East Coast Rugby Football Union
The East Coast Rugby Football Union is a constituent union in the New Zealand Rugby Union. It is located on the East Coast of the North Island, based in Ruatoria. It is the smallest Union in New Zealand in the sense of player numbers and population base. Due to the high number of players from the Ngati Porou iwi, the team is often referred to as Ngati Porou East Coast.
| Nickname(s) | Ngati Porou East Coast | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1921 | |
| Location | Ruatoria | |
| Ground(s) | Whakarua Park (Capacity: 3,000) | |
| Chairman |  Campbell Dewes | |
| Coach(es) | Hosea Gear | |
| League(s) | Heartland Championship | |
| 2019 | 12th | |
| ||
| Official website | ||
| www | ||
The Ngati Porou East Coast team home ground is Whakarua Park, Ruatoria. Ngati Porou East Coast were recently holders of the Meads Cup, defeating Wanganui 29–27 at Whakarua Park on 27 October 2012.[1]
History
The East Coast Rugby Football Union was formed in 1922 when they split from the Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union.
Ranfurly Shield
East Coast has challenged for the Ranfurly Shield seven times losing heavily on each occasion.
Matches
| 1953 | Wellington  | 42–0 |  East Coast | Wellington |
| 1968 | Hawke's Bay  | 31–0 | East Coast | Napier |
| 1981 | Waikato  | 54–0 | East Coast | Hamilton |
| 1987 | Auckland  | 72–0 | East Coast | Auckland |
| 1997 | Auckland | 115–6 | East Coast | Ruatoria |
| 2002 | Canterbury  | 51–6 | East Coast | Christchurch |
| 2013 | Waikato | 65–10 | East Coast | Ruatoria |
East Coast in Super Rugby
East Coast along with Wellington, Wairarapa Bush, Wanganui, Poverty Bay, Hawke's Bay, Manawatu and Horowhenua-Kapiti make up the Hurricanes Super Rugby region.
Reputation
The team is renowned for losing 42 consecutive games.
All Blacks
They have had 3 players selected for the All Blacks whilst playing their club rugby in the East Coast.
Clubs
East Coast Rugby Football Union is made up of 9 clubs:
- Hicks Bay
- Hikurangi Sports Club
- Ruatoria City Sports Club
- Tawhiti
- Tokararangi
- Tokomaru Bay United
- Tikirau Victory Club (TVC)
- Uawa Sports
- Waiapu
Championships
East Coast won the NPC 3rd Division twice, first in 1999 defeating Poverty Bay 18–15 in the final at Ruatoria and secondly and more impressively, defeating North Otago in front of their home crowd at Oamaru in a come-from-behind 25–21 victory to record back to back NPC 3rd Division Championships.
1999 NPC 3rd Division
| Round | Comp | Home team | Score | Away team | Score |
| Week 1 | NPC | .png.webp){kind=small} Buller |
18 | East Coast |
36 |
| Week 2 | NPC |  West Coast |
41 | East Coast |
13 |
| Week 3 | NPC |  Wairarapa Bush |
15 | East Coast |
31 |
| Week 4 | NPC | East Coast |
10 |  Poverty Bay |
15 |
| Week 5 | NPC | East Coast |
30 |  North Otago |
9 |
| Week 6 | NPC |  Horowhenua-Kapiti |
20 | East Coast |
14 |
| Week 7 | NPC | East Coast |
74 | Buller |
8 |
| Week 8 | NPC | East Coast |
18 |  South Canterbury |
6 |
| Semi Final | NPC | Horowhenua-Kapiti |
20 | East Coast |
21 |
| Final | NPC | East Coast |
18 | Poverty Bay |
15 |
- Overall Season standing: Champions
2000 NPC 3rd Division
| Round | Comp | Home team | Score | Away team | Score |
| Week 1 | NPC | East Coast |
20 | South Canterbury |
14 |
| Week 2 | NPC | North Otago |
26 | East Coast |
26 |
| Week 3 | NPC | Buller |
12 | East Coast |
44 |
| Week 4 | NPC | South Canterbury |
12 | East Coast |
6 |
| Week 5 | NPC | East Coast |
33 | Wairarapa Bush |
20 |
| Week 6 | NPC | Poverty Bay |
28 | East Coast |
30 |
| Week 7 | NPC | East Coast |
33 | West Coast |
27 |
| Week 8 | NPC | East Coast |
31 | Horowhenua-Kapiti |
30 |
| Semi Final | NPC | East Coast |
18 | Wairarapa Bush |
17 |
| Final | NPC | North Otago |
21 | East Coast |
25 |
- Overall Season standing: Champions
2012 Heartland Championship
| Round | Comp | Home team | Score | Away team | Score |
| Week 1 | NPC | East Coast |
23 | West Coast |
16 |
| Week 2 | NPC | South Canterbury |
37 | East Coast |
9 |
| Week 3 | NPC | East Coast |
20 | Buller |
18 |
| Week 4 | NPC |  Mid Canterbury |
13 | East Coast |
20 |
| Week 5 | NPC | East Coast |
25 |  Wanganui |
17 |
| Week 6 | NPC |  Thames Valley |
38 | East Coast |
53 |
| Week 7 | NPC | East Coast |
56 |  King Country |
24 |
| Week 8 | NPC | Poverty Bay |
14 | East Coast |
24 |
| Semi Final | NPC | East Coast |
26 | North Otago |
15 |
| Final | NPC | East Coast |
29 | Wanganui |
27 |
- Overall Season standing: Champions
Heartland Championship placings
| Heartland Championship Results[2][3][4][5] | |||||||||||||
| Year | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Pts | Place | Playoffs | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qual | Semifinal | Final | |||||||||||
| 2006 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 111 | 244 | −133 | 2 | 6 | 11th | No | — | |
| 2007 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 130 | 210 | −70 | 3 | 11 | 11th | No | — | |
| 2008 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 50 | 306 | −256 | 0 | 0 | 12th | No | — | |
| 2009 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 87 | 337 | −250 | 0 | 4 | 11th | No | — | |
| 2010 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 96 | 384 | −288 | 1 | 1 | 12th | No | — | |
| 2011 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 189 | 198 | −9 | 3 | 27 | 3rd | Meads Cup | Won 23–17 against North Otago | Lost 10–30 to Wanganui |
| 2012 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 230 | 177 | +53 | 3 | 31 | 1st | Meads Cup | Won 26–15 against North Otago | Won 29–27 against Wanganui |
| 2013 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 173 | 225 | −52 | 5 | 13 | 10th | No | — | |
| 2014 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 67 | 367 | −300 | 0 | 0 | 12th | No | — | |
| 2015 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 112 | 368 | −256 | 2 | 2 | 12th | No | — | |
| 2016 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 166 | 458 | −292 | 3 | 3 | 12th | No | — | |
| 2017 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 98 | 353 | −255 | 0 | 0 | 12th | No | — | |
| 2018 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 99 | 447 | −348 | 2 | 2 | 12th | No | — | |
References
- "East Coast comeback overwhelms Whanganui". October 27, 2012. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved 2012-10-29.
- "Standings (2006–present)". Heartland Championship. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
- "Fixtures and Results (2006–present)". Heartland Championship. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
- "Finalists found in Lochore and Meads Cups". Newshub. 23 October 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
- "2010 Lochore and Mead Cups finals wrap". Heartland Championship. 31 October 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
External links
- Official Site
- East Coast rugby (NZHistory.net.nz)