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I AM. YOU ARE.

WE ARE THE BLUES

 

Ko mātou te kapa ōrangi,
E kawe atu nei.
Ngā wawata, ngā tūmanako
O ngā iwi mai te Reinga ki Tāmaki e.

WE ARE THE BLUES.
WE CARRY THE HOPES & DREAMS OF OUR PEOPLE,
FROM THE TOP OF THE COUNTRY
TO ITS LARGEST CITY, AUCKLAND.

OUR PURPOSE

Blue pride is our purpose. It represents the pride we have in the past, the pride we have in the future we are building, and pride in the opportunities we create for players, staff and coaches, as well as our wider community.   

 

Blue Pride celebrates our inclusivity, where our differences give us our strength and our diversity is celebrated.  It represents the hard, uncompromising style that our teams play with and the strong developmental pathways that nurture our talent.  

We strive for success, act with compassion and humility and have pride in our performance both on and off the field. It’s knowing that everything has been given for our club, for our region, for our jersey.  

We embrace opportunities and know that our collective performance has the ability to lift the people of our region and make them proud.

All of these elements combine to ensure we grow Blue Pride.  

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OUR REGION

Our rohe (region) is surrounded by the four tides of Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa (Pacific Ocean) & Te Tai-o-Rēhua (Tasman Sea). These moana meet at Cape Reinga in the Far North of Te-Tai-Tokerau (Northland) and, through the Waitematā and Manukau harbours, it surrounds Tāmaki Mākaurau.

It was in the Hokianga where the great navigator Kupe first came to our shores. It was our region which Kuramārōtini, Kupe’s wife, first sighted and gave the land its name Ao-tea-roa (land of the long white cloud).

Our region is home to the nation’s largest and most culturally diverse city. The diversity in our people and in our geography makes us stand apart from the rest. We embrace and celebrate our differences, it is what makes us strong. We embrace the opportunities our region offers, allowing our people to thrive in being who they are.

 Our region produces one third of all registered rugby players in New Zealand. It has become the centre of player recruitment focus for Super Rugby and NRL clubs across New Zealand and Australia.

OUR HISTORY

The Blues were established by the New Zealand Rugby Union in 1996 to take part in the newly formed Super 12 competition representing the Auckland, Counties Manukau and Thames Valley unions. The Blues dominated the early years of Super Rugby winning back to back titles in 1996 and 1997.

By the end of the 1990’s, a switch of Provincial Unions with neighbours the Chiefs brought players from North Harbour and Northland into the Blues and saw Counties and Thames Valley aligned closer to home with the Chiefs.

The Blues made the finals in 1998, brought home their third Super Rugby title in 2003 and were semi-finalists in 2007 and 2011. After some quiet years, the Blues won their fourth Championship in 2021 (Super Rugby Trans-Tasman) and were once again reinstated as powerhouses in the Super Rugby format. Fans didn’t have to wait long for a fifth championship, under new coach Vern Cotter, the Blues claimed the Super Rugby Pacific title in 2024.

When rugby became professional in 1996 New Zealand’s five Super Rugby teams were owned by the NZRU and managed by Boards representing the provincial rugby unions in each team’s region. 2013 brought about the beginning of a new era for the Blues with NZR offering a licence to operate the club.

The resulting new structure is a limited liability partnership between Rugby Holdings (Auckland, North Harbour and Northland Provincial Unions) and a private investor.

In 2021 our club blazed the path for the first ever Women’s Super Rugby game to be played in New Zealand, with its success proving a large influence on the formation of Super Rugby Aupiki, a stand-alone Women’s Super Rugby competition that started in 2022. The nib Blues Women have built a culture and style of rugby that is unique to them and notched up their first Super Rugby Aupiki title in 2024.

Our club has produced some of New Zealand’s biggest stars and household rugby names. In it’s early years – Sir Michael Jones, Eroni Clarke, Jonah Lomu, Carlos Spencer, Joe Rokocoko, Doug Howlett, Jerome Kaino and Keven Mealamu. While in recent times the likes of Ofa Tu’ungafasi, Rieko Ioane & Akira Ioane, Dalton Papali’i, Katelyn Vahaakolo and Ruahei Demant have flown the Blues flag.

At the Blues we have a great rugby legacy to honour, a responsibility to live up to the region we represent and a duty to return and retain the Super Rugby titles to their rightful home.

OUR PROVINCIAL UNIONS