Cricket, rugby union, rugby league & netball are the prominent sporting rivalries between Australia and New Zealand. In addition, respective national teams have competed in other sports such as indoor bowls, basketball, association football, field hockey and touch football.
Australia attended its first Summer Olympic Games in 1896. New Zealand first attended in 1908, with the two countries competing together as Australasia. After World War I, the two nations split and since the 1920 Games have competed separately.
From 1952 both nations have sent teams to the Winter Olympic Games, except the non participation of New Zealand in 1956 and 1964.
Both nations have competed against each other and other Commonwealth nations at the British Empire Games and Commonwealth Games starting from 1930.
Australia has attended every Summer Paralympic Games since their inception in 1960; New Zealand first attended eight years later in 1968.
In 1938, the New Zealand Basketball Association sent the first New Zealand women's national basketball team to tour Australia. The men's teams have opposed each other in qualification for the 2002 FIBA World Championship and at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Australasia's National Basketball League has included the New Zealand Breakers as its sole non-Australian team since 2003. They are the two best-performing nations in FIBA Oceania. Teams from New Zealand's Women's Basketball Championship [1] have no history of playing against those of Australia's Women's NBL.
The Australian cricket team first toured New Zealand in 1878 [2] and recognised first class Test cricket between the respective national teams commenced in 1945–46. The underarm incident of 1981 stands as memorable for bringing Australian cricket into infamy and causing anger in New Zealand as well as being remarked upon by the respective heads of government. The two nations have exclusively and directly competed for the Trans-Tasman Trophy in test cricket since 1985–86 and for the Chappell–Hadlee Trophy in ODI cricket since 2006–07. They have competed at Twenty20 internationals and tournaments since their first such match occurring on 17 February 2005.
The highest attended Ultimate Fighting Championship event in history took place in Melbourne when Australian Robert Whittaker attempted to defend his UFC middleweight championship against New Zealander Israel Adesanya in front of 57,127 people at Marvel Stadium. [3] Adesanya would win the bout via a second-round knockout.
Australia and New Zealand are the top two ranked teams in international netball. On 20 August 1938, at Royal Park, Melbourne, Australia defeated New Zealand 40–11. This was the first netball Test between Australia and New Zealand. It was also the world's first international netball match. Between 1963 and 2015, the two teams dominated the World Netball Championships and Commonwealth Games tournaments. Since 2010 the two teams have also competed for the Constellation Cup. Notable and memorable clashes have included the finals of the 1991, 1999 and 2011 World Netball Championships, the finals of the 2010 and the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the final match of the 2013 Constellations Cup. [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
The rivalry between the two national rugby league teams, the Kangaroos and the Kiwis, commenced with matches at the conclusion of the professional 1907 All Golds tour. A collaborative side, that toured Great Britain, was fielded in 1911–12, but with the exception of a 2007 team this has not been repeated. An ANZAC Test, for the Bill Kelly Memorial Trophy, has been contested between the two countries since 1997, and is held close to ANZAC Day. [10] Additionally, at the end of each season the two countries compete in the Rugby League Four Nations tournament. Women's national teams of the two nations have directly competed at the Women's Rugby League World Cups of 2000, 2005 and 2008. Since 1995 a New Zealand professional team, the Warriors, have played in the Australia-centred National Rugby League.
An early 1882 New South Wales Waratahs tour of New Zealand was followed by an 1884 New Zealand rugby union tour of New South Wales and then with the history of rugby union matches between Australia and New Zealand commencing in 1903. Since 1931 that rivalry has been pursued for the prize of possession of the Bledisloe Cup. Both nations together hosted the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup and have since furthered a spirited rivalry directly and indirectly competing against each other for the sport's Webb Ellis Cup world championship trophy on every subsequent occasion. The first women's international rugby test between the Wallaroos and Black Ferns occurred in 1994. From 1996 their men's national teams compete annually in the Tri Nations, as do their elite provincial teams in Super Rugby.
From 1966 to the end of 2005 the two countries competed in the Oceania Football Confederation and a New Zealand club side has played against Australian clubs in the professional soccer A-League since 2005–06. Their national youth teams competed in the OFC U-20 Championship between 1978 and 2001. A first match between the Matildas and Football Ferns female teams occurred in 1975. The women's teams competed for the Oceania Cup seven times between 1983 and 2003. [11]
Australasian Championships in tennis commenced in 1905, later becoming the Australian Open. Between 1905 and 1915 the two nations combined their best players to compete in the Davis Cup, winning in all of 1907, 1908, 1909, 1911 and 1914.
The introduction of Australian rules football in New Zealand occurred around 1868 and maintained some cultural significance there until 1914 and then from the 1974 restarting of senior competition in three of its major cities. [12] [13] [14] [15] In 1890 an Australasian Football Council was formed including delegates from New Zealand and in 1908 New Zealand defeated both New South Wales and Queensland at the Jubilee Australasian Football Carnival. [16] In 1961, the Melbourne Football Club toured New Zealand during its off season, becoming the first VFL/AFL club to do so. [17] The New Zealand Falcons have represented their country in the sport since 1995 and the New Zealand AFL has existed since 1997. No international AFL exhibition matches have been played in New Zealand since 2001. AFL matches have been broadcast live into New Zealand since 2006 and there is regular coverage of AFL matches in The New Zealand Herald . Women's AFL in New Zealand found its first expression through a match convened by the Canterbury AFL in 2006. [18]
The Inter Dominion harness racing competition has been contested since 1936 at venues in both countries.
The Tasman Series of motor races across Australia and New Zealand was held from 1964 to 1975 and from 2001, the V8 Supercar Round at Pukekohe and subsequently the Hamilton 400 has been promoted as the New Zealand leg of the V8 Supercars category of touring car racing otherwise predominantly contested in Australia. [19]
At ISF Women's World Championships from 1965 and in softball at the Summer Olympics – except the Championships of 1978, 1982, 1986 and 1990 – Australia can be seen to have consistently distinguished itself ahead of New Zealand. The Black Sox men's team won the inaugural Commonwealth Championships over Australia and other nations in 2006 [20] and have otherwise outperformed Australia in world championships.
International indoor bowls competition began in 1975 when Australia and New Zealand first met for the Henselite Trophy. Trans-Tasman matches are held bi-annually with Australia being the current holder of the trophy as the test was a draw and Australia were the previous holders of the Trophy and therefore retained it.
The Black Sticks Men (New Zealand) defeated the Kookaburras (Australia) to win gold in field hockey at the 1976 Summer Olympics. Competition between the Black Sticks Women (New Zealand) and the Hockeyroos (Australia) female teams is recorded back to 1935. Both teams from both countries have contested the Oceania Cup biennially since 1999.
Respective touch football national teams of either and mixed gender, and across age categories, have sustained close competitive rivalry for championship honours through Touch Football World Cups contested since 1988.
As of 25 May 2009 and starting from 1987 the two nations had met 10 times at the sport of ice hockey.
Biennially since 1987 Australasian Masters Games have been contested in a range of sports by mature-aged athletes and teams of participants.
A PGA Tour of Australasia for men's golfers commenced under its current name in 1991.
The Australasian Pacers Grand Circuit for standardbred horses commenced in 1992 and the Australasian Breeders Crown futurity race series for 2 and 3-year-old horses bred in Australia and New Zealand is contested on a Sunday in late August each year at a venue in the Australian State of Victoria.
From 1997 both nations are known to have hosted the Oceania Badminton Championships. Overall in badminton at the Commonwealth Games it might be considered that Badminton Australia has marginally outperformed the Black Cocks.
They have had common membership of the International Korfball Federation since 1998 and they are recorded to have competed at the 2004 Asia-Oceania Korfball Championship.
Men's teams for both nations have contested the Oceania Handball Nations Cup from 2004 with both nations being members of the Oceania Handball Federation.
The New Zealand national netball team, commonly known as the Silver Ferns, represent Netball New Zealand in international netball tournaments such as the Netball World Cup, the Commonwealth Games, the Taini Jamison Trophy, the Constellation Cup, the Netball Quad Series and the Fast5 Netball World Series. They have also represented New Zealand at the World Games. New Zealand made their test debut in 1938. As of 2023, New Zealand have been world champions on five occasions and Commonwealth champions twice. They are regularly ranked number two in the World Netball Rankings.
Sport in New Zealand largely reflects the nation's colonial heritage, with some of the most popular sports being rugby union, rugby league, cricket, association football, basketball, horse racing and netball, which are primarily played in Commonwealth countries. New Zealand has enjoyed success in many sports, notably rugby union, rugby league, cricket, America's Cup sailing, world championship and Olympics events, and motorsport.
An athletic conference is a collection of sports teams which play competitively against each other in a sports league. In many cases conferences are subdivided into smaller divisions, with the best teams competing at successively higher levels. Conferences often, but not always, include teams from a common geographic region.
Sport is an important part of Australia that dates back to the early colonial period. Australian rules football, rugby league, rugby union, association football, cricket and tennis are among the earliest organised sports in Australia. Sport has shaped the Australian national identity through events such as the Melbourne Cup and the America's Cup. Australia also holds the record for the largest attendance at a rugby union match; almost 110,000 spectators watched the Wallabies play the All Blacks in 2000.
Australian rules football is played in more than 60 countries around the world with approximately 1.4 million players worldwide. By 2017 more than 26 nations had contested the Australian Football International Cup, the highest level of worldwide competition. The AFL Commission is the world governing body which manages international competition through its International Development Committee headed by Andrew Dillon. There are 3 regional governing bodies affiliated to the AFL: AFL Asia, AFL South Pacific and AFL Europe.
The state of Victoria, Australia, has a strong sporting culture and includes many popular sports.
Netball is the most popular women's team participation sport in Australia. In 1985, there were 347,000 players, and in 1995, there were over 360,000 Australian netball players. Throughout most of Australia's netball history, the game has largely been a participation sport; it has not managed to become a large spectator sport. In 2005 and 2006, 56,100 Australians attended one to two netball matches, of these, 41,600 were women. 46,200 attended three to five netball matches, with 34,400 of those spectators being women. 86,400 attended six or more netball matches, with 54,800 spectators being female. Overall, 188,800 people attended netball matches, with 130,800 being female. In 2005 and 2006, netball was the 10th most popular spectator sport for women with Australian rules football (1,011,300), horse racing (912,200), rugby league (542,600), motor sports (462,100), rugby union (232,400), football (212,200), harness racing (190,500), cricket (183,200) and tennis (163,500) all being more popular. The country set an attendance record for a Netball match with a record crowd of 14,339 at the Australia–New Zealand Netball Test held at the Sydney Super Dome game in 2004.
Sport plays an important role in the business, community, social and cultural life in the state of South Australia.
Sport in the Australian Capital Territory refers to the various sports played in the Australian Capital Territory. Teams represent the ACT in the national leagues of several sports, although the rugby league and rugby union teams receive far more local coverage than any of the other teams and are considered the main sports of the territory. The Australian Institute of Sport was set up in 1981, where many Olympic and other athletes are trained.
Australian rules football in Oceania is the sport of Australian rules football as it is watched and played in the Oceanian continent. The regional governing and development body, AFL South Pacific, is affiliated to the AFL Commission and was formed in 2008.
Sport in Papua New Guinea is an important part of the national culture. Rugby league is the most popular sport in Papua New Guinea.
Rugby union is the most popular sport in Fiji ; however, rugby league, netball, and association football are also widely played. Various forms of traditional boat racing and wrestling are also popular.
The main sports played in Samoa are rugby union and rugby league. Other popular sports are netball and soccer. Samoans in American Samoa are more likely to follow or play American sports such as American football, basketball, and baseball. Sports such as mixed martial arts, boxing, professional wrestling, and volleyball are popular among most ethnic Samoans regardless of location.
Netball New Zealand is the national body which oversees, promotes and manages netball in New Zealand, including the Silver Ferns.
Netball is the most popular women's sport in New Zealand, in terms of player participation and public interest. With the national team, the Silver Ferns, currently ranked second in the world, netball maintains a high profile in New Zealand. As in other netball-playing countries, netball is considered primarily a women's sport; men's and mixed teams exist at different levels, but are ancillary to women's competition.
The history of netball can be traced to the early development of basketball. A year after basketball was invented in 1891, the sport was modified for women to accommodate social conventions regarding their participation in sport, giving rise to women's basketball. Variations of women's basketball arose across the United States and in England. At the Bergman Österberg physical training college in Dartford, England, the rules of women's basketball were modified over several years to form an entirely new sport: "net ball". The sport was invented to encourage young females to be physically active and energetic. The first codified rules of netball were published at the start of the twentieth century, and from there the new sport spread throughout the British Empire.
Sport in Sri Lanka is a significant part of Sri Lankan culture. Although the Sports Ministry named volleyball the national sport, the most popular sport is Cricket. Rugby union is also popular. Other popular sports are water sports, badminton, athletics, football, basketball and tennis. Sri Lanka's schools and colleges regularly organize sports and athletics teams, competing on provincial and national levels.
Sport in Oceania varies from country to country. The most popular playing sport for men in Australia is Australian rules football, while for women is netball. Australian rules football is the most popular sport in terms of spectatorship and television ratings. Rugby union is the most popular sport among New Zealanders, while in Papua New Guinea rugby league is the most popular. Cricket is another popular sport throughout the Oceania region.
The Australia–New Zealand soccer rivalry is a sports rivalry that exists between the Australian men's/women's vs. New Zealand men's/women's national teams. It forms a part of a wider Trans-Tasman rivalry between the geographical neighbours of Australia and New Zealand in a range of sports including cricket, rugby league, rugby union and netball. Due to the countries' similar histories, language, and cultural and sporting interests, this wider rivalry is frequently referred to in the press as analogous to a sibling rivalry, although some fans, especially in New Zealand, reject this analogy as condescending.
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