Canterbury rugby union team
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| Union | New Zealand Rugby Union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1879 |
| Location | Christchurch, Canterbury Region, New Zealand |
| Region | Crusaders |
| Ground(s) | AMI Stadium (Addington) (Capacity: 18,000) |
| Coach(es) | Scott Robertson |
| Captain(s) | Luke Whitelock |
| League(s) |
Mitre 10 Cup Women's Provincial Championship |
| 2016 | 1st |
| Official website | |
| www |
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The Canterbury Rugby Football Union (also referred to as "Canterbury" or "CRFU") is the governing body for rugby union in a portion of the Canterbury Region of New Zealand. Its colours are red and black in a hooped design. The CRFU govern the running of the Canterbury representative team which have won New Zealand's first-tier domestic competition National Provincial Championship (Air New Zealand Cup and ITM Cup) 12 times including a "six-peat" from 2008 to 2013 – with five in the National Provincial Championship, two in the Air New Zealand Cup, and four in the ITM Cup. Their most recent victory was the 2015 competition. Canterbury also acts as a primary feeder to the Crusaders, who play in the Super Rugby competition.
The union is coached by Scott Robertson. The union also administers all club rugby within the region, including senior club rugby and school rugby.
Canterbury are the current holders of the Ranfurly Shield having won it off Waikato on 28 September 2016 after a 29–23 victory in Hamilton.
The Canterbury Rugby Football Union (CRFU) was established in 1879 following a match between South Canterbury and North Canterbury in Timaru. The meeting took place on 26 July 1879, where delegates representing Christchurch, Christ's College, Temuka, North Canterbury (Rangiora), Eastern (Christchurch), South Canterbury (Timaru), Ashburton, and Southbridge clubs decided to form the union. The impetus to form the CRFU was mainly provided by Montague Lewin, who had emigrated from England to Christchurch in 1873, and lobbied for local football clubs to adopt the rules of England's Rugby Football Union. He succeeded in getting Canterbury clubs to adopt the rugby rules in 1876, but a visit by an Australian Victorian Rules football team in 1879 prompted him to push for the formation of a union. It had been initially proposed that the new organisation be the New Zealand Rugby Union, but this was rejected and the Canterbury Rugby Football Union was formed. Canterbury was the first provincial union within New Zealand, with the Wellington Rugby Football Union was formed later that year. By 1890 fourteen provincial unions had been founded within New Zealand. As well as being the oldest union within New Zealand, the CRFU was actually founded before one of the Home Unions – the Welsh Rugby Union was founded in 1881.
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