Auckland 1A 1st XV Rugby is the Premier Rugby Union competition for secondary schools and colleges in Auckland, New Zealand. Auckland 1A 1st XV Rugby is an annual promotion and relegation competition that usually takes place with 12 schools. The competition is organised and run by the Auckland Rugby Union.
| Sport | Rugby Union |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1895; 128 years ago |
| No. of teams | 12 (2023) |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Most recent champion(s) | Sacred Heart College Auckland (2023) |
| Most titles | Auckland Grammar (65 titles) |
Teams
1A Teams (2023 Season)
- Auckland Grammar, Epsom
- De La Salle College, Mangere East
- Dilworth School, Epsom
- Kelston Boys High School, Kelston
- King's College, Otahuhu
- Liston College, Henderson
- Mount Albert Grammar, Mount Albert
- Sacred Heart College, Glendowie
- St Kentigern College, Pakuranga
- St Paul's College, Ponsonby
- St Peter's College, Epsom
- Tangaroa College, Otara
History
The competition has been running since 1895. Many different teams have competed in the competition since the start as there is a promotion/relegation fixture involved at the end of every season. The competition has had 12 different winners over 127 years. On 16 occasions, the title has been shared by two or more teams.[1] In recent years the winner of the Auckland 1A 1st XV Rugby competition will play either the winner of the North Harbour 1st XV competition or the Northland 1st XV competition to become the Blues representative at the National First XV Championship. For many years the competition winner was decided after round-robin play but in recent years the competition has added Semi Finals and Finals after round-robin play to find an outright winner. Auckland Grammar are the most successful school in the competition. Auckland Grammar has had a rugby team dating back to 1871 where they played against club teams.[2] Auckland Grammar has won a title in every decade since the competition started in 1895. The Auckland Rugby Union, along with Collegesport and the Secondary Schools Executive Committee are responsible for administering the local secondary school competitions. Auckland 1st XV rugby is split into three divisions 1A, 1B, 1C.
Broadcast
Sky TV in New Zealand has been broadcasting Auckland 1a 1st XV games since 2009.[3] Until 2018, games were available to watch to subscribers of the Rugby Channel, although in 2019 games were moved to Sky Sports.[4] In 2022, principals from the Auckland High Schools involved decided that they would not let anyone live stream or broadcast any Auckland 1st XV matches because it "exposed players to an unhealthy level of scrutiny in both traditional and social media". This also meant that no interviews would be given by coaches and players before or during the season.[5][6]
List of winners
Summary Table
| Teams | Titles | Outright | Shared | First Title | Last Title | National Titles | National Top 4
Appearances |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auckland Grammar | 65 | 53 | 12 | 1895 | 2014 | 3 | 6 |
| Mount Albert Grammar | 23 | 18 | 5 | 1923 | 2016 | 3 | 5 |
| King's College | 16 | 10 | 6 | 1908 | 2019 | 0 | 2 |
| Kelston Boys High School | 13 | 9 | 4 | 1977 | 2022 | 5 | 6 |
| Sacred Heart College | 7 | 6 | 1 | 1906 | 2023 | 0 | 0 |
| St Kentigern College | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2001 | 2017 | 1 | 4 |
| St Peter's College | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1987 | 2018 | 3 | 3 |
| St Paul's (Ponsonby) | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1969 | 1978 | 0 | 0 |
| De La Salle College | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2003 | 2008 | 1 | 2 |
| Otahuhu College | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1957 | 1997 | 0 | 0 |
| St John's College | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1903 | 1904 | 0 | 0 |
| Takapuna Grammar | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1941 | 1941 | 0 | 0 |
- National First XV Championships started in 1982
Competition rivalries
The most famous rivalry in the competition is Auckland Grammar, based in Epsom against King's College, based in Otahuhu. The Rivalry dates back to 1896. As of the 2022 season the two teams have played 211 times with Auckland Grammar winning 134 times and King's winning 61 times along with 16 draws.[9]
Another famous rivalry is Sacred Heart College, based in Glendowie against St Peter's College based in Epsom. This rivalry is noted because of the schools both being Catholic.[10]
Auckland Grammar second biggest rivalry come against Mount Albert Grammar. The two schools are the most successful in the competition. The two schools played against each other in Mount Albert Grammar's centenary game.[11]
Other notable rivalries
See also
References
- ↑ "Auckland Rugby Union". www.aucklandrugby.co.nz. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
- ↑ "Book details Grammar rugby's history". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
- ↑ Hewat, Sam (2017-06-07). "Clubs and schools raise concerns over televised first XV rugby". Stuff. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
- ↑ "Exclusive: Sky Sport's big school rugby gamble". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
- ↑ "Auckland schools ban live broadcasts of First XV rugby games". 1 News. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
- ↑ "No more screen time for Auckland school rugby stars". RNZ. 2022-11-02. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
- ↑ "Auckland Rugby Union". www.aucklandrugby.co.nz. Retrieved 2022-05-21.
- ↑ "First XV rugby: Auckland schools react to cancellation of 2020 season". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
- ↑ "First XV rugby: Grammar stun King's with big comeback win". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
- ↑ "College rugby: Old boys recall the best of school clashes". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
- ↑ "Mount Albert Grammar celebrate centenary against Auckland Grammar". www.aucklandrugby.co.nz. Retrieved 2023-04-16.