Counties Manukau Rugby Union
Encyclopedia
The Counties Manukau Rugby Football Union (CMRFU) is the governing body of rugby union
in the Franklin district of New Zealand
. The Steelers colours are red
, white
, and black
horizontal bands. The 'Steelers' moniker is a reference to the nearby Glenbrook
steel factory. The Union is based in Pukekohe, and plays at Growers Stadium, Pukekohe.
Counties' first game was against Thames Valley in Waiuku in 1955 which they won 15 - 14, led by Barry Baxter. In that inaugural year the team also defeated an Auckland XV twice, the first 19 - 6 on Bledisloe Park, Pukekohe, where the union's first All Black, Pat Walsh scored twice.
Counties playing style was enterprising but organised, often frowned upon at the time as lacking in structure, but in reality it was successful.
Barry Bracewell, coach from 1961–63 and 1967–75, adopted a style in conflict with the ethos of the day of forward dominance and percentage safety from the backs. Bracewell and Tauroa after him, selected mobile forwards and loose forwards with exciting backs with attacking gameplans.
This era produced some fine All Blacks, including Bruce McLeod, Bob Lendrum, Andy Dalton, John Spiers, Rod Ketels, Bruce Robertson, and Robert Kururangi.
The Counties team of this era had many highlights. The first was Winning the NPC championship in 1979 with wins over Waikato, Wellington, North Auckland, Thames Valley, Bay of Plenty, Poverty Bay, South Canterbury, Manawatu, Taranaki, Otago, Canterbury, and Southland, also beating Victoria and Argentina that year.
Winning the Inter-Dominion Championship (forerunner to the Super 10) against Queensland in Brisbane was another achievement, while the 1982 team beat Australia 15 - 9, which included greats such as David Campese.
The Ranfurly shield has so far eluded Counties, although it has been in some memorable challenges. In 1982, playing Canterbury not only for the Ranfurly Shield but also the NPC championship, with Counties ahead 15 - 12 with only minutes remaining, Robert Kururangi intercepted a Canterbury pass and was about to score when the referee dubiously judged him offside, awarding Canterbury the penalty which Robbie Deans successfully kicked to win the championship and retain the shield.
The previous season the shield challenge against Waikato also ended in a draw (21 all) after Counties conceded two late and controversial penalties.
The third log of wood agony came 3 years later in 1985 against Auckland when Counties, down 3 - 12, were denied what appeared to be a perfectly legitimate try to Dave Trombik after the ref received some subtle persuasion by Auckland skipper Andy Haden. Later in the game Warren McClean scored a try for Counties making the final score 9-12. The unfancied Counties side losing in what should have been a well-deserved victory.
After a period of time containing more lows than highs, including a stint in the second division, Counties finally came good during the mid-1990s. A forward packing containing Errol Brain, Jim Coe, Glen Marsh, and Junior Paramore, with backs including Tony Marsh, Blair Feeney, Jonah Lomu, Joeli Vidiri and Dean Sheppard proved one of the best Counties side ever, making the NPC finals twice, in 1996 and 1997, losing to Auckland and Canterbury respectively.
A highlight of that period came in 1997 during the semi-final in Hamilton. Behind at one stage 9 - 33, and stung by a ground announcement advertising tickets for a home Waikato final next week, Counties fought back with a thrilling 43 - 40 win.
After a steady decline since then, Counties lost a promotion-relegation match in 2001, and dropped to the second division. Here, Counties could not retain their best players and lost the likes of Stephen Donald, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Casey Laulala, and Keiran Reid to other unions.
In 2006 Counties was selected to rejoin the top sides in the new Air New Zealand Cup Premier Division, and they still retain their exciting attacking style of rugby. While success has so far been limited, one highlight beating Auckland in 2008, more time in the top division and retaining their tops players, Counties will only get stronger. As is evident in the current 2010 season, where they're at the top of the table.
Ref: Cochrane, P. (2005). Enterprise and Agony. 50 years of Counties Rugby. NZ.
Players who have played 100 or more games for the union.
They finished 3rd in Repechage A with 5 points, including a draw with Manawatu (25 - 25).
In 2007 the Steelers finished 14th with 2 points, from a draw with North Harbour (13 - 13).
In 2008 the Steelers finished 13th with 13 points, including wins over Auckland (17 - 6) and Manawatu (27 - 14).
In 2009 the Steelers finished 14th with 12 points, including wins over Taranaki (33 - 21) and Northland (28 - 19).
In 2010 the Steelers finished 9th with 31 points, including wins over Otago (29 - 13), Wellington (31 - 25), Manawatu (35 - 14), Tasman (23 - 3), Northland (40 - 24), and North Harbour (24 - 23).
{| border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4"
Counties Manukau rugby enjoyed its heyday in the 1980s. Led by Andy Dalton
*, the team established grunting forwards including Alan Dawson
and a free-wheeling style of backline play based on the silky skills and speed of players such as Bruce Robertson* and Robert Kururangi*. Other notable players from that era included Ken Parry, Paul Wardrop, Jack Kani, Rod Ketels, John Spiers and Lindsay Raki. From 1995 till 1999, captain Errol Brain led another successful era, with famous players such as Jonah Lomu
*, Joeli Vidiri
*, Danny Lee*, Tony Marsh, and Jim Coe. The "player drain" of stars such as Lomu (Wellington), Vidiri (Auckland), Lee (Otago), and Marsh (France), signalled a downturn in the fortunes of Counties. Other players who have moved on include Kristian Ormsby, Loki Crichton, John Afoa
*, and Sitiveni Sivivatu
*, Casey Laulala
*, Kieran Read
* (younger grades)
began, Counties Manukau was associated with the Blues; but since 1999 it has been aligned to the Chiefs
.
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
in the Franklin district of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. The Steelers colours are red
Red
Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...
, white
White
White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
, and black
Black
Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...
horizontal bands. The 'Steelers' moniker is a reference to the nearby Glenbrook
Glenbrook, New Zealand
Glenbrook is a rural and industrial area in the Franklin district of New Zealand.The industrial site, that of New Zealand's major steel mill, New Zealand Steel, is not located close to any towns - the surrounding countryside is occupied by huge farms...
steel factory. The Union is based in Pukekohe, and plays at Growers Stadium, Pukekohe.
History
The history of Counties has been very much about adventurous football and taking risks, and this was certainly the case initially as the team strove to establish an identity and tradition. First known as South Auckland Counties, the next year they became Counties, and much later Counties-Manukau.Counties' first game was against Thames Valley in Waiuku in 1955 which they won 15 - 14, led by Barry Baxter. In that inaugural year the team also defeated an Auckland XV twice, the first 19 - 6 on Bledisloe Park, Pukekohe, where the union's first All Black, Pat Walsh scored twice.
Counties playing style was enterprising but organised, often frowned upon at the time as lacking in structure, but in reality it was successful.
Barry Bracewell, coach from 1961–63 and 1967–75, adopted a style in conflict with the ethos of the day of forward dominance and percentage safety from the backs. Bracewell and Tauroa after him, selected mobile forwards and loose forwards with exciting backs with attacking gameplans.
This era produced some fine All Blacks, including Bruce McLeod, Bob Lendrum, Andy Dalton, John Spiers, Rod Ketels, Bruce Robertson, and Robert Kururangi.
The Counties team of this era had many highlights. The first was Winning the NPC championship in 1979 with wins over Waikato, Wellington, North Auckland, Thames Valley, Bay of Plenty, Poverty Bay, South Canterbury, Manawatu, Taranaki, Otago, Canterbury, and Southland, also beating Victoria and Argentina that year.
Winning the Inter-Dominion Championship (forerunner to the Super 10) against Queensland in Brisbane was another achievement, while the 1982 team beat Australia 15 - 9, which included greats such as David Campese.
The Ranfurly shield has so far eluded Counties, although it has been in some memorable challenges. In 1982, playing Canterbury not only for the Ranfurly Shield but also the NPC championship, with Counties ahead 15 - 12 with only minutes remaining, Robert Kururangi intercepted a Canterbury pass and was about to score when the referee dubiously judged him offside, awarding Canterbury the penalty which Robbie Deans successfully kicked to win the championship and retain the shield.
The previous season the shield challenge against Waikato also ended in a draw (21 all) after Counties conceded two late and controversial penalties.
The third log of wood agony came 3 years later in 1985 against Auckland when Counties, down 3 - 12, were denied what appeared to be a perfectly legitimate try to Dave Trombik after the ref received some subtle persuasion by Auckland skipper Andy Haden. Later in the game Warren McClean scored a try for Counties making the final score 9-12. The unfancied Counties side losing in what should have been a well-deserved victory.
After a period of time containing more lows than highs, including a stint in the second division, Counties finally came good during the mid-1990s. A forward packing containing Errol Brain, Jim Coe, Glen Marsh, and Junior Paramore, with backs including Tony Marsh, Blair Feeney, Jonah Lomu, Joeli Vidiri and Dean Sheppard proved one of the best Counties side ever, making the NPC finals twice, in 1996 and 1997, losing to Auckland and Canterbury respectively.
A highlight of that period came in 1997 during the semi-final in Hamilton. Behind at one stage 9 - 33, and stung by a ground announcement advertising tickets for a home Waikato final next week, Counties fought back with a thrilling 43 - 40 win.
After a steady decline since then, Counties lost a promotion-relegation match in 2001, and dropped to the second division. Here, Counties could not retain their best players and lost the likes of Stephen Donald, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Casey Laulala, and Keiran Reid to other unions.
In 2006 Counties was selected to rejoin the top sides in the new Air New Zealand Cup Premier Division, and they still retain their exciting attacking style of rugby. While success has so far been limited, one highlight beating Auckland in 2008, more time in the top division and retaining their tops players, Counties will only get stronger. As is evident in the current 2010 season, where they're at the top of the table.
Ref: Cochrane, P. (2005). Enterprise and Agony. 50 years of Counties Rugby. NZ.
Current squad
All Blacks and Centurions
Counties players in the All Blacks.
|
|
Players who have played 100 or more games for the union.
-
-
- Alan Dawson
- Andy Dalton
- Bob Lendrum
- Ean McRobbie
- Graham Taylor
- Henk Harbraken
- Henry Maxwell
- Jim Coe
- John Speirs
- John Hughes
- Lee Lidgard
- Lindsay Raki
- Mark Moore
- Paul Tuoro
- Peter Clotworthy
- Rod Ketels
- Roy Craig
- Warren McLean
- Errol Brain
- Bruce Robertson
- Grant Henson
-
Air New Zealand/ITM Cup
In 2006 the Steelers finished the first round 5th in Pool B with 9 points, including a win over Southland (29 - 8).They finished 3rd in Repechage A with 5 points, including a draw with Manawatu (25 - 25).
In 2007 the Steelers finished 14th with 2 points, from a draw with North Harbour (13 - 13).
In 2008 the Steelers finished 13th with 13 points, including wins over Auckland (17 - 6) and Manawatu (27 - 14).
In 2009 the Steelers finished 14th with 12 points, including wins over Taranaki (33 - 21) and Northland (28 - 19).
In 2010 the Steelers finished 9th with 31 points, including wins over Otago (29 - 13), Wellington (31 - 25), Manawatu (35 - 14), Tasman (23 - 3), Northland (40 - 24), and North Harbour (24 - 23).
Clubs
-
-
- Ardmore Marist
- BombayBombay Hills, New ZealandThe Bombay Hills are a range of hills to the south of Auckland, New Zealand. Though only a small and seemingly insignificant range of hills, they lie at the southern boundary of the Auckland region, and serve as a divide between Auckland and the Waikato region...
- DruryDrury, New ZealandDrury is a rural town near Auckland, in northern New Zealand. Located 36 kilometres to the south of Auckland CBD, under authority of the Auckland Council. Drury lies at the southern border of the Auckland metropolitan area, 12 kilometres to the northeast of Pukekohe, close to the Papakura Channel,...
- KarakaKaraka, New ZealandKaraka is a small town of Auckland, New Zealand. Located in Franklin, one of Auckland's two districts. Under the authority of the Franklin District Council.It is primarily a rural town associated with dairy farming and sheep...
- Manukau Inst. Tech.Manukau Institute of TechnologyManukau Institute of Technology is a large institute of technology in Auckland, New Zealand. It is located on two campuses in Otara, 30 minutes from central Auckland and 15 minutes from the central area of Manukau.-Campus:...
- ManurewaManurewaManurewa is the southernmost major suburb of Manukau City, one of the four cities that make up the metropolitan area of Auckland in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located 6km south of the Manukau City Centre, and 26km southeast of the Auckland CBD....
- Maramarua
- Mercer
- Onewhero
- PapakuraPapakuraThe Papakura District was the name of a local council territory in New Zealand's Auckland Region that existed from 1989 until 2010. The area made up the southernmost part of the Auckland metropolitan area....
- Patumahoe
- Pukekohe
PukekohePukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, it is approximately 50 kilometres south of Auckland City, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. The hills of Pukekohe...- Puni
- Te Kauwhata
Te KauwhataTe Kauwhata is a small town in the north of the Waikato region of New Zealand, situated close to the western shore of Lake Waikare, some 40 km north of Hamilton...- Te Kohanga
- Tuakau
TuakauTuakau is a town in the Franklin district, and is part of the Waikato Region in the North Island of New Zealand.The town serves to support local farming, and is the residence of many employees of New Zealand Steel at Glenbrook....- Waiuku
WaiukuWaiuku is a country town in the Franklin District, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located at the southern end of the Waiuku River, which is an estuarial arm of the Manukau Harbour...- Weymouth, Manukau
-
Wonder years
Andy Dalton
Andrew Grant Dalton is an ex-All Blacks rugby union player who captained the side 17 times in tests...
*, the team established grunting forwards including Alan Dawson
Alan Dawson
Alan Dawson was a respected jazz drummer and widely influential percussion teacher based in Boston. He was born in Marietta, Pennsylvania and raised in Roxbury, MA. Serving in the Army for Korean War duty, Dawson played with the Army Dance Band while stationed at Fort Dix from 1951-1953...
and a free-wheeling style of backline play based on the silky skills and speed of players such as Bruce Robertson* and Robert Kururangi*. Other notable players from that era included Ken Parry, Paul Wardrop, Jack Kani, Rod Ketels, John Spiers and Lindsay Raki. From 1995 till 1999, captain Errol Brain led another successful era, with famous players such as Jonah Lomu
Jonah Lomu
Jonah Tali Lomu, MNZM is a New Zealand rugby union player. He had sixty-three caps as an All Black after debuting in 1994. He is generally regarded as the first true global superstar of rugby union. He has had a huge impact on the game...
*, Joeli Vidiri
Joeli Vidiri
Joeli Vidiri is a retired Fijian rugby union footballer who also played for the All Blacks. He played as a wing.-Career:...
*, Danny Lee*, Tony Marsh, and Jim Coe. The "player drain" of stars such as Lomu (Wellington), Vidiri (Auckland), Lee (Otago), and Marsh (France), signalled a downturn in the fortunes of Counties. Other players who have moved on include Kristian Ormsby, Loki Crichton, John Afoa
John Afoa
Ioane Fitu "John" Afoa is a New Zealand professional Rugby union player and plays prop and hooker. Afoa currently plays for Ulster after signing a two-and-a-half year deal after the 2011 Rugby World Cup.-Representative Rugby:...
*, and Sitiveni Sivivatu
Sitiveni Sivivatu
Sitiveni Waica Sivivatu is a New Zealand rugby union footballer, playing on the position of a wing. He was largely successful in the 2005 Super 12 season playing for the Chiefs, and acquired a starting position in the All Blacks. He has scored 29 tries in 45 tests...
*, Casey Laulala
Casey Laulala
Casey Laulala is a New Zealand rugby union player.He attended Woodhouse Grove School in the sixth form on a scholarship.-Career:...
*, Kieran Read
Kieran Read
Kieran Read is a rugby union player for the Crusaders in the Super 14 competition. He plays as a blind-side flanker or No.8, but has the ability and height to play in the lock position...
* (younger grades)
- [*] denotes a player who achieved All BlacksAll BlacksThe New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
selection
Counties Manukau in Super Rugby
When Super RugbySuper 14
Super Rugby is the largest and pre-eminent professional Rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere...
began, Counties Manukau was associated with the Blues; but since 1999 it has been aligned to the Chiefs
Chiefs (Super rugby franchise)
The Chiefs are a professional Rugby union team based in Hamilton, New Zealand. Their home ground is Waikato Stadium. The Chiefs play in black, red and yellow coloured jerseys...
.
External links
- Official site: http://www.steelers.co.nz
- Unofficial sites: http://www.nzclubrugby.co.nz/club/counties-manukau-rugby-union, http://www.champions.co.nz/counties_manukau_rugby_union.htm
- Clubs: -- Ardmore-Marist http://www.nzrugbynet.com/NZRFU/Provincial+Unions/Counties+Manukau+RFU/Clubs/Ardmore+Marist+RFC/Home.htm, http://www.ardmoremarist.co.nz, -- Manurewa http://www.manurewarugby.co.nz/
- News: TVNZ, NZHerald
- Counties Manukau rugby (NZHistory.net.nz)