Blues (Super rugby franchise)
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| Union | New Zealand Rugby Union |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Blues |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Location | Auckland, New Zealand |
| Region |
Auckland North Harbour Northland |
| Ground(s) | Eden Park (Capacity: 50,000) |
| Coach(es) | Tana Umaga |
| Captain(s) | James Parsons |
| Most caps | Keven Mealamu (164) |
| Top scorer | Adrian Cashmore (617) |
| League(s) | Super Rugby |
| 2016 | 5th (New Zealand Conference) 7th (Australasian Group) 11th (overall) |
| Official website | |
| theblues |
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The Blues (formerly known as the Auckland Blues until 2000) are a professional rugby union team based in Auckland, New Zealand who play in the Super Rugby competition. Like New Zealand's four other Super Rugby regional franchises, the Blues were established by the NZRU in 1996. One of the most successful teams in Super Rugby history, the Blues won the competition in each of its first two seasons, 1996 and 1997, and again in 2003. Additionally, the team were finalists in 1998 and semi-finalists in 2007 and 2011. The team is captained by James Parsons and coached by Tana Umaga.
Along with New Zealand's other Super Rugby sides, the Blues were established by the NZRU to take part in the newly formed Super 12 competition which, involved teams from South Africa and Australia in addition to New Zealand. Each of New Zealand's five sides represented a number of provincial unions, with the Blues representing the Auckland, Counties Manukau and Thames Valley unions, while the neighbouring Waikato Chiefs representing the Waikato, Bay of Plenty, King Country, Northland and North Harbour unions. As the amount of international representatives in the Auckland region was thought to be unfair, it was split up between The Blues and The Chiefs. During this era, the Blues played the majority of their home matches at Eden Park, with round robin fixtures occasionally held at Growers Stadium in Pukekohe.
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