Ray Kenway Haffenden is a New Zealand

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

administrator and former player and coach who served as the

New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league, rugby league football in New Zealand.#SPARC-2009, SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a 1910 Great Britain Lions tour o ...

's chairman. He currently serves as the NZRL vice-chairman.

Playing career

Haffenden played for the Linwood Keas in the

Canterbury Rugby League Canterbury Rugby League is the regional body that administers rugby league in Canterbury, New Zealand. CRL manages local competitions from senior level down to age group competitions. Canterbury Rugby League also manages the Canterbury rugby le ...

competition until he was 32. He played in the Keas' premiership winning teams in 1968 and 1970. Haffenden played four games for

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

and represented the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

against

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

in 1974.Coffey, John. ''Canterbury XIII'', Christchurch, 1987.

Coaching career

Haffenden coached Canterbury in 1982 and again from 1984, stepping down in 1988 with 20 wins, 4 draws and 12 losses.''Lion Red 1988 Rugby League Annual'',

New Zealand Rugby Football League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood '' ...

, 1988. p.p.160-167 During this time he also coached the

. In 1989 and 1990 he coached the

Junior Kiwis The Junior Kiwis side represents New Zealand in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kiwis, after the native bird of that name. Since 2010, they are an under-20s side, with players selected from the NRL, Intrust Sup ...

, including a tour of Papua New Guinea. Haffenden also managed the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team () has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the Kiwi (bird), native bird of that name. The team' ...

in 1990 and 1991 under coach Bob Bailey, who he had challenged for the position. He continued to manage the Kiwis under

Frank Endacott Frank Morris Endacott , also known by the nickname of "Happy Frank", is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer, and Coach (sport), coach. Background His son, Shane Endacott, Shane, also played rugby league. Playing career En ...

until 1995.NZRL Board
''nzrl.co.nz''

Administration career

Haffenden was voted onto the

board in 1992, serving until 1995.Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1992 ''New Zealand Rugby League'', 1992. p.4 Haffenden later served on the judiciary for

Bartercard Cup The Bartercard Cup (successor of the Lion Red Cup) was the top level rugby league club competition in New Zealand from 2000 until 2007. For the entire life of the tournament it was sponsored by Bartercard. The cup was administered by the New Ze ...

games and the New Zealand Rugby League judiciary panel. Haffenden is also a life member of the Linwood Keas club in Christchurch. He was elected back onto the NZRL board and took over as chairman in November 2007. As chairman Haffenden took over in a time of turmoil and oversaw a SPARC review of the NZRL that led to its revamp in 2009. Haffenden's term as chairman ended with the restructure, however he was elected as the vice-chairman. Haffenden was part of the independent judiciary following the 2011 Bill Kelly Test match. In the

2017 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by c ...

, Haffenden was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit () is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ...

for services to rugby league.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haffenden, Ray Living people 20th-century New Zealand sportsmen Canterbury rugby league team coaches Canterbury rugby league team players Junior Kiwis coaches Linwood Keas players Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit New Zealand rugby league administrators New Zealand Rugby League board members New Zealand rugby league coaches New Zealand rugby league players Rugby league fullbacks South Island rugby league team coaches South Island rugby league team players Year of birth missing (living people)