Richmond celebrate in front of their fans

The Richmond Rovers Rugby League Club is a

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 ...

club based in

Grey Lynn Grey Lynn is an inner suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, located to the west of the city centre. Originally a separate borough, Grey Lynn amalgamated with Auckland City in 1914. Grey Lynn is centred on Grey Lynn Park, which was not part of t ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. The premier team is called the Richmond Bulldogs/Richmond Rovers and compete in

Auckland Rugby League The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. Founded in 1909, the ARL has played a pivotal role in the development and promotion of rugby league in Auckland and beyond. ...

's first grade Fox Memorial competition. They have won the first grade championship on 12 occasions.

Early history

The club was formed in

1913 Events January * January – Joseph Stalin travels to Vienna to research his ''Marxism and the National Question''. This means that, during this month, Stalin, Hitler, Trotsky and Tito are all living in the city. * January 3 &ndash ...

by employees at Mr. B. W. Davis' Boot Factory and Elliott's, following a scratch game in

1912 This year is notable for Sinking of the Titanic, the sinking of the ''Titanic'', which occurred on April 15. In Albania, this leap year runs with only 353 days as the country achieved switching from the Julian to Gregorian Calendar by skippin ...

. They didn't in fact play an official game until 1914 when they affiliated with the Grafton Athletic club and entered a team in the 4th grade and played in the Grafton Athletic colours. In 1883 the land surrounding Grey Lynn Park was subdivided and the houses were built. The area that is now Grey Lynn Park was too steep to build houses on and so, in

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...

, the area was drained and flattened so sport could be played. Flood lights were installed at the park in the 1950s. Richmond's first ever first grade game was against Athletic (Maritime) on April 22, 1922. They lost 14-2 with Henderson scoring their first ever points in the grade with a penalty.Richmond enjoyed considerable success in the middle decades of the 1900s. They were the first club ever to win the Fox Memorial, Roope Rooster, and Stormont Shield in a single season (

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

). They went on to win these trophies several more times in the following years. They also defeated 4 Australian club teams from 1934 to 1939 (including the Sydney champions - Western Suburbs 18–16, and 10–3 in 1934). This saw them win the Rangatira Shield, played for between Sydney and Auckland clubs. They won the Fox Memorial in

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *Janu ...

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the Uni ...

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

and

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

Bartercard Cup

The Richmond club were involved in the Bartercard Cup as a joint venture with the

Marist Saints The Marist Saints is a rugby league club based in Mount Albert, New Zealand. They currently compete in the top grade in Auckland Rugby League, the Fox Memorial Premiership. History Founded in 1919, the Marist club first won the Fox Memorial in 1 ...

between 2000 and 2005. This team was called the Marist Richmond Brothers.

Notable players

48 Richmond Juniors have played for 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' ...

including Nigel Vagana,

Fred Ah Kuoi Fred "Freddie" Ah Kuoi (born 7 June 1956) is a Samoa-born New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who represented New Zealand. Early years Ah Kuoi was born in Apia, Western Samoa, in 1956 and emigrated to New Zealand in 1962 wit ...

Steve Matai Stephen Matai (born 5 August 1984) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the National Rugby League (NRL )from 2005 to 2016. A New Zealand national rugby league team, New Zealand national representative centr ...

, David Solomona and Evarn Tuimavave. In addition 19 women have represented the New Zealand Women's team. Other

Warriors A warrior is a guardian specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracy, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have been p ...

such as Tevita Latu,

, Sam Lousi,

Sione Lousi Sione Lousi (born 8 October 1989) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who last played for the Townsville Blackhawks in the Queensland Cup. He previously played in the National Rugby League (NRL) for the New Zealand War ...

, John Palavi, Wayne McDade, Daniel Vasau, Evarn Tuimavave, Faavae Kalolo, & Malo Solomona were also Richmond juniors. American actor Geno Segers had a stint with the club.Geno Seger's Bio at Disney XD
A team of the century was named in 2013, and consisted of: 1. Bert Cooke, 2. Nigel Vagana, 3.

Tom Baxter Thomas Baxter Gleave (born 29 October 1973) is a British singer-songwriter based in London. He was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, and grew up in Camborne, Cornwall, with his four siblings. The second son of Jeff and Julie Gleave (who were regulars ...

, 4. Maurie Robertson, 5. Vern Bakalich, 6.

, 7. Shane Varley, 8. Joe Vagana, 9. John Lasher, 10. Cliff Johnson (c), 11. Jim Riddell, 12. Se'e Solomona and 13.

Raymond Williams Raymond Henry Williams (31 August 1921 – 26 January 1988) was a Welsh socialist writer, academic, novelist and critic influential within the New Left and in wider culture. His writings on politics, culture, the media and literature contribu ...

Richmond Senior Team Records (1915-1945, 1993-2004 + 2022-24)

The season record for the most senior men's team in the club.

Club Titles

Richmond Rovers grade championships (1910-1944)

* 1921 Sixth Grade * 1922 Fourth Grade * 1923 Fifth Grade * 1924 Second Grade B Section winners (lost final to Otahuhu 17-5, who won the A Section), Fourth Grade B Section winners (lost final to Ponsonby, who were A Section winners), Fifth Grade knockout (Section B) * 1925 Second Grade, Fourth Grade, Fifth Grade, Sixth Grade A, & Sixth Grade B * 1926 Third Grade Intermediate, & Fifth Grade * 1927 Third Grade Intermediate and Third Grade knockout competition, Fourth Grade (Hospital Cup), & Sixth Grade B (Myers Cup) * 1928 Third Grade Open, Third Grade Intermediate, & Fourth Grade * 1929 Third Grade Open, Fifth Grade, Sixth Grade A, & Sixth Grade B * 1930 Second Grade, Fourth Grade & Fourth Grade knockout, Seventh Grade & Seventh Grade knockout, & Schoolboys (Richmond Schools A) * 1931 Third Grade Intermediate, & Seventh Grade * 1932 Reserve Grade, & Sixth Grade * 1933 Reserve Grade, Fifth Grade, & Seventh Grade * 1934 First Grade (Fox Memorial), Reserve Grade, Third Grade Open, & Seventh Grade * 1935 First Grade (Fox Memorial), Second Grade, Fifth Grade, Sixth Grade A, Seventh Grade, & Schoolboys (Senior) * 1936 Sixth Grade A, & Schoolboys (Senior) * 1937 First Grade (Fox Memorial), Reserve Grade, Fourth Grade, Schoolboys (Senior) * 1938 Reserve Grade, Third Grade Open, Seventh Grade, Schoolboy (Senior), Schoolboy (Intermediate) * 1939 Reserve Grade, Sixth Grade A, Seventh Grade * 1940 First Grade (Fox Memorial), Reserve Grade, Fifth Grade, Seventh Grade, Schoolboys (Senior) * 1941 Sixth Grade

Other titles

* 1926 Roope Rooster * 1927 Roope Rooster * 1933 Roope Rooster * 1934 Roope Rooster, & Stormont Shield * 1935 Stormont Shield * 1936 Stormont Shield * 1938 Roope Rooster, & Stormont Shield * 1940 Roope Rooster * 1942 Roope Rooster

All time top point scorers (1922-1945)

The point scoring lists are compiled from first grade matches in the championship, Roope Rooster, Phelan Shield, Sharman Cup and official exhibition matches including organised preseason rounds.

References

External links

Official SiteAuckland Rugby League
{{Richmond Team of the Century Rugby league teams in Auckland Rugby clubs established in 1913 1913 establishments in New Zealand