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Wellington rugby league team

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Wellington rugby league team
Club information
Nickname(s)Orcas
Colours  Black
  Yellow
Founded1908
Websitehttp://websites.sportstg.com/assoc_page.cgi?assoc=4979
Current details
Ground(s)
CEOAndre Whittaker
CoachSteve Moafanua Stevenson, Matt Kilgour, Stephen Gallagher
CompetitionNational Competition
NZRL CompetitionN/A
Records
Premierships1970
Rugby League Cup1947–49, 1952, 1971, 1980, 1982–84, 1990, 1992
See also: Wellington Rugby League

The Wellington Rugby League Team (also known as the Wellington Orcas) are a rugby league team that represents the Wellington Rugby League in New Zealand Rugby League competitions. They currently compete in the National Competition.

History

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1908–1988: Early years

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Wellington played its first game on 24 August 1908 when they took on Auckland at Victoria Park, Auckland in the first provincial game of rugby league in New Zealand.[1]

The following All Golds played for Wellington in that first match: Edward Tyne, Hercules Richard Wright, Tom Cross, Conrad Byrne, Daniel Gilchrist, Daniel Fraser and James Barber.

During 1909, 1910 and 1911 Wellington continued to play a number of provincial games, and in 1909 defeated Auckland, in Auckland 22–19, the first of only five victories over Auckland in over 100 years.[2]

In 1912 Wellington played in its first international match, losing to the touring New South Wales side, 45–13 in a game played at the Zoological Gardens.[2]

They defeated Auckland 33–18 on 27 September 1913. It was not until 1988 that they were again victorious over an Auckland side. The 1913 side was: A.Anderson, B.Whitley, W.Kelly, A.House (Petone), G.Bradley (Athletic), K.George, J.Barber, Jim Parker (Petone), J.Spencer, T.Turner, A.Bensmann, L.Campbell (Newtown), W.Wilson (Athletic). Bench: H.McGuire, B.Childs.[3]

During the 1951 French rugby league tour of Australasia the Wellington side hosted a match against the tourists.

During the 1988 Great Britain Lions tour, Wellington were defeated by the Britons 18 – 24 at Porirua Park before a crowd of 4,428.

1989–1990: Rugby League Cup

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On several occasions Wellington has held the Rugby League Cup (previously known as the Northern Union Cup 1910–1969) for interprovincial competition played on a challenge basis. Wellington won it off the West Coast in 1947 for the first time and held it for three years. Wellington held it last in 1990.

1990–1994: Great Britain Tour

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In 1990 Wellington defeated the touring Great Britain side 30–22.[4] This was Wellington's first, and to date only, win over a touring side.[2]

1994–1996: Lion Red Cup

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Between 1994 and 1996, Wellington was represented by the Wellington City Dukes and Hutt Valley Firehawks in the Lion Red Cup. One player from the Dukes, Earl Va'a, later went on to represent Samoa in Rugby union. Both teams folded along with the competition in 1996.

Team Season Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Position Finals
Hutt Valley 1994 22 9 0 13 458 489 −30 18 Eighth N/A
Wellington City 1994 22 8 0 14 470 508 −38 16 Ninth N/A
Hutt Valley 1995 22 13 0 9 544 443 101 26 Fifth Lost Elimination Play-off
Wellington City 1995 22 10 2 10 440 514 −74 22 Seventh N/A
Hutt Valley 1996 22 11 2 9 444 469 −25 24 Sixth N/A
Wellington City 1996 22 9 0 13 536 532 4 18 Eighth N/A

2002–2007: Bartercard Cup

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Wellington Orcas
Club information
Founded2002
Exited2008
Former details
Ground(s)
CoachPaul Bergman

In 2000 and 2001 the region was represented in the Bartercard Cup by the Porirua Pumas and Wainuiomata Lions. However, in 2002 it was decided that one team was needed in the competition. They narrowly missed out on a finals spot in 2002, being on equal points but with a lower For and Against than the Marist Richmond Brothers. Unfortunately this was a high point for the franchise with the team never making the play-offs.

The Orca nickname was adopted for the 2006 season, adopting the name from the Southern Orcas consortium – a group attempting to gain an expansion National Rugby League competition licence that was instead granted to the Gold Coast Titans group. Previously they were known as Wellington Franchise.

Notable players included Ben Matulino and Simon Mannering.

Season Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Position (Teams) Finals
2002 16 9 1 6 547 449 98 19 Sixth (Twelve) N/A
2003 16 4 1 11 460 646 −186 6* Eleventh (Twelve) N/A
2004 16 8 1 7 465 409 56 17 Sixth (Twelve) N/A
2005 16 5 3 8 418 459 −41 13 Eighth (Twelve) N/A
2006 18 6 0 12 452 549 −97 12 Seventh (Ten) N/A
2007 18 10 0 8 509 529 −20 20 Sixth (10) N/A

*Wellington were docked three points for registration infringements.

2008–2009: Bartercard Premiership

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Wellington Rugby League were awarded a place in the new six-team National Provincial Competition. The team plays its home matches at Porirua Park.[5]

Season Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts Position Finals
2008 5 2 1 2 146 138 8 5 Fourth N/A
2009 5 2 0 3 142 120 22 4 Fourth Lost semi-final

2010–present: NZRL National Competition

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Wellington was put in the NZRL National Competition after the Bartercard Premiership disbanded. Wellington were called the "Wellington Orcas" through the competition.

Rugby League Tour Matches

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Wellington has also been a frequent stop for touring international rugby league teams. Of the 28 games Wellington has played against touring teams, only in the 28th and last game to date (as of 2024) did the Orcas win, defeating Great Britain 30–22 in front of just 800 fans at the Basin Reserve on 27 June 1990.

Game Date Result Venue Attendance Notes
1 4 October 1912 New South Wales def. Wellington 45–13 Zoological Gardens 4,000 1912 NSW Tour of New Zealand
2 13 September 1913 New South Wales def. Wellington 34–18 Newtown Park 10,000 1913 NSW Tour of New Zealand
3 11 July 1914 Northern Union def. Wellington 14–7 Newtown Park 5,000 1914 Great Britain Lions tour
4 4 October 1919 Australia def. Wellington 93–5 Newtown Park 1,000 1919 Kangaroo Tour of New Zealand
5 29 July 1936 England def. Wellington 48–8 Basin Reserve 1936 Great Britain Lions tour
6 30 July 1951 France def. Wellington 26–13 Basin Reserve 8,602 1951 French Tour of Australasia
7 7 August 1953 American All-Stars def. Wellington 17–8 Basin Reserve 1953 American All-Stars tour
8 27 July 1954 Great Britain def. Wellington 61–18 Basin Reserve 3,103 1954 Great Britain Lions tour
9 2 August 1955 France def. Wellington 19–14 Basin Reserve 4,000 1955 French Tour of Australasia
10 30 July 1958 Great Britain def. Wellington 26–13 Basin Reserve 8,602 1958 Great Britain Lions tour
11 27 July 1960 France def. Wellington 41–3 Wellington Showgrounds 1,701 1960 French Tour of Australasia
12 21 June 1961 Australia def. Wellington 61–3 Basin Reserve 707 1961 Kangaroo tour of New Zealand
13 1 August 1963 South Africa def. Wellington 21–12 Basin Reserve 1963 South Africa Tour of Australasia
14 28 July 1964 France def. Wellington 18–12 Basin Reserve 1,301 1964 French Tour of Australasia
15 9 June 1965 Australia def. Wellington 34–16 Basin Reserve 1,745 1965 Kangaroo tour of New Zealand
16 9 August 1966 Great Britain def. Wellington 28–9 Basin Reserve 1,142 1966 Great Britain Lions tour
17 4 June 1969 Australia def. Wellington 48–7 Basin Reserve 1,415 1969 Kangaroo tour of New Zealand
18 14 July 1970 Great Britain def. Wellington 60–8 Basin Reserve 859 1970 Great Britain Lions tour
19 3 June 1972 Queensland def. Wellington 26–3 Basin Reserve 1973 QLD Tour of New Zealand
20 1 August 1974 Great Britain def. Wellington 39–11 Basin Reserve 5,000 1974 Great Britain Lions tour
21 18 June 1975 Wales def. Wellington 52–8 Basin Reserve 2,000 1975 Wales Rugby League World Cup tour
22 7 June 1977 France def. Wellington 8–0 Basin Reserve 1,500 1977 France Rugby League World Cup tour
23 29 July 1979 Great Britain def. Wellington 39–3 Petone Recreation Ground 2,000 1979 Great Britain Lions tour
24 25 September 1983 Papua New Guinea def. Wellington 62–16 Basin Reserve 1983 Papua New Guinea Kumuls tour
25 13 July 1988 Great Britain def. Wellington 39–3 Porirua Park 4,428 1988 Great Britain Lions tour
26 2 October 1988 Australia def. Wellington 24–12 Basin Reserve 2,000 1988 Australia Rugby League World Cup Final tour
27 19 July 1989 Australia def. Wellington 28–10 Basin Reserve 5,000 1989 Kangaroo tour of New Zealand
28 27 June 1990 Wellington def. Great Britain 30–22 Basin Reserve 800 1990 Great Britain Lions tour

References

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  1. ^ John Haynes From All Blacks to All Golds: Rugby League's Pioneers, Christchurch, Ryan and Haynes, 1996. ISBN 0-473-03864-1
  2. ^ a b c History Of Wellington Rugby League Association Wellington Rugby League
  3. ^ Lion Red 1988 Rugby League Annual, New Zealand Rugby Football League, 1988. p.p.151-159
  4. ^ Coffey and Wood The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League ISBN 1-86971-090-8
  5. ^ "O'Brien heralds new era". The Dominion Post. 30 May 2008. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
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