has launched a Kids to Kiwis campaign that was televised on national TV.

The New Zealand sporting body SPARC has commissioned a review of how Rugby League is governed in New Zealand. It is hoped that once the report is complete that recommendations will be implemented and the NZRL can secure more government funding and take the sport to the next level. The NRL are also looking to expand the competition with a Wellington based team being one of the options. It is now up to the players and staff to carry this success all the way through to the 2013 Rugby League World Cup.

The Kiwis under performed in the 2009 Four Nations. New Zealand were favourites to contest the final against Australia but failed to make the final being bundled out of the competition by England in the pool rounds. It could have been a different story if the Kiwis didn't settle for a draw with Australia in the first game of the tournament.

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