CRL News
Pacific Series a Celebration of Rugby League and Culture
Rugby league’s rapid expansion and diversification throughout the South Island in 2016 is further highlighted by the last major event of the year, the inaugural Rugby League Pacific Series tournament. Informal games have been played between various ethnic groups in recent years – particularly from the Maori and Samoan communities – but the new concept…
Read MoreCRL Welcomes New Club Capability Manager George Lajpold
George Lajpold has bled black and gold during a lifetime in rugby league, but the Wellington and Randwick Kingfishers legend is relishing the prospect of heading south to join Canterbury Rugby League as its new Club Capability Manager. A Kiwis representative in 1987, Lajpold was named in the Wellington Team of the Century in 2012…
Read MoreKiwi Ferns Recognition Caps Watershed Year For Canterbury Women
Women’s rugby league has enjoyed a massive upsurge throughout New Zealand and Australia in recent years, and that trend was reflected in Canterbury during a bumper 2016. In a watershed season for the code, a spike in women’s playing numbers ensured one of the strongest Canterbury club competitions ever staged in the region, with Papanui…
Read MoreCRL Celebrates Year of High Achievement at Awards Evening
Celebrating a year of high achievement and looking ahead to an incredibly exciting period of growth and opportunity were the main themes on Canterbury Rugby League’s night of nights, the 2016 Awards Evening, held at Hornby Workingmen’s Club on Friday. A bumper club season, another impressive campaign from the Rockcote Canterbury Bulls, the success of…
Read MoreBulls Fall Just Short of Final Despite Win Over Falcons
The Canterbury Bulls surged to a remarkable 38-26 come-from-behind defeat of the Akarana Falcons at AMI Stadium, but it was not enough to snare a place in the NZRL National Premiership final alongside the Counties Manukau Stingrays. The Stingrays secured the first final berth earlier in the day with an 82-12 demolition of Wellington Orcas…
Read MoreBumper Weekend of Rep Action at Wainoni Park
It’s been a bumper month for representative rugby league in New Zealand, with the National Premiership and Championship competitions wrapping up on Saturday, and the Youth Nationals 15s and 17s tournaments taking place in Rotorua this week. The South Island Scorpions 15s finished their outstanding campaign in fifth, while the Scorpions 17s contest the final…
Read MoreBulls Put Aside Final Scenario Ahead of Falcons Clash
We needed a calculator to work out the Round 3 permutations that can pitch the Canterbury Bulls into their third straight NZRL National Premiership final, but coach Andrew Auimatagi insists his team has to ignore the for-and-against scenarios if they’re to prevail in Sunday’s daunting home assignment against Akarana Falcons. “It’s a pretty complicated situation,…
Read MorePromising Signs For Bulls In First-up Loss
Canterbury Bulls coach Andrew Auimatagi is taking plenty of positives out of his side’s first outing of the 2016 NZRL National Premiership, despite the 36-22 loss to Counties Manukau Stingrays representing a missed opportunity to take a big step towards qualifying for the final of the revamped competition. The Bulls led 16-12 early in the…
Read MoreStingrays Outlast Bulls In Season Opener
Defending NZRL National Premiership champions Counties Manukau Stingrays opened their campaign with a 36-22 win over a gutsy Canterbury Bulls outfit in a rematch of the 2015 final at Mt Smart Stadium. The Bulls rebounded from a 12-point deficit to level the scores by halftime and grabbed the lead early in the second term, but…
Read MoreNew Skipper Baxendale Primed For Bulls’ Campaign
Canterbury Bulls veteran James Baxendale has barely had time to catch his breath from Hornby’s grand final loss to Linwood before heading straight into another representative campaign. But the added honour of taking over as his province’s skipper has provided the 30-year-old with extra drive for the 2016 NZRL National Premiership. Baxendale debuted for Canterbury…
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