Wanganui Rugby Football Union - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Wanganui Rugby Football Union (WRFU) is the governing body for rugby union in the Wanganui region of New Zealand. The Wanganui Rugby Football Union was formed in 1888.

The Wanganui team play from Cooks Gardens

Cooks Gardens

Cooks Gardens is a multi-purpose stadium in Wanganui, New Zealand. It is one of the finest stadia in New Zealand and is currently used mostly for rugby union matches, athletics and cycling. The main stadium, known as westpac stadium is able to hold 20,700 people with 3,500 covered...

, Wanganui

Wanganui

Whanganui , also spelled Wanganui, is an urban area and district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of the Manawatu-Wanganui region....

. and have enjoyed much success on the playing field throughout their history. Since the introduction of the National Provincial Championship

National Provincial Championship

The National Provincial Championship, or NPC, is the major domestic rugby competition in New Zealand. The NPC has seen many alterations to its format and brand. Since 2006 the National Championship has been split into 2 competitions, the ITM Cup and the Heartland Championship...

in 1976 the Wanganui team have gone on to win 5 provincial championships and have been finalists in the each of the last 4 years in succession.
The Wanganui team accepted promotion to the Air New Zealand Cup Division One competition for the 2010 season. The NZRU has recently announced another alteration to the NPC format for 2010 and 2011 however which means the Air New Zealand Cup will remain a 14 team competition for the next 2 years.

History

The Wanganui Rugby Football Union was formed on 11 April 1888. It then joined the NZRFU as a foundation member in 1892. Wanganui's first official game after affiliation with the NZRFU was against the British and Irish Lions

British and Irish Lions

The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...

in 1888, a 1-all draw was more than encouraging for the union. In 1913 Wanganui played Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

and won 11-6 and in 1966 (with King Country

King Country

The King Country is a region of the western North Island of New Zealand. It extends approximately from the Kawhia Harbour and the town of Otorohanga in the north to the upper reaches of the Whanganui River in the south, and from the Hauhungaroa and Rangitoto Ranges in the east to near the Tasman...

) they won against touring side, British and Irish Lions 12-6.

Championships

Wanganui won the NPC 3rd division in 1989, 1996 and 2003, and won the Meads Cup (NPC 2nd division equivalent competition) in 2008, 2009 and 2011

Heartland Championship placings

Year	Played	Win	Draw	Loss	PF	PA	Diff	BP	Points	Place	Playoffs
Heartland Championship Heartland Championship The Heartland Championship New Zealand Division One competition, known for sponsorship reasons as the AA Rewards Heartland Championship, is a domestic rugby union competition in New Zealand. It was founded in 2006 as one of two successor competitions to the country's former domestic competition,... Results
2006	8	7	1	0	309	146	+163	5	35	2nd	beat Mid Canterbury Mid Canterbury Rugby Football Union The Mid Canterbury Rugby Football Union is a rugby province in the South Island of New Zealand.-History:The Mid Canterbury Rugby Football Union was formed in 1904 as Ashburton Country when it broke away from the Canterbury Rugby Football Union... 30-17, lost Wairarapa Bush Wairarapa Bush Rugby Football Union The Wairarapa Bush Rugby Football Union was formed in 1971 with the amalgamation of the Wairarapa Rugby Football Union and Bush Rugby Football Union.... 14-16 (Meads Cup Meads Cup The Meads Cup is a rugby cup named after the All Black Colin Meads. It is a cup played for in New Zealand between provincial rugby teams. The Meads Cup is played for during the Heartland Championship... )

Ranfurly Shield

Wanganui has unsuccessfully challenged for the Ranfurly Shield

Ranfurly Shield

The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Ranfurly Shield is based on a challenge system, rather than a league or knockout competition as with most football trophies...

25 times, the best result being a 15-all draw with Taranaki in 1964.

Their latest challenge was in 2009 where they played the then current RS holders champions Wellington and lost by 61-6 (two penalties by Denning Tyrell)

Wanganui in Super Rugby

Wanganui along with Wellington, Taranaki

Taranaki Rugby Union

Taranaki Rugby Football Union is the governing body of Rugby in the New Zealand province of Taranaki. The main stadium is Yarrow Stadium which is in the main centre of New Plymouth. Taranaki plays in the annual ITM Cup in which it also competes for the Ranfurly shield...

, Wairarapa Bush

Wairarapa Bush Rugby Football Union

The Wairarapa Bush Rugby Football Union was formed in 1971 with the amalgamation of the Wairarapa Rugby Football Union and Bush Rugby Football Union....

, East Coast

East Coast Rugby Football Union

The East Coast Rugby Football Union is a constituent union in the New Zealand Rugby Union. It is located on the East Coast of the North Island, based in Ruatoria. It is the smallest Union in New Zealand in the sense of player numbers and population base...

, Poverty Bay

Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union

The Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union, which governs rugby union within the Gisborne region surrounding Poverty Bay in New Zealand, was formed in 1890....

, Hawke's Bay

Hawke's Bay Rugby Union

The Hawke's Bay Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand. The union is based in Napier.-Representative rugby:...

, Manawatu

Manawatu Rugby Union

Manawatu Rugby Union is the governing body of the sport of Rugby union in the Manawatu rugby province. The Union is based in the city of Palmerston North but has a catchment area from nearby towns in the province, including Feilding, Rongotea, Linton, Bulls, Pahiatua, Dannevirke and...

and Horowhenua-Kapiti

Horowhenua-Kapiti Rugby Football Union

-Representative Rugby:The Horowhenua-Kapiti team play from Levin Domain, Levin and in the 2006 season are in Pool B of the Heartland Championship. They are seeded 6th qualifiers for the Championship as they were runner-ups in the 3rd division in 2005....

make up the Hurricanes Super 14

Super 14

Super Rugby is the largest and pre-eminent professional Rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere...

franchise.

All Blacks

There have been 17 players selected for the All Blacks

All Blacks

The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....

while playing club rugby in Wanganui.

E.A Moke Belliss
J.A Blair
G.A.H Bullock-Douglas
A.J Donald
K.E Keith Gudsell
P Peter Henderson
Peter Henderson (athlete and rugby player)
Peter "Sammy" Henderson is a former New Zealand All Black rugby test player who was banned by officialdom for 38 years for signing to join with the professional rugby league in Englandin 1950....
J Hogan
P.A Johns
P McDonnell
A.L.R McNicol
H.P Buff Milner
P.C Murray
W.M Bill Osborne
W.P Bill Potaka
H.C.B Rowley
P Taituha
H.D Thomson

Clubs

Wanganui Rugby Football Union is made up of 13 clubs:

Hunterville
Kaierau
Marist
Ngati Maika
Ratana
Ruapehu
Taihape
Utiku Old Boys
Waiouru
Wanganui and Old Boys
Wanganui Pirates http://www.pirates.org.nz
Wanganui Tech
Marton Rugby and Sports Club

External links

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