The MacRobertson International Croquet Shield is the premier

croquet Croquet ( or ) is a sport which involves hitting wooden, plastic, or composite balls with a mallet through hoops (often called Wicket, "wickets" in the United States) embedded in a grass playing court. Variations In all forms of croquet, in ...

team event in the world. It is currently competed for by Australia, England, New Zealand and the United States. It is known affectionately as the ''MacRob'' or just the ''Mac''. The series is now played in rotation between the competing countries every three or four years. The most recent series was held in 2022 in Australia; it was won by England. The next series will be held in 2026 in England.

History

The competition is named after Australian confectionery maker and philanthropist, Sir Macpherson Robertson. He enlisted returned

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

veterans to take up concessions for his products and encouraged them to try croquet also, believing it to be a teaching aid for developing skills in self-discipline and risk management. Eventually, a pool of players were participating in regular tournaments. In 1925, with a growing interest in the sport, he established the MacRobertson Shield, an international tournament of croquet "Tests" between Australia and England. The Victorian Croquet Association sent a team of four players to England to contest the inaugural tournament. England won easily and Robertson presented the Shield personally. In 1927-8 an England team played in Australia and was narrowly defeated. In 1930, New Zealand was invited to participate in a series between themselves and Australia, with Australia winning comfortably; the first triangular series was then held in 1935 in Melbourne as part of the Melbourne centenary celebrations. In 1993, a United States team was admitted into the tournament. Between 1974 and 2010 the team representing the Croquet Association was named "Great Britain" and in two series "Great Britain and Ireland", because the teams included players from Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Following the introduction of the World Croquet Federation World Association Croquet Team Championship in 2010, the team was named "England" from the 2013-14 series and now only includes English qualified players. Each team is represented by six players and since 1996 each test has been the best of 21 matches comprising 12 singles and 9 doubles.

The 2022 Series

The 2022 Series was played at Cairnlea, Melbourne, Australia in November 2022 and was won by England over Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

The 2017 Series

The 2017 Series was played at

Mission Hills Country Club The Mission Hills Country Club is a country club in the western United States, located in Rancho Mirage, California, southeast of Palm Springs. Overview Among the facilities at the club are 3 championship golf courses (54 holes), 27 tennis co ...

in Rancho Mirage, California, USA and won by Australia over England, New Zealand and the United States. The tournament was held over three five-day tests and 21 matches.

The 2013-14 Series

The 2013-14 series was contested in New Zealand across four different venues, and was won by New Zealand. ''30 December 2013 - 3 January 2014'': New Zealand v USA and England v Australia at United Croquet Club,

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

*England 16 - 5 Australia *New Zealand 20 - 1 USA ''5 - 9 January'': England v USA at Te Mata Croquet Club, Havelock North and New Zealand v Australia at Marewa Croquet Club, Napier *England 18 - 3 USA *New Zealand 15 - 4 Australia ''11 - 15 January'': New Zealand v England and Australia v USA at Mt Maunganui Croquet Club,

Tauranga Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...

*New Zealand 13 - 7 England *Australia 17 - 4 USA

The 2010 Series

The 2010 Shield was contested in Great Britain, across five different venues, and was won by Great Britain. ''6 – 10 August'': Great Britain v USA at

Bowdon, Greater Manchester Bowdon is a suburb of Altrincham and electoral ward in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, and became part of Greater Manchester in 1974. History The n ...

and Australia v New Zealand at Heaton Park,

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

*Great Britain 12 - 9 USA *Australia 8 - 13 New Zealand ''12 – 16 August'': Great Britain v New Zealand at

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

and Australia v USA at

Roehampton Roehampton is an area in southwest London, sharing its SW15 postcode with neighbouring Putney and Kingston Vale, and takes up a far western strip, running north to south, in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It contains a number of large counc ...

*Great Britain 11 - 10 New Zealand *Australia 7 - 14 USA ''18 – 22 August'': Great Britain v Australia and New Zealand v USA both at

Surbiton Surbiton is a suburban neighbourhood in South West London, within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (RBK). It is next to the River Thames, southwest of Charing Cross. Surbiton was in the Historic counties of England, historic county of ...

*Great Britain 14 - 7 Australia *USA 5 - 16 New Zealand

The 2006 Series

The 2006 series was contested at Rich River, Moama,

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and

Shepparton Shepparton () (Yorta Yorta language, Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River (Victoria), Goulburn River in northern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Mel ...

, Victoria, Australia, and was won by Great Britain.

The 2003 Series

The 2003 series was contested at The National Croquet Center,

West Palm Beach, Florida West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...

, USA, and was won by Great Britain.

The 2000 Series

The 2000 series was contested at The United Croquet Club,

, New Zealand, and was won by Great Britain.

The 1996 Series

The 1996 series was contested in England across four different venues and was won by Great Britain.

The 1993 Series

The 1993 series was contested at Rich River, Moama,

, Australia and was won by Great Britain. In the first series each country played each other country in a nine-match test match. The top two countries after the first series played a 21 match final and the bottom two played a 21 match third place play off.

Third Place Play Off

*Australia 12 - 6 USA

Final

*Great Britain 17 - 3 New Zealand

The 1990 Series

The 1990 series was contested in New Zealand across three different venues and was won by Great Britain.

The 1986 Series

The 1986 series was contested in England across nine different venues and was won by New Zealand.

The 1982 Series

The 1982 series was contested in Australia across three different venues and was won by Great Britain.

The 1979 Series

The 1979 series was contested in New Zealand across nine different venues and was won by New Zealand.

The 1974 Series

The 1974 series was contested in England across eight different venues and was won by Great Britain.

The 1969 Series

The 1969 series was contested in Australia across two different venues and was won by England.

The 1963 Series

The 1963 series was contested in New Zealand across nine different venues and was won by England.

The 1956 Series

The 1956 series was contested between England and New Zealand in England over five test matches across five different venues and was won by England 5-0. ''13 - 15 June 1956'': England v New Zealand at the Sussex County Croquet Club, Southwick. *England 6 - 3 New Zealand ''23 - 26 June 1956'': England v New Zealand at the Nottingham Croquet Club,

. *England 6 - 2 New Zealand ''19 - 21 July 1956'': England v New Zealand at the Hurlingham Club,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. *England 9 - 0 New Zealand ''20 - 22 August 1956'': England v New Zealand at the Roehampton Club,

. *England 8 - 1 New Zealand ''18 - 20 September 1956'': England v New Zealand at the Budleigh Salterton Croquet Club, Budleigh Salterton. *England 7 - 2 New Zealand

The 1950-51 Series

The 1950-51 series was contested between England and New Zealand in New Zealand over three test matches across three different venues and was won by New Zealand 2-1. ''23 - 26 November 1950'': New Zealand v England at the Mount Hobson Croquet Club,

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

*New Zealand 4 - 3 England ''11 - 13 December 1950'': New Zealand v England at the Waimarie Croquet Club,

Lower Hutt Lower Hutt () is a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropoli ...

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

*New Zealand 5 - 2 England ''3 - 5 January 1951'': New Zealand v England at

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

*New Zealand 2 - 4 England

The 1937 Series

The 1937 series was contested between England and Australia in England over five test matches across five different venues and was won by England 5-0. ''12 - 13 July 1937'': England v Australia at the Hurlingham Club,

*England 6 - 0 Australia ''23 - 24 July 1937'': England v Australia at the Cheltenham Croquet Club *England 6 - 0 Australia ''30 - 31 July 1937'': England v Australia at

Buxton Buxton is a spa town in the High Peak, Derbyshire, Borough of High Peak, Derbyshire, in the East Midlands region of England. It is England's highest market town, sited at some above sea level.Alston, Cumbria also claims this, but lacks a regu ...

, Derbyshire *England 5 - 1 Australia ''20 - 21 August 1937'': England v Australia at the Roehampton Club,

*England 6 - 0 Australia ''4 - 6 September 1937'': England v Australia at the Sussex County Croquet Club *England 4 - 2 Australia

The 1935 Series

The 1935 series was contested in Melbourne, Australia and was won by Australia.

The 1930 Series

The 1930 series was contested between Australia and New Zealand in Australia over three test matches in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and was won by Australia 3-0. ''12 - 15 January 1930'': Australia v New Zealand at the Warleigh Club, North Brighton,

*Australia 8 - 1 New Zealand ''17 - 20 January 1930'': Australia v New Zealand at the Warleigh Club, North Brighton,

*Australia 8 - 1 New Zealand ''23 - 25 January 1930'': Australia v New Zealand at the Warleigh Club, North Brighton,

*Australia 6 - 3 New Zealand

The 1927-28 Series

The 1927-28 series was contested between Australia and England in Australia over three test matches in

and was won by Australia on the basis of winning most game (20-19). ''16 - 17 December 1927'': Australia v England at the Warleigh Club, North Brighton,

*Australia 4(9) - 2(5) England ''6 - 8 January 1928'': Australia v England at the Warleigh Club, North Brighton,

*Australia 2(4) - 4(9) England ''12 - 14 January 1928'': Australia v ZealEngland nd at the Warleigh Club, North Brighton,

*Australia 3(6) - 3(6) England

The 1925 Series

The 1925 series was contested between England and Australia in England over three test matches across three different venues and was won by England 3-0. ''26 - 27 June 1925'': England v Australia at the Roehampton Club,

*England 6 - 0 Australia ''24 - 25 July 1925'': England v Australia at the Cheltenham Croquet Club *England 6 - 0 Australia ''4 - 5 September 1925'': England v Australia at the Sussex County Croquet Club *England 5 - 1 Australia

Past results

Records

*Most series appearances: 9
° John Prince (NZ), 1963–2003 *Most titles: 7
° Robert Fulford (GB/England), 1990–2014 *Most test matches played: 39
° John Prince (NZ), 1963–2003 *Most matches played: 114
° David Maugham (GB/England), 1993–2017

References

{{reflist

External links

2010 MacRobertson Shield

Croquet in Australia Croquet in England Croquet in New Zealand Recurring sporting events established in 1925 International sports competitions hosted by Australia Croquet competitions