Fixtures
| NPC | 08/02 07:05 | 1 |
Taranaki vs
Northland
|
- | View | |
| NPC | 08/09 02:05 | 2 |
North Harbour
vs
Taranaki
|
- | View | |
| NPC | 08/16 04:35 | 3 |
Auckland
vs
Taranaki
|
- | View | |
| NPC | 08/23 02:05 | 4 |
Taranaki vs
Waikato
|
- | View | |
| NPC | 08/30 02:05 | 5 |
NK Noga Triglav U19
vs
Taranaki
|
- | View | |
| NPC | 09/07 02:05 | 6 |
Taranaki vs
Bay of Plenty
|
- | View |
Results
| NPC | 10/12 06:05 | 3 |
Taranaki v
Waikato
|
L | 14-15 | |
| NPC | 10/06 01:05 | 9 |
Tasman
v
Taranaki
|
W | 29-42 | |
| NPC | 09/29 03:35 | 8 |
Taranaki v
Manawatu
|
W | 33-31 | |
| NPC | 09/25 07:05 | 7 |
Taranaki v
North Harbour
|
W | 31-25 | |
| NPC | 09/20 07:05 | 7 |
Hawkes Bay
v
Taranaki
|
W | 19-63 | |
| NPC | 09/14 02:05 | 6 |
Bay of Plenty
v
Taranaki
|
L | 33-20 | |
| NPC | 09/08 02:05 | 5 |
Taranaki v
Waikato
|
W | 25-19 | |
| NPC | 08/31 02:35 | 4 |
Taranaki v
Otago
|
W | 22-18 | |
| NPC | 08/24 07:05 | 3 |
Southland
v
Taranaki
|
W | 24-39 | |
| NPC | 08/18 02:05 | 2 |
Wellington
v
Taranaki
|
L | 26-19 | |
| NPC | 08/09 05:35 | 1 |
Taranaki v
Vitoria Setubal U19
|
W | 31-15 | |
| NPC | 10/21 01:05 | 1 |
Taranaki v
Hawkes Bay
|
W | 22-19 |
Wikipedia - Taranaki Rugby Football Union
The Taranaki Rugby Football Union (TRFU, Taranaki Rugby) is the governing body for rugby union in Taranaki, New Zealand. Established in 1885, it is based in New Plymouth. The union's traditional colours are amber and black.
The Taranaki Bulls and Taranaki Whio are the two most senior representative men's and women's teams, competing in the NPC and Farah Palmer Cup respectively. The Bulls typically play their home games at Stadium Taranaki in New Plymouth, while the Whio play at Stadium Taranaki and other venues across the province.
Taranaki Rugby is part of the Chiefs Super Rugby region and has a 23.1% ownership stake in the franchise.
History
Early years
Taranaki was officially established in 1889 after a team chosen from the surrounding clubs in existence played as Egmont in 1885. They began with a brown coloured jersey before adopting the amber and black hoops in 1892. During the amateur period, the team won the Ranfurly Shield on four occasions. It had also won seven-second division titles in the National Provincial Championship, more than any other team. Further notable moments were in 1959, when a record 35,000 spectators attended Rugby Park in New Plymouth to see the province play the British Lions. Two years later 36,000 people were on hand to watch France defeat the side 11-9. Their first Ranfurly Shield victory came in 1913 when Auckland was defeated 14-11. Six successful defences followed before a 12-6 loss to Wellington in September 1914. In 1957 shield holders Wellington was defeated in a friendly match early in the year and a rematch was scheduled for later in the season. Otago defeated Wellington, and Otago accepted a special challenge by Taranaki. The match was played on 28 September 1957, the last Saturday of the season, after King Country gave up its scheduled fixture with Taranaki. Taranaki won against Otago for them to, later on, go a 13-match tenure.
In 1963 Taranaki regained the Ranfurly Shield once again off Wellington with a win at Athletic Park. Their third tenure would be its most successful one. The first challenge came from Wanganui who were making their second challenge of the season, having lost earlier to Auckland. Wanganui later would suffer a further defeat in 1964. Taranaki lost to Auckland in their last defence in 1965 and would not reclaim the shield again until 1996 when they edged Auckland 42-39. North Harbour lost narrowly in a tight contest before Taranaki was beaten by 20 points against Waikato.
Professional era
In August 2011 Taranaki defeated Southland 15-12 in Invercargill to begin a fifth tenure of the shield. This ended in October 2012 when Waikato won the last challenge of the season. In 2013 Taranaki RFU assembled a women's professional team although it was later disbanded the following year. They claimed the national title for the first time in their history with a win over Tasman in the 2014 ITM Cup. and Hawke's Bay in the 2023 competition.