The North Harbour Rugby Union club rugby title has been contested since the formation of the North Harbour Rugby Union in New Zealand in 1985. The current trophy awarded to the winner is the ASB Bank Cup. The Premier Grade championship cup has also been named the New Zealand Couriers Cup The current champions are North Shore RFC. The Reserve Grade Championship Cup is named the "Stuart Cup" after North Shore Rugby Club stalwart Jim Stuart who donated the Cup to the North Harbour Rugby Union in 1985. From 1985 to 1996 Harbour club finals were contested at Onewa Domain. From 1997 to 2022 all Club finals were held at North Harbour Stadium, and since 2023 all Club finals were held at the higher-ranked clubs’ home grounds. Club finals are usually held in July.
East Coast Bays won the inaugural title in 1985. The most successful team in the competitions history is Takapuna, the current champions, who have won the title 13 times including 7 straight titles from 1994 to 2000 and 4 titles from 2006 to 2009. North Shore have won the title 10 times, with Massey winning 6 titles, and with Northcote winning 5. Takapuna RFC and North Shore RFC are the 2 only Harbour clubs that have won an Auckland RFU Premiership, Shore in 1899 and Takapuna in 1940 and 1980. Takapuna is the only club of the 2 that has been awarded the Gallaher Shield.
As of 2025, Glenfield RFC, North Harbour Marist RFC, Mahurangi RFC and Kumeu RFC are yet to win a Premiership. In 2012 a combined Kumeu and Helensville team called the Western Pioneers won a premiership when they defeated Silverdale at North Harbour Stadium. Both clubs went their separate ways in 2015.
As of 2025, some teams that previously played in the premier one grade - such as Royal Navy RFC, Glenfield RFC, and Marist North Harbour RFC - no longer have teams in the grade. Most clubs, with the exclusion of the latter, field teams in the premier 2 competition instead.
Only three clubs across the grades have won over ten Championships. Takapuna Premiers with 13 Premierships, North Shore Senior Reserves with 13 Reserve Grade championships and Takapuna Under 21s with 10 Under 21 Championships.
Jointly, between most North Harbour clubs, there is a premier women's team - entered in the wider Auckland women's grade - the Albany Barbarians.
Current clubs As of the 2025 season.
TeamLocationHome ground2025 season East Coast Bays Windsor Park, Auckland Windsor Park 5th Helensville Helensville Rautawhiri Reserve 8th Kumeu Riverhead Riverhead War Memorial Park 9th Mahurangi Warkworth Warkworth Showgrounds 6th Massey Massey, Auckland Moire Park 3rd Northcote Birkenhead, Auckland Birkenhead War Memorial Park 4th North Shore Devonport, Auckland Vauxhall Sports Field 1st (champions) Silverdale Silverdale Silverdale War Memorial Park 7th Takapuna Northcote, Auckland Onewa Domain 2nd
North Harbour Secondary Schools 1st XV Rugby Since 1985 the North Harbour secondary schools rugby competition has been run during the winter rugby season. The most successful school in this competition is Westlake Boys' High School who has won 17 championships since 1988. Westlake's closest rival is Rosmini College with 8 championships. Takapuna Grammar is the only school in this competition that won an Auckland Secondary schools 1st XV competition when they shared a championship with Auckland Grammar in 1941.
The biggest rivalry in the competition is between Westlake Boys' High School and Rosmini College. Westlake Boys' High School is an all-boys state school located in the suburb of Forrest Hill, whilst Rosmini College is a state integrated catholic boys' school located slightly south in the suburb of Takapuna. The schools are located less than 2.1 km apart. The first known game between Westlake Boys and Rosmini took place in 1980 with Rosmini winning that day 18 points to 7.
In recent seasons Manurewa High School (from Counties Manukau) and Whangarei Boys High school (from Northland) have joined the NHSS 1st XV competition. Whangarei Boys High School made the final for the first time in 2019 and lost to Westlake Boys'.
The Woodhouse Shield is the NHSS rugby equivalent of the Ranfurly shield. The current holder of the shield is Westlake Boys' High School.
The eight schools that currently compete in the NHSS 1st XV competition, and their number of championship wins, are:
Westlake BHS (20), Rosmini College (8), Massey High School (6), Rangitoto College (2), Takapuna Grammar (2), Mahurangi College (0), Whangarei BHS (0), Orewa College (0).
As of 2025, the following Colleges/High Schools - now compete in the NHSS 1B competition alongside 2nd XV teams from Mahurangi, Massey, Orewa, Rangitoto, Rosmini and Westlake Boys': Birkenhead, Glenfield, Kaipara, Long Bay, Northcote, Vanguard, Whangaparaoa
The girls' equivalent to 1st XV secondary school rugby is the 12-a-side Youth 17 competition.
North Harbour Club Rugby Titles and Runners-up Team Winner Runner up Takapuna 13 13 North Shore 10 11 Massey 7 1 Northcote 5 3 East Coast Bays 4 6 Silverdale 1 3 Western Pioneers 1 0 Glenfield 0 2 Helensville 0 1 Marist 0 1 Kumeu 0 0 Mahurangi 0 0 Navy 0 0
North Harbour Club Rugby Finals
Year Winner Score Runner up Venue 1985 East Coast Bays (1) 9–3 North Shore Onewa Domain Winning coach – Brad Meurant
Winning captain- Mark Anscombe 1986 East Coast Bays (2) 16–6 Takapuna Onewa Domain Winning coach – Brad Meurant
Winning captain- Mark Anscombe 1987 North Shore (1) 24–12 East Coast Bays Onewa Domain Winning coach – Brad Johnstone
Winning captain- Russell Jones 1988 North Shore (2) 14–9 East Coast Bays Onewa Domain Winning coach – Wayne Underhay
Winning captain- Russell Jones 1989 Northcote (1) 16–6 East Coast Bays Onewa Domain Winning coach – Brad Meurant
Winning captain- Craig Burgess 1990 Northcote (2) 22–12 North Shore Onewa Domain Winning coach – Brad Meurant
Winning captain- Craig Burgess 1991 East Coast Bays (3) 27–12 Takapuna Onewa Domain Winning coach – Mark Anscombe
Winning captain- David Thomas 1992 North Shore (3) 40–6 Takapuna Onewa Domain Winning coach – Brad Johnstone
Winning captain- Russell Jones 1993 Massey (1) 25–19 East Coast Bays Onewa Domain Winning coach – John Smith
Winning captain-Neil Gibson 1994 Takapuna (1) 19–14 East Coast Bays Onewa Domain Winning coach – Wayne Pivac
Winning captain- Paul Feeney 1995 Takapuna (2) 46–6 Northcote Onewa Domain Winning coach – Paul Feeney
Winning captain -Milan Yelavich 1996 Takapuna (3) 29–8 Helensville Onewa Domain Winning coach – Paul Feeney
Winning captain- Robert Rush 1997 Takapuna (4) 31–10 North Shore North Harbour Stadium Winning coach – Milan Yelavich
Winning captain- Scott Palmer 1998 Takapuna (5) 22–17 North Shore North Harbour Stadium Winning coach – Milan Yelavich
Winning captain- Clayton Moors 1999 Takapuna (6) 41–16 Silverdale North Harbour Stadium Winning coach – Milan Yelavich
Winning captain- Clayton Moors 2000 Takapuna (7) 25–13 Glenfield North Harbour Stadium Winning coach – Paul Feeney
Winning captain- Clayton Moors 2001 North Shore (4) 23–12 Takapuna North Harbour Stadium Winning coach – Grant Simpkins
Winning captain- Phillip Weedon 2002 Takapuna (8) 21–0 North Shore North Harbour Stadium Winning coach – Clayton Moors
Winning captain- Gavin George 2003 Silverdale (1) 25–23 North Shore North Harbour Stadium Winning coach – Charlie McAllister
Winning captain- Duane Dalton 2004 Massey (2) 39–29 Takapuna North Harbour Stadium Winning coach – Graham Lowe
Winning captain- Steve Jackson 2005 Massey (3) 29–14 Takapuna North Harbour Stadium Winning coach – Graham Lowe
Winning captain- Steve Jackson 2006 Takapuna (9) 27–6 Glenfield North Harbour Stadium Winning coach – Blair Larsen
Winning captain- Simon Hanlon 2007 Takapuna (10) 28–23 Marist North Harbour Stadium Winning coach – Alex O'Dowd
Winning captain- Simon Hanlon 2008 Takapuna (11) 30–12 North Shore North Harbour Stadium Winning coach – Alex O'Dowd
Winning captain- Simon Hanlon 2009 Takapuna (12) 20–13 Northcote North Harbour Stadium Winning coach – Blair Urlich
Winning captain-Simon Hanlon 2010 Northcote (3) 28–18 North Shore North Harbour Stadium Winning coach – Ian Selwyn
Winning captain- Richard Mayhew 2011 North Shore (5) 17–16 Silverdale North Harbour Stadium Winning coach – Wayne Shelford
Winning captain- James Hinchco 2012 Western Pioneers (1) 21–15 Silverdale North Harbour Stadium Winning coach – Stu Hollier
Winning captain- Taione Vae 2013 Massey (4) 39–33 North Shore North Harbour Stadium Winning coach – Brent Semmons
Winning captain- Ben Svensen 2014 North Shore (6) 50–18 Massey North Harbour Stadium Winning coach – Frano Botica
Winning captain- Josh Blucher 2015 Massey (5) 31–26 North Shore North Harbour Stadium Winning coach – Jarrod Framhein
Winning captain- Ben Svensen 2016 Massey (6) 26–23 (GP) Takapuna North Harbour Stadium Winning Coach – Jarrod Framhein
Winning captain- Ben Svensen 2017 Northcote (4) 17–14 Takapuna North Harbour Stadium Winning Coach – Brett Bedwell/Brett Craies
Winning captain-Ryan Thompson 2018 Northcote (5) 25–20 East Coast Bays North Harbour Stadium Winning Coach – Brett Bedwell/Brett Craies
Winning captain-Ryan Thompson 2019 East Coast Bays (4) 21–17 Northcote North Harbour Stadium Winning Coach – John Scott
Winning captain- Lewis Gjaltema 2020 N/A Season abandoned due to COVID-19 2021 North Shore (7) 12-11 Takapuna North Harbour Stadium Winning Coach – Frano Botica
Winning captain- Alex Woonton 2022Takapuna (13)26-19North Shore2023North Shore (8)26-10TakapunaDevonport Domain2024North Shore (9)20-15TakapunaDevonport Domain 2025 North Shore (10) 33-15 Takapuna Devonport Domain Winning coach — James Hinchco
Winning captain — Donald Coleman 2026 Massey (7) 18-16 Takapuna Moire Park GP signifies that the game went to Golden Point. Massey won the title in 2016 with a drop goal after the scores were tied 23–23 at the end of 80 minutes.
Senior Reserves/Senior B/ The Stuart Cup
1985 East Coast Bays(1)-Runners up Northcote
1986 North Shore (1)-Runners up East Coast Bays
1987 North Shore (2) -Runners up East Coast Bays
1988 East Coast Bays (2)-Runners up North Shore
1989 North Shore (3)-Runners up Northcote
1990 East Coast Bays(3)Runners up
1991 East Coast Bays(4)-Runners up Takapuna
1992 East Coast Bays(5)-Runners up Takapuna
1993 East Coast Bays(6)-Runners up Massey
1994 Takapuna(1)-Runners up Massey
1995 Massey(1)-Runners up Takapuna
1996 Massey(2)-Runners up Takapuna
1997 Takapuna(2)-Runners up Glenfield
1998 North Shore(4)-Runners up Takapuna
1999 Takapuna(3)-Runners up Northcote
2000 North Shore(5)-Runners up East Coast Bays
2001 East Coast Bays(7)-Runners up North Shore
2002 North Shore(6)-Runners up East Coast Bays
2003 Massey(3)-Runners up North Shore
2004 Massey(4)-Runners up Silverdale
2005 Massey(5)-Runners up Northcote
2006 North Shore(7)-Runners up Massey
2007 Northcote(1)-Runners up North Shore
2008 North Shore(8)-Runners up Northcote
2009 Marist(1)-Runners up East Coast Bays
2010 North Shore(9)-Runners up Massey
2011 Silverdale(1)-Runners up Northcote
2012 North Shore(10)-Runners up East Coast Bays
2013 Northcote (2)-Runners up North Shore
2014 North Shore(11)-Runners up Northcote
2015 Northcote(3)-Runners up North Shore
2016 North Shore(12)-Runners up Northcote
2017 Northcote(4)-Runners up Kumeu
2018 Northcote(5)-Runners up East Coast Bays
2019 North Shore (13)-Runners up East Coast Bays
2020 Season abandoned due to COVID-19
2021 Northcote (6)-Runners up Takapuna
2022. Northcote (7) -runners up North Shore
2023. North Shore (14) -runners up Takapuna
2024. Massey (6) - Runners up Silverdale
2025 Takapuna (4) —Runners up North Shore
Under 21 Championships
1985 Takapuna (1)
1986 Takapuna (2)
1987 Glenfield(1)
1988 East Coast Bays(1)
1989 East Coast Bays(2)
1990 East Coast Bays(3)
1991 Takapuna (3)
1992 East Coast Bays(4)
1993 Massey(1)
1994 North Shore (1)
1995 Takapuna (4)
1996 Takapuna (5)