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.

Auckland 1A 1st XV Rugby
SportRugby Union
Founded1895; 128 years ago
No. of teams12 (2023)
CountryNew Zealand
Most recent
champion(s)
Sacred Heart College Auckland (2023)
Most titlesAuckland Grammar (65 titles)

Teams

1A Teams (2023 Season)

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

Year Premiership Winners[7]
1895 Auckland Grammar
1896 Auckland Grammar (2)
1897 Auckland Grammar (3)
1898 Auckland Grammar (4)
1899 Auckland Grammar (5)
1900 Auckland Grammar (6)
1901 Auckland Grammar (7)
1902 Auckland Grammar (8)
1903 St John's College
1904 St John's College (2)
1905 Auckland Grammar (9)
1906 Sacred Heart College
1907 Auckland Grammar (10)
1908 King's College
1909 King's College (2)
1910 Auckland Grammar (11)
1911 Auckland Grammar (12)
1912 Auckland Grammar (13) / King's College (3)
1913 Auckland Grammar (14)
1914 Auckland Grammar (15)
1915 Auckland Grammar (16)
1916 Auckland Grammar (17)
1917 Auckland Grammar (18)
1918 Auckland Grammar (19)
1919 Auckland Grammar (20)
1920 Auckland Grammar (21) / King's College (4)
1921 Auckland Grammar (22)
1922 Auckland Grammar (23)
1923 Mount Albert Grammar
1924 Mount Albert Grammar (2)
1925 Mount Albert Grammar (3)
1926 Auckland Grammar (24)
1927 King's College (5)
1928 King's College (6)
1929 Auckland Grammar (25)
1930 Auckland Grammar (26)
1931 Auckland Grammar (27)
1932 Auckland Grammar (28) / Mount Albert Grammar (4)
1933 Auckland Grammar (29)
1934 Auckland Grammar (30)
1935 Auckland Grammar (31)
1936 Auckland Grammar (32)
1937 Auckland Grammar (33)
1938 Mount Albert Grammar (5)
1939 Sacred Heart College (2)
1940 Auckland Grammar (34)
1941 Takapuna Grammar / Auckland Grammar (35)
1942 Auckland Grammar (36)
1943 Auckland Grammar (37) / Mount Albert Grammar (6)
1944 Mount Albert Grammar (7)
1945 Sacred Heart College (3)
1946 King's College (7)
1947 Mount Albert Grammar (8)
1948 King's College (8) / Sacred Heart College (4)
1949 Auckland Grammar (38)
1950 Auckland Grammar (39)
1951 Auckland Grammar (40)
1952 King's College (9)
1953 Sacred Heart College (5)
1954 Auckland Grammar (41)
1955 Auckland Grammar (42) / King's College (10)
1956 King's College (11)
1957 Otahuhu College
1958 Auckland Grammar (43)
1959 King's College (12)
1960 Mount Albert Grammar (9)
1961 Auckland Grammar (44)
1962 Mount Albert Grammar (10)
1963 Auckland Grammar (45) / King's College (13)
1964 Mount Albert Grammar (11)
1965 Sacred Heart College (6)
1966 Auckland Grammar (46)
1967 Auckland Grammar (47)
1968 Auckland Grammar (48)
1969 King's College (14) / Mount Albert Grammar (12) / St Paul's College (Ponsonby)
1970 Auckland Grammar (49)
1971 St Paul's College (Ponsonby) (2)
1972 St Paul's College (Ponsonby) (3)
1973 Mount Albert Grammar (13)
1974 Mount Albert Grammar (14)
1975 Auckland Grammar (50)
1976 Auckland Grammar (51)
1977 Kelston Boys High School
1978 Auckland Grammar (52) / St Paul's College (Ponsonby) (4)
1979 Auckland Grammar (53)
1980 Auckland Grammar (54)
1981 Auckland Grammar (55) / Mount Albert Grammar (15)
1982 Mount Albert Grammar (16)
1983 Kelston Boys High School (2)
1984 Kelston Boys High School (3)
1985 Mount Albert Grammar (17)
1986 Auckland Grammar (56)
1987 Kelston Boys High School (4) / St Peter's College
1988 Kelston Boys High School (5) / St Peter's College (2)
1989 Auckland Grammar (57)
1990 Auckland Grammar (58) / Mount Albert Grammar (18)
1991 Mount Albert Grammar (19)
1992 Kelston Boys High School (6) / Auckland Grammar (59)
1993 Kelston Boys High School (7) / Auckland Grammar (60)
1994 Kelston Boys High School (8)
1995 Kelston Boys High School (9)
1996 Kelston Boys High School (10)
1997 Otahuhu College (2)
1998 Kelston Boys High School (11)
1999 Auckland Grammar (61)
2000 St Peter's College (3)
2001 St Kentigern College
2002 Auckland Grammar (62)
2003 De La Salle College
2004 Auckland Grammar (63)
2005 King's College (15)
2006 Auckland Grammar (64)
2007 Mount Albert Grammar (20)
2008 De La Salle College (2)
2009 Mount Albert Grammar (21)
2010 Mount Albert Grammar (22)
2011 St Kentigern College (2)
2012 St Kentigern College (3)
2013 St Kentigern College (4)
2014 Auckland Grammar (65)
2015 St Kentigern College (5)
2016 Mount Albert Grammar (23)
2017 St Kentigern College (6)
2018 St Peter's College (4)
2019 King's College (16)
2020 Cancelled (COVID)[8]
2021 Kelston Boys High School (12)
2022 Kelston Boys High School (13)
2023 Sacred Heart College (7)

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

  1. "Auckland Rugby Union". www.aucklandrugby.co.nz. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  2. "Book details Grammar rugby's history". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  3. Hewat, Sam (2017-06-07). "Clubs and schools raise concerns over televised first XV rugby". Stuff. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  4. "Exclusive: Sky Sport's big school rugby gamble". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  5. "Auckland schools ban live broadcasts of First XV rugby games". 1 News. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  6. "No more screen time for Auckland school rugby stars". RNZ. 2022-11-02. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  7. "Auckland Rugby Union". www.aucklandrugby.co.nz. Retrieved 2022-05-21.
  8. "First XV rugby: Auckland schools react to cancellation of 2020 season". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
  9. "First XV rugby: Grammar stun King's with big comeback win". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  10. "College rugby: Old boys recall the best of school clashes". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2023-04-15.
  11. "Mount Albert Grammar celebrate centenary against Auckland Grammar". www.aucklandrugby.co.nz. Retrieved 2023-04-16.
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