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The Canterbury Rugby Football Union (''also referred to as "Canterbury" or "CRFU"'') is the governing body for rugby union in a portion of the Canterbury Region of New Zealand. Its colours are red and black in a hooped design. The CRFU govern the running of the Canterbury representative team which have won New Zealand's first-tier domestic competition National Provincial Championship (''Air New Zealand Cup'' and ''ITM Cup'') 12 times including a "six-peat" from 2008 to 2013 – with five in the National Provincial Championship, two in the Air New Zealand Cup, and four in the ITM Cup. Their most recent victory was the 2015 competition. Canterbury also acts as a primary feeder to the Crusaders, who play in the Super Rugby competition. The union is coached by Scott Robertson. The union also administers all club rugby within the region, including senior club rugby and school rugby. ==History== The Canterbury Rugby Football Union (CRFU) was established in 1879 following a match between South Canterbury and North Canterbury in Timaru. The meeting took place on 26 July 1879, where delegates representing Christchurch, Christ's College, Temuka, North Canterbury (Rangiora), Eastern (Christchurch), South Canterbury (Timaru), Ashburton, and Southbridge clubs decided to form the union. The impetus to form the CRFU was mainly provided by Montague Lewin, who had emigrated from England to Christchurch in 1873, and lobbied for local football clubs to adopt the rules of England's Rugby Football Union. He succeeded in getting Canterbury clubs to adopt the rugby rules in 1876, but a visit by an Australian Victorian Rules football team in 1879 prompted him to push for the formation of a union. It had been initially proposed that the new organisation be the New Zealand Rugby Union, but this was rejected and the Canterbury Rugby Football Union was formed. Canterbury was the first provincial union within New Zealand, with the Wellington Rugby Football Union was formed later that year. By 1890 fourteen provincial unions had been founded within New Zealand. As well as being the oldest union within New Zealand, the CRFU was actually founded before one of the Home Unions – the Welsh Rugby Union was founded in 1881. A Canterbury representative side had played prior to the formation of the CRFU, but the first provincial game in New Zealand played under the authority of provincial unions took place on 27 August 1881. Canterbury hosted an Otago side that triumphed by a try to nil. The first rugby match at Lancaster Park was played the following year – a ground that would be the home of Canterbury rugby until the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Despite being instrumental in forming the CRFU, in 1888 the South Canterbury clubs broke off to form the South Canterbury Rugby Union – this comprised Timaru, Fairlie Creek, Geraldine, Temuka, Waimate, Winchester, and Timaru Pirate clubs. The occurred only a few years prior to the formation of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (later shortened to New Zealand Rugby Union, or NZRU) in 1892. The CRFU had originally voted to join the NZRU in 1891, but when time came to ratify the agreement in 1892, they resisted following reluctance from their members. Along with the Otago and Southland provinces, the CRFU objected to the requirement that NZRU executive committee members reside in Wellington. South Canterbury had joined the NZRU, and the provinces representative sides did not meet in 1893. As well as this, players from Canterbury were not eligible for selection in the 1893 New Zealand team that toured Australia. The CRFU eventually relented, and in 1894 joined the NZRU; both Otago and Southland joined the following year. When New South Wales toured New Zealand in 1894, Canterbury players were now eligible for selection for New Zealand, and the CRFU hosted the only game between the sides which was played at Lancaster Park. In 1904 a sub-union of the South Canterbury Rugby Union was formed around the Ashburton area – the Ashburton Country Rugby Union. In 1905 it came under the umbrella of the CRFU, but split away to become completely independent in 1927. I was renamed the Mid Canterbury Rugby Football Union in 1952. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Canterbury Rugby Football Union」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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