Buller Rugby Football Union


The Buller Rugby Union is a rugby union province based in the town of Westport, New Zealand. The Buller provincial boundary also includes other notable towns such as Reefton, Karamea, Granity, Charleston, Punakaiki and Murchison.

History

Buller was formed in 1894.
Historically Buller were a strong provincial Union particularly in the pre-1960 amateur era when it would compete on a more level footing with the larger and more famous provincial sides such as Canterbury and Wellington. However, with population increases in the city-based provinces and the formation of the National Provincial Championship in 1976 Buller began to struggle as players moved to bigger unions to further their rugby and work careers. Buller played in both the second and third divisions of the former NPC. With the New Zealand Rugby Union restructuring of provincial rugby competitions taking effect in 2006, Buller moved to the Heartland Championship. The Buller side has performed with distinction in this competition, regularly making either the Meads Cup or Lochore Cup semi finals.
Buller has had some memorable matches against international sides in the past including a victory over Australia. There have also been a number of other impressive results against international opposition including the British Lions, South Africa, Tonga, Fiji, Samoa, and various New Zealand representative sides including New Zealand Maori and New Zealand Juniors.

Clubs

Buller Rugby Union is made up of 5 clubs:
Buller also have 3 secondary schools who compete in matches:
The Buller team's home ground is Victoria Square in Westport.
Buller has won one provincial championship, the Heartland Championship Lochore Cup in 2012 defeating South Canterbury in the Final.
In 2014, Buller went through Round Robin undefeated progressing to the Meads Cup Final only to fall to Mid Canterbury.

Heartland Championship

There was no Heartland Championship in the 2020 season due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Seddon Shield

Established in 1906 in honour of Richard John Seddon, the Seddon Shield is a challenge shield contested by representative teams in the upper South Island. Buller along with Nelson Bays, Marlborough and West Coast currently compete for the shield. Originally the Golden Bay-Motueka Rugby Union and the Nelson Rugby Union also competed for the shield before those unions amalgamated to form Nelson Bays. Buller have held the shield on a number of occasions. In 2009 Buller lost their Seddon Shield challenge against Nelson Bays by 29–37.
The Rundle Cup was donated to the West Coast provincial union during their Annual General Meeting at the Albion Hotel on 24 May 1911 by William Rundle as a trophy for Buller-West Coast matches. Rundle was a local business man in the mining industry and former player for the Grey Football Club. He later perished on the frontline in France during World War One. The first contest for the cup was held in 1911 in Westport and was won by Buller.

Rundle Cup

The Rundle Cup is contested annually between the Buller and West Coast teams. It is one of the oldest trophies in NZ rugby.

Ranfurly Shield

Buller have never held the Ranfurly Shield despite a number of close matches. The best result being in 1949 when Buller drew 6–6 against Otago at Carisbrook, Dunedin. Had the match been played using the modern scoring system, Buller would have won courtesy of scoring more tries than their Otago opposition.

Notable players

All Blacks

Buller has had six players selected for the All Blacks while playing their club rugby in Buller:
Also:
  • Clement Green : played for the South Island team. Also selected for the 1910 tour to Australia but was unable to tour
  • Brian Stack : a wing who played for the South Island and unused reserve for a match against the 1966 British Lions
Other All Blacks to play for Buller at senior or junior level either before or after their national selection were:
The following players have made 100 appearances for Buller:
Buller along with Canterbury, Tasman, West Coast, Mid Canterbury and South Canterbury make up the Crusaders Super Rugby franchise.