Buller Rugby Football Union
 |
|
| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Buller Rugby Union |
| Website | http://www.bullerrugby.co.nz |
| Colours | Red and Blue |
| Founded | 1894 |
| Current details | |
| Ground(s) |
|
| Competition | Heartland Championship |
The Buller Rugby Union (BRU) is a rugby union province based in the town of Westport, New Zealand. The Buller provincial boundary also includes other notable towns such as Reefton, Karamea, Granity, Charleston, Punakaiki and Murchison (Murchison RFC currently compete in the Tasman provincial Union competition).
Contents
History
Buller was formed in 1894. Buller has played in both the second and third divisions of the former NPC. After the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) restructuring of the NPC in 2006 Buller currently play in the Heartland Championship (effectively the NPC second division). The side has performed with distinction in this competition having made the top tier Meads Cup section twice in the past 3 seasons. Buller (often in combination with West Coast) has had some memorable matches against international sides in the past including victory over Australia. There have also been a number of other impressive results against international opposition including the British Lions, South Africa, Tonga, Fiji, Samoa, and various New Zealand representative sides including New Zealand Maori and New Zealand Juniors. Historically Buller were a strong provincial Union particularly in the pre 1960 era and the Union would compete on a level footing with more famous provincial sides such as Canterbury and Wellington. With the formation of the National Provincial Championship (NPC) in 1976 Buller began to struggle as players moved to bigger Unions to further their rugby and work careers. However the Union has experienced a resurgence in fortunes over the last 4 seasons with the representative team performing well in the Heartland Championship.
Clubs
Buller Rugby Union is made up of 6 clubs:
- Karamea Rugby Football Club
- Ngakawau Rugby Football Club
- Old Boys Rugby Football Club
- Reefton Rugby Club
- Westport Rugby Football Club
- White Star Rugby Football Club
Buller also have 3 secondary schools who compete in matches:
- Buller High School
- Karamea Area School
- Reefton Area School
Squad
2014 Squad - 2015 TBA[1]
|
|
Playing ground
The Buller teams home ground is Victoria Square Westport
Buller in Super Rugby
Buller along with Canterbury, Tasman, West Coast, Mid Canterbury and South Canterbury make up the Crusaders Super Rugby franchise.
Championships
Buller has never won a Provincial Championship.
In 2012, Buller won the Lochore Cup.
In 2014, Buller went through Round Robin Undefeated progressing to the Meads Cup Final only to fall to Mid Canterbury.
Heartland Championship placings
| Heartland Championship Results[2] | |||||||||||
| Year | Played | Win | Draw | Loss | PF | PA | Diff | BP | Points | Place | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 139 | 182 | -43 | 2 | 14 | 4th | (Lochore Cup Semi-finalists) |
| 2007 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 171 | 186 | -15 | 2 | 22 | 5th | (Meads Cup) |
| 2008 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 135 | 164 | -29 | 1 | 19 | 5th | (Meads Cup) |
| 2009 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 163 | 156 | +7 | 5 | 17 | 4th | (Lochore Cup Semi-finalists) |
| 2010 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 127 | 193 | -66 | 1 | 13 | 3rd | (Lochore Cup Runners-up) |
| 2011 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 188 | 131 | +57 | 6 | 26 | 4th | (Lochore Cup Semi-finalists) |
| 2012 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 207 | 178 | +29 | 5 | 25 | 5th | (Lochore Cup Champions) |
| 2013 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 147 | 149 | -2 | 4 | 20 | 7th | (Lochore Cup Runners-up) |
| 2014 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 282 | 145 | +137 | 5 | 37 | 1st | (Meads Cup Runners-up) |
Ranfurly Shield
Buller have never held the Ranfurly Shield despite a number of close matches. The best result being in 1949 when Buller drew 6–6 against Otago at Carisbrook, Dunedin. Had the match been played using the modern scoring system, Buller would have won courtesy of scoring more tries than their Otago opposition.
Seddon Shield
Established in 1906 in memory of Richard John Seddon, the Seddon Shield is a challenge shield contested by representative teams in the upper South Island.[3] Buller along with Nelson Bays, Marlborough and West Coast currently compete for the shield. Originally the Golden Bay-Motueka Rugby Union and the Nelson Rugby Union also competed for the shield before those unions amalgamated to form Nelson Bays. Buller have held the shield on a number of occasions but Nelson Bays are the current holders. In 2009 Buller lost their Seddon Shield challenge against Nelson Bays by 29–37.
Rundle Cup
The Rundle Cup is contested annually between the Buller and West Coast Unions. It is one of the oldest trophies in NZ rugby.
The Rundle Cup was donated to the West Coast provincial union during their Annual General Meeting at the Albion Hotel on the 24th of May 1911 by William Rundle as a trophy for Buller-West Coast matches. Rundle was a local business man in the mining industry and former player for the Grey Football Club. He later perished on the frontline in France during World War One. The first contest for the cup was held in 1911 in Westport and was won by Buller.
Notable players
All Blacks
Buller has had six players selected for the All Blacks whilst playing their club rugby in Buller:
Also:
- C. Green (selected for 1910 tour to Australia but was unable to tour)
- B. Stack (unused reserve for 1966 match vs British Lions)
Other All Blacks to play for Buller at senior or junior level either before or after their national selection were:
- Sam Bligh (Played for Buller before going on to make the All Blacks whilst playing for the West Coast in 1910)
- George Aitken (1921 All Black captain and later a Scotland representative, played for Buller in 1914–15)
- Ben Blair (2001 All Black played for Buller at junior level)
- Bobby Black (An Otago All Black on 1914 Australia Tour, played for Buller after he settled in Westport after Australia Tour).
- John Corbett (1905 All Black whilst playing his representative rugby for the West Coast. Played for Buller from 1908–10)
- G.D.M. Gilbert (1935–36 All Black whislt playing his representative rugby for the West Coast. Played for Buller in 1930)
- F. Newton (1905 All Black played for Buller in 1908)
New Zealand Māori/Natives representatives
- T.A. French (Well known Māori rugby administrator)
- A. Webster
New Zealand Sevens representatives
- S. Yates (2007–08 New Zealand Sevens representative played for Buller at junior level)
Buller centurions
The following players have made 100 appearances for Buller:
- John Brazil
- Clark "Huck" Nelson
- Luke Brownlee
References
- ↑ Buller internet site Retrieved Sept 19th 2014
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Official Site
- Buller rugby (NZHistory.net.nz)
- Heartland Rugby website
