The Union

The North Harbour Rugby Union was formed in 1985 and during this time has developed a reputation for playing colourful and entertaining rugby through all grades which no doubt is a result of the vibrant surroundings.

North Harbour has also enjoyed a great deal of success on the rugby field having produced many All Blacks and other New Zealand representative players, and also winning the 3rd and 2nd division titles in the early years, and making the final series of the nations NPC competition on several occasions during the 90’s. North Harbour has certainly captured the imagination of the rugby public throughout New Zealand in its short history.

The development of the game in the region was further enhanced by the opportunities for our players to play in the Rugby Super 12 competition as part of our ‘Blues’ partnership with the Northland and Auckland unions.

With the development of the magnificent purpose-built North Harbour Stadium at Albany in the late 90’s, this area became the home of North Harbour rugby. This futuristic multi-purpose stadium is the envy of virtually all other rugby unions in the country and offers superb close-to-the-action viewing for over 25,000 spectators.

The stadium with its many function rooms, offices and the adjacent domain and playing fields, provides an excellent facility for the North Shore population.

The North Harbour Stadium plays host to all North Harbour home matches, certain Blues Rugby Super 15 matches as well as International fixtures. The All Blacks have played a number of tests and All Black trials at the Stadium.

The Rugby

North Harbour Rugby encompasses a geographical area that takes in 12 rugby clubs from the region bounded by the three Harbours, Mahurangi, Waitemata and Kaipara. The club rugby season runs annually from March through to beginning of August.

There are 18 secondary schools (with close to 100 teams) within the North Harbour region, with 14 of these schools entering sides in the strong local competition. Due to the ratio of secondary schools to rugby clubs there is often a strong relationship between the two in many instances.

Representative teams from North Harbour take part in both national and regional competitions. The North Harbour senior side plays in the prestigious ITM Cup which is recognised as the world’s strongest domestic rugby competition.

North Harbour is also one of the three provinces in the ‘Blues’ Rugby Super 15 franchise which takes part in the annual Southern Hemisphere Rugby Super 15 competition .This is one of the most exciting events on the world rugby calendar featuring clashes between 14 teams, which represent the cream of rugby talent from South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.