The
Bartercard Cup (successor of the
Lion Red Cup
The Lion Red Cup was a New Zealand domestic rugby league competition that ran from 1994 to 1996 sponsored by brewers Lion Nathan. It was created due to the increase in public awareness of domestic rugby league due to the Auckland Warriors being a ...
) was the top level
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 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 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 ...
. The tournament was discontinued by the NZRL in 2007 and was replaced by the
Bartercard Premiership
The NZRL Bartercard Premiership was a six-team rugby league competition that ran in 2008 in sports, 2008 and 2009 in sports, 2009. It replaced the now-defunct Bartercard Cup competition as the highest level of rugby league in New Zealand. Matches h ...
in 2008.
Franchises
The format of the competition changed several times over the life of the competition and in total 24 clubs or franchises competed. In the first season half of the clubs were from Auckland but as the competition went on more and more franchises represented the provinces. The
Canterbury Bulls
The Canterbury rugby league team (also known as the Canterbury Bulls) are a rugby league team who represent the Canterbury Rugby League. They currently compete in the Albert Baskerville Trophy. Their home ground is Orangetheory Stadium in Chris ...
were the only franchise to compete in every season.
Seasons
See also
*
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 ...
*
Rugby league in New Zealand
Rugby league in New Zealand dates to the beginning of the sport in England. New Zealand played an integral role in the history of rugby league football. Of all rugby league nations New Zealand was second only to England to compete in internat ...
External links
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Longest Game in Living Memory
Rugby league competitions in New Zealand
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