Waikato Rugby Union - History

History

Waikato Rugby Union was founded in 1921. The inaugural representative match played ended in a 15-all draw against Taranaki. Waikato had its first win by their third fixture when they defeated Manawatu 6–0. The first home match was played against New South Wales from Australia at the Claudelands Showground, losing 11 to 28. In 1925 the Rugby Park was opened, and in 1928 Waikato adopted their now famous colours of red, yellow and black.

In 1932 Waikato challenged Canterbury for the Ranfurly Shield. The challenge was unsuccessful. Waikato made another unsuccessful challenge for the shield in 1949 against Otago. In 1951 Waikato successfully challenged for the Ranfurly Shield, defeating North Auckland 6 points to 3. They defeated Auckland the following season, also 6–3 to win back the shield. In 1966 Waikato defeated Auckland again to regain the Ranfurly Shield. In 1980 Waikato won the Ranfurly Shield for the first time since 1966, defeating Auckland 7 points to 3.

In 1954 Waikato had 11 wins and one draw from 14 matches and were tabbed the champions. The draw was in a remarkable Ranfurly Shield challenge where they drew 14 all. The country had never seen anything like this before, Christchurch was invaded by thousands of Mooloo supporters who were led by the president at the time, Horace ‘Cal’ Calcott. The Mooloo express captured the imagination of fans nationwide. These images were vividly remembered by many who attended.

Waikato became the first Union to win the National Provincial Championship (NPC) when the format included semi-final and finals structure for the 1992 season. Waikato defeated Otago 40 to 5 in the final. 1993 was also very successful for Waikato; winning back the Ranfurly Shield with a 17 to 6 victory over Auckland, and making it to the semi-finals of the NPC, only to be defeated by Otago.

Waikato defeated Taranaki 40 to 19 for a successful challenge for the Ranfurly Shield in 1996, and defeated Auckland 31 to 29 for the shield in 1997. That season they also made it to the semi-finals of the NPC, but were defeated by Counties Manukau 40 to 43. In 1998 they made it to the final of the NPC, in what was a rematch of the 1992 final, against Otago. Waikato lost the match 20 to 49. They made it to the semi-finals the next season, but were defeated by Wellington 17 to 38.

In 2002 Waikato made it to their first NPC final since the 1998 loss to Otago. Though they were defeated by Auckland, 28 to 40. They made it as far as the semi-finals in both the 2003 and the 2004 seasons, and were defeated by Wellington 29–30 and 16–28 respectively. Under the new Air New Zealand Cup format, Waikato became the first side to win the competition, defeating Wellington 37–31 in the final.

In 2007, Waikato defeated North Harbour 52–7 to regain the Ranfurly Shield. The score and winning margin is a Ranfurly Shield record for a team challenging for the Log Of Wood. However, the following week, Canterbury took the Log from the Mooloo Men 33–20.

In 2008 the Mooloo Men had a horrible run in the first four rounds of the 2008 Air New Zealand Cup, losing to Northland, Tasman, drawing with Manawatu, and losing to Harbour. They got their first win over Auckland 34–13. They played Hawkes Bay in the quarter finals and lost 31–28.

The 2009 edition, the last under the Air New Zealand Cup name, saw Waikato finish sixth, out of the playoff places (the playoffs that season were reduced from eight to four teams).

In 2010, the Waikato team finished 3rd on the table during the regular season competition, and ended up as runners-up in the inaugural ITM Cup Finals.

In 2011, the Waikato team finished 2nd in the premier division of the ITM Cup.

On October 3, 2012, the Waikato team regained the Ranfurly Shield by defeating rivals Taranaki 46-10 in New Plymouth.