Hawke's Bay Rugby Union
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| Full name | Hawke's Bay Rugby Union |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Magpies |
| Founded | 1884 |
| Location | Napier |
| Region | Hurricanes |
| Ground(s) | McLean Park (Capacity: 19,700) |
| Chairman | Brendan Mahony |
| Coach(es) |
Craig Philpott Danny Lee |
| Captain(s) | Ash Dixon |
| League(s) |
Mitre 10 Cup Premiership Farah Palmer Cup |
| 2016 | 7th in Premiership. Relegated to Championship for 2017. |
The Hawke's Bay Rugby Union (HBRU) is the governing body of rugby union in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand. The union is based in Napier.
The representative team of the HBRFU is the Hawke's Bay Magpies. The team jersey is white with black hoops. The Magpies' home ground is McLean Park in Napier.
Hawke's Bay was one of the strongest teams in the second division of the former NPC for many years prior to the formation of the Air New Zealand Cup, winning the second division title several times but never being able to make it back into the first division.
Hawke's Bay has a women's team called the Hawke's Bay Tui's, which are apart of Women's Provincial Championship
The Hawke's Bay Rugby Union was founded in 1884. This makes it the oldest Provincial Rugby Union outside the four main centres. Hawke's Bay has a very good Ranfurly Shield record with 24 defences from 1922 to 1927, 21 successful defences between 1966 and 1969 as well as 2 defences in 1934. Hawke's Bay won the shield again, claiming it from Otago, on 1 September 2013. They lost the shield soon after to Counties-Manukau, before winning it back from them in August 2014\. Hawke's Bay's glory days as a rugby union came long before the NPC was founded. As such Hawke's Bay does not have a very flattering record in either that competition or the Air New Zealand Cup. The best position they have managed in either is 3rd. Hawke's Bay dominated the second division of the NPC in the 1990s before the Air New Zealand Cup was set up in 2006.
In 1996 Hawke's Bay and Manawatu merged their teams to form the Central Vikings. It was an attempt to elevate the unions back to the then first division. Players including Mark "Bull" Allen, Christian Cullen, Mark Ranby, Stephen Bachop and Roger Randle featured in the team. The 1997 season saw Central finish overall second with 6 wins, 2 losses and into the semi-finals. In the semi-final, the Vikings avenged their loss to Bay of Plenty in round robin play to face Northland in the final. Northland won the final 63–10. Northland were thus promoted to the First Division. However, had the Vikings won, they would not have been eligible to be promoted. 1998 saw a repeat of form for the Vikings who went unbeaten in the season. They subsequently won the final against Bay of Plenty at McLean Park, Napier and were promoted to First Division. However, due to financial issues, the merger split back to Hawke's Bay and Manawatu. Both unions subsequently became foundation unions of the Air New Zealand Cup which started in 2006.
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