The Horowhenua-Kapiti Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in the Horowhenua and Kāpiti Coast districts in the Manawatū-Whanganui and Wellington regions.

History The union was established in 1893 as the Horowhenua Rugby Football Union and was changed to its current name of Horowhenua-Kapiti in 1997, in order to reflect the full extent of the union's districts.

Clubs The union currently has nine member clubs, listed below. Foxton is the oldest club in the union, having been established in 1880, however it was not a permanent affiliate of the union until 1911.

Athletic RFC College Old Boys RFC Foxton RFC Levin Wanderers RFC Paraparaumu RFC Rahui RFC Shannon RFC Toa RFC Waikanae RFC

Club champions Ramsbotham Cup 2022 Waikanae 37 Shannon 32 2023 Rahui 23 Shannon 22 2024 Foxton 30 Rahui 27 2025 Foxton 58 Rahui 26 2026 Foxton 29 Paraparaumu 24

Provincial representative rugby Horowhenua-Kapiti currently compete in the Heartland Championship, an annual competition organised by the New Zealand Rugby Union for New Zealand's amateur unions. The team play out of Levin Domain in Horowhenua. Previously, Horowhenua-Kapiti competed in the lower divisions of the National Provincial Championship.

National Provincial Championship

The union won the National Provincial Championship (NPC) Third Division in 1993. In 2018 the union won their second major honour to date, winning the 2018 Lochore Cup Final against Wairarapa Bush 26–23. 2018 was also the union's 125th anniversary, 25 years after their previous title in their centenary year in 1993.

Heartland Championship A summary of Horowhenua-Kapiti's placings in the Heartland Championship is shown below:

Heartland Championship ResultsYear Place Playoffs Semifinal Final 20068 2 1 5 163 257 −94 3 13 6th No— 20078 1 0 7 164 260 −96 2 6 12th No— 20088 3 2 3 234 174 +60 5 21 7th Lochore Cup Won 37–17 against Wairarapa Bush Lost 5–26 to Poverty Bay 20098 4 0 4 193 166 +27 3 19 5th No— 20108 3 0 5 167 186 −19 3 15 8th Lochore Cup Lost 14–19 to Buller — 20118 1 0 7 98 326 −228 1 5 12th No— 20128 2 0 6 124 238 −114 1 9 12th No— 20138 1 0 7 141 182 −41 6 10 11th No— 20148 5 2 1 169 121 +48 2 26 4th Meads Cup Lost 15–22 to Buller — 20158 4 0 4 263 261 +2 7 23 5th Lochore Cup Lost 12–57 to North Otago — 20168 2 1 5 224 260 −36 5 15 9th No— 20178 7 0 1 259 154 +105 4 32 2nd Meads Cup Won 18–17 against Buller Lost 14–30 to Wanganui 20188 4 0 4 246 251 -5 8 24 5th Lochore Cup Won 34–24 against Mid Canterbury Won 26–23 against Wairarapa Bush 20198 3 0 5 184 250 -66 5 17 9th No— 20218 5 0 3 214 197 17 4 24 7th No— 20228 4 0 4 218 298 -80 4 20 6th Lochore Cup Lost 30-37 to East Coast — 20238 2 0 6 176 297 -121 3 11 12th No— 20248 4 0 4 244 289 -45 6 22 6th Lochore Cup Lost 51-52 to Wairarapa Bush — 20258 4 0 4 242 221 +21 1 21 8th Lochore Cup Won 40-18 against Whanganui Lost 47-64 to North Otago

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

Ranfurly Shield Horowhenua-Kapiti have never held the Ranfurly Shield but had two successful challenges in 1927 when the union was amalgamated with Manawatu as Manawhenua. In 2007 Horowhenua-Kapiti had a challenge against North Harbour, but were outclassed throughout the match, losing 99–6. Other challenges include:

Other teams In addition to the Heartland Championship side, the union fields a number of age-grade and women's representative teams, including a High-Performance Unit for local club and school players.

Super Rugby Horowhenua-Kapiti along with Wellington, Wairarapa Bush, Wanganui, Manawatu, Hawke's Bay and Poverty Bay fall within the (formerly Wellington Hurricanes) catchment. In 2013, the union purchased a three percent stake in the company which operates the team, Hurricanes' Investment Ltd, with a $100,000 contribution.

All Blacks There have only been two players selected for the All Blacks while playing for Horowhenua-Kapiti:

Hohepa Jacob (All Black number 220) who played 8 matches and scored 25 points for New Zealand on the 1920 tour of New South Wales as a Wing Forward/Loose forward. Jacob was also a 2nd Lieutenant in the New Zealand (Māori) Pioneer Battalion during World War I and was awarded the Military Cross in the 1919 King's Birthday Honours

Joe Karam (All Black number 713) who played 10 tests and another 32 games for New Zealand between 1972 and 1975 scoring 345 points (65 in tests). Joe Karam later played for the Glenora Bears and the Auckland rugby league team. He also waged a successful campaign to overturn the murder conviction of David Bain.

Carlos Spencer played for the union between 1992 and 1993 before moving to Auckland and Christian Cullen played for the union in 1994 before moving to Manawatu. Dane Coles and Codie Taylor played their junior rugby in Horowhenua-Kapiti making the age grade teams, while Codie Taylor also represented the Horowhenua-Kapiti sevens team.

References

External links Official Website