North vs South rugby union match

Last updated November 05, 2024

The North vs South match, sometimes known as the Interisland match was a longstanding rugby union fixture in New Zealand between the North Island and South Island teams.

The first match was played on 30 June 1897 at Wellington's Athletic Park, and the match became an annual fixture from 1902. Matches ceased during World War I from 1915 to 1918, but during World War II only the 1940, 1941 and 1942 matches were cancelled, with competition resuming in 1943. The last annual match on regular basis was played in 1986.

In 2012, a one-off match at Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium in 2012 to help fundraise for the financially troubled Otago Rugby Football Union, which was won by the South 32–24.

A second one-off match was initially scheduled to be held on 29 August 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, it was postponed to 5 September 2020.

Most early matches were played in one of the four main cities (Auckland and Wellington in the North Island, Christchurch and Dunedin in the South Island), but from 1970 onwards the fixture was rotated around a number of provincial centres.

Colours

In the very first match in 1897, the North Island wore yellow and black jerseys while the South Island team wore all black.

Since 1904 the North Island traditionally played in black jerseys and black shorts, while the South Island played in white jerseys with white shorts.

List of results

Overall

Details	Played	Won by North Island	Won by South Island	Drawn	North Island points	South Island points
In North Island	50	31	17	2	940	637
In South Island	31	19	11	1	517	358
Overall	81	50	28	3	1457	995

Year	Date	Venue	Winner	Score
1897	30 June	Wellington	North	16—3
1898-1901	Not played
1902		Wellington	South	20—14
1903		Auckland	South	12—5
1904		Dunedin	draw	3—3
1905		Wellington	North	26—0
1906		Wellington	North	9—5
1907		Christchurch	North	11—0
1908		Wellington	North	12—5
1909		Wellington	South	19—11
1910		Christchurch	South	14—10
1911	7 October	Wellington	North	19—9
1912		Napier	North	12—8
1913		Christchurch	South	25—0
1914		Wellington	South	8—0
1915-18		Not played
1919		Wellington	North	28—11
1920		Wellington	North	12—3
1921		Christchurch	North	28—13
1922	8 July	Auckland	South	9—8
1923		Wellington	draw	6—6
1924		Wellington	North	39—8
1925		Invercargill	North	16—5
1926		Wellington	North	41—9
1927		Wellington	South	31—30
1928		Christchurch	South	15—14
1929		Wellington	North	29—20
1930		Not played
1931		Wellington	draw	20—20
1932		Christchurch	North	28—10
1933		Wellington	North	27—18
1934		Dunedin	South	27—10
1935		Wellington	North	15—9
1936		Christchurch	North	17—6
1937		Wellington	South	30—21
1938		Wellington	South	31—23
1939		Wellington	South	25—19
1940-42		Not played
1943		Wellington	South	17—16
1944		Christchurch	North	28—3
1945		Auckland	South	31—19
1946		Wellington	North	8—3
1947		Invercargill	North	13—11
1948		Wellington	South	12—11
1949		Christchurch	North	23—3
1950		Auckland	North	10—8
1951		Wellington	North	14—12
1952		Dunedin	South	11—3
1953		Wellington	North	15—14
1954		Christchurch	North	13—9
1955		Wellington	North	15—9
1956		Wellington	South	13—11
1957	17 August	Auckland	North	19—3
1958	2 August	Dunedin	North	13—6
1959		Wellington	North	30—14
1960		Christchurch	South	26—11
1961		Wellington	North	25—3
1962		Christchurch	South	17—14
1963		Christchurch	South	14—13
1964		Auckland	North	12—9
1965	9 June	Wellington	North	25—14
1966		Hamilton	North	12—3
1967		Dunedin	North	17—6
1968		Christchurch	North	34—17
1969		Wellington	South	13—3
1970	12 September	Nelson	North	11—6
1971		New Plymouth	North	31—9
1972	15 July	Christchurch	North	19—8^[1]
1973		Whangārei	North	27—14
1974		Auckland	North	22—0
1975	13 September	Christchurch	South	17—14
1976	11 September	Hamilton	South	20—16
1977		Dunedin	South	6—4
1978		New Plymouth	North	29—13
1979	11 August	Invercargill	North	9—3
1980	2 August	Palmerston North	North	13—9
1981		Dunedin	North	10—4
1982	10 July	Wanganui	South	22—12
1983	3 September	Blenheim	North	22—9
1984		Rotorua	North	39—3
1985		New Plymouth	North	29—12
1986		Oamaru	North	22-10
1987-94		Not played
1995	8 April	Dunedin	North	63-22
1996-2011		Not played
2012	10 June	Dunedin	South	32-24
2013-2019		Not played
2020	5 September	Wellington	South	38-35

Date	Winner	Venue	Result	Tries	Goals	Attendance	Reference
30 June 1897	North Island	Athletic Park, Wellington	16–3	North: W. Hardcastle, A. Humphries, W. Roberts South: P. Priest	North: A. Humphries (3)	N/A	^[2]
13 September 1969	South Island	Athletic Park, Wellington	3–13	North: M. O'Callaghan South: I. Kirkpatrick, P. Gard	South: F. McCormick (3)	N/A	^[3]
10 June 2012	South Island	Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin	32–24	North: R. Robinson (2), S. Stowers South: K. Baker (2), T. Marshall, M. Todd, A. Whitelock	North: L. Munro (3), R. Robinson South: K. Baker (3)	7,427	^[4]
5 September 2020	South Island	Sky Stadium, Wellington	38–35	North: R. Ioane (2), D. McKenzie, A. Smith, A. Dixon South: W. Jordan (2), N. Laulala, J. Barrett, T. Lomax	North: D. McKenzie (5) South: J. Barrett (6)	0	^[5]

Related Research Articles

The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national team, although they can pick uncapped players who are eligible for any of the four unions. The team tours every four years, with these rotating between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in order. The most recent test series, the 2021 series against South Africa, was won 2–1 by South Africa.

The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for their international success, the All Blacks have often been regarded as one of the most successful sports teams in history.

The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks, is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jerseys with white shorts, and their emblem is the Springbok, a native antelope and the national animal of South Africa. The team has represented South African Rugby Union in international rugby union since 30 July 1891, when they played their first test match against a British Isles touring team. Currently, the Springboks are the no.2 ranked rugby team in the world and reigning World Champions, having won the World Cup a record four times. South Africa have won half of the Rugby World Cups they have participated in and are also the second nation to win the World Cup consecutively.

The Stormers is a South African professional rugby union team based in Cape Town in the Western Cape that competes in the United Rugby Championship, a trans-hemispheric competition that also involves sides from Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. They competed in the Super Rugby competition until 2020. They have won one major international championship, the 2021-22 United Rugby Championship, and seven South African 'conference' titles, five in the South African Conference of Super Rugby, and two in the URC equivalent, the South African Shield.

The National Provincial Championship (NPC) is an annual round-robin rugby union competition in men's domestic New Zealand rugby. First played in 1976, it is the second highest level of competition in New Zealand alongside the Ranfurly Shield. It is organised by New Zealand Rugby (NZR) and since 2021, it has been known as the Bunnings NPC after Bunnings, its naming rights sponsor. A concurrent women's tournament is also held, the Farah Palmer Cup.

New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it became an affiliate to the International Rugby Football Board, now known as World Rugby, the governing body of rugby union for the world. It dropped the word "Football" from its name in 2006. The brand name New Zealand Rugby was adopted in 2013. Officially, it is an incorporated society with the name New Zealand Rugby Union Incorporated.

The Fiji national rugby union team represents Fiji in men's international rugby union. Fiji competed in the Pacific Tri-Nations and now competes in its successor tournament Pacific Nations Cup. Fiji also regularly plays test matches during the June and November test windows. They have beaten the major rugby playing sides of Wales, Scotland, Australia, France, Italy, Argentina and England. The only major sides Fiji are yet to beat are New Zealand, South Africa and Ireland.

The Tonga national rugby union team represents the Tonga Rugby Union in men's international rugby union. The team is nicknamed ʻIkale Tahi . Like their Polynesian neighbours, the Tongans start their matches with a traditional challenge – the Sipi Tau. They are members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) along with Fiji and Samoa. The Ikale Tahi achieved a historic 19–14 victory over France in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, but having lost to New Zealand and Canada, were unable to achieve what would have been their first-ever presence at the quarter-finals.

The New Zealand Barbarian Rugby Club Inc., nicknamed the Barbarians, or Baa-Baas, is a rugby union club headquartered in Kingsland, Auckland. The idea came from the concept of the Barbarian F.C. The Barbarians played their home matches at Eden Park.

Wellington Regional Stadium is a major sporting venue in Wellington, New Zealand. The stadium's bowl site size is 48,000 m² (520,000 sq ft).

In New Zealand, Australian rules football dates back to the 1860s, was home to the first club formed outside Australia in 1876 and was the first colony outside of Australia to take up the sport. The sport's official name was changed in 1890 to Australasian Football acknowledge New Zealand's participation and remained for some time even after the country was expelled from the Australasian Football Council. After a half century hiatus of organised competition, it has grown rapidly as an amateur sport. Today five of New Zealand's sixteen regions have organised competitions: Auckland ; Canterbury ; Wellington ; Waikato and Otago. A four-team national competition with a national draft has been contested at the North Harbour Stadium in Auckland since 2016 for men and 2019 for women. The national team were crowned International champions at the 2005 Australian Football International Cup and competed annually against the AFL Academy between 2012 and 2019. Since the 2010s the game has also grown at junior level among New Zealand schools as the "Hawks Cup".

Rugby union has been played in New Zealand since 1870 and is the most popular sport in the country as well as being its national sport. In a 2023 survey, 75% of respondents said they followed the sport.

The Waikato Rugby Union (WRU) is the official governing body of rugby union in the Waikato area in the North Island of New Zealand. Headquartered in Hamilton, WRU was founded in 1921.

William "Massa" Johnston was a New Zealand rugby union and rugby league international. He was part of the 1905 Original All Blacks tour and the professional 1907-1908 New Zealand rugby tour of Great Britain.

Thomas Rangiwahia Ellison, also known as Tamati Erihana, was a New Zealand rugby union player and lawyer. He led the first New Zealand representative rugby team organised by the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU) on their 1893 tour of Australia. Ellison also played in the 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team on their epic 107-match tour, scoring 113 points, and 43 tries with the side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Cross (rugby)</span> NZ dual-code international rugby footballer

Tom "Angry" William Cross was a New Zealand rugby footballer who represented New Zealand in both rugby union and rugby league.

The Otago Rugby League Team are New Zealand rugby league team that represents the Otago Rugby League. They are known as the Whalers. In the past they have been nicknamed the Storm, the Raiders and the 45er's.

Liam James Coltman is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a hooker for Lyon in Frances's domestic competition Top 14.

William "Pat" Albert Harris was a New Zealand rugby union player who represented the New Zealand national side in 1897. His position of choice was hooker. Harris did not play in any test matches as New Zealand did not play their first until 1903.

Leicester Ofa Ki Wales Twickenham Fainga’anuku is a New Zealand rugby union player, who currently plays as a wing for Toulon in the French Top 14. He previously played for Tasman in the National Provincial Championship and the Crusaders in Super Rugby. He has represented New Zealand internationally.

References

Lambert, M. and Palenski, R. 4th Air New Zealand Almanac, Moa Alamanac Press 1985. ISBN 0-908570-91-0

Notes

↑ A. C. Swan & A. H. Carman (ed.). The Rugby Almanack of New Zealand 1973. Sporting Publications. p. 49.
↑ "TDIH: June 26 1897 – North beats South 16 – 3 in first inter-island match. – New Zealand Rugby Museum | All Blacks | Palmerston North".
↑ "North v South, 1969".
↑ "Rugby: South prevails in entertaining game". 12 June 2012.
↑ "North v South: Thriller goes South's way after absorbing battle of the playmakers". 5 September 2020.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] A. C. Swan & A. H. Carman (ed.). The Rugby Almanack of New Zealand 1973. Sporting Publications. p. 49.

[2] "TDIH: June 26 1897 – North beats South 16 – 3 in first inter-island match. – New Zealand Rugby Museum | All Blacks | Palmerston North".

[3] "North v South, 1969".

[4] "Rugby: South prevails in entertaining game". 12 June 2012.

[5] "North v South: Thriller goes South's way after absorbing battle of the playmakers". 5 September 2020.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]