Cricket,rugby union,rugby league &netball are the prominent sporting rivalries betweenAustralia andNew Zealand. In addition, respective national teams have competed in other sports such asindoor bowls,basketball,association football,field hockey andtouch football.
Australia attended its firstSummer Olympic Games in 1896. New Zealand first attended in 1908, with the two countries competing together asAustralasia. After World War I, the two nations split and since the 1920 Games have competed separately.
From 1952 both nations have sent teams to theWinter Olympic Games, except the non participation of New Zealand in 1956 and 1964.
Both nations have competed against each other and otherCommonwealth nations at theBritish Empire Games andCommonwealth Games starting from 1930.
Australia has attended every SummerParalympic Games since their inception in 1960; New Zealand first attended eight years later in 1968.
In 1938, the New Zealand Basketball Association sent the firstNew Zealand women's national basketball team to tour Australia. The men's teams have opposed each other in qualification for the2002 FIBA World Championship and at the2004 Athens Olympics. Australasia'sNational Basketball League has included theNew Zealand Breakers as its sole non-Australian team since 2003. They are the two best-performing nations inFIBA Oceania. Teams from New Zealand's Women's Basketball Championship[1] have no history of playing against those of Australia'sWomen's NBL.
TheAustralian cricket team first toured New Zealand in 1878[2] and recognisedfirst class Test cricket between the respective national teams commenced in 1945–46. Theunderarm incident of 1981 stands as memorable for bringingAustralian cricket into infamy and causing anger in New Zealand as well as being remarked upon by the respectiveheads of government. The two nations have exclusively and directly competed for theTrans-Tasman Trophy intest cricket since 1985–86 and for theChappell–Hadlee Trophy inODIcricket since 2006–07. They have competed atTwenty20 internationals andtournaments since their first such match occurring on 17 February 2005.The two teams were also the finalists at the2015 Cricket World Cup.
The highest attendedUltimate Fighting Championship event in history took place inMelbourne when AustralianRobert Whittaker attempted to defend his UFC middleweight championship against New ZealanderIsrael Adesanya in front of 57,127 people atMarvel Stadium.[3] Adesanya would win the bout via a second-round knockout.
Australia andNew Zealand are thetop two ranked teams in international netball. On 20 August1938, atRoyal Park, Melbourne, Australia defeated New Zealand 40–11. This was the firstnetball Test between Australia and New Zealand. It was also the world's first international netball match. Between1963 and2015, the two teams dominated theWorld Netball Championships andCommonwealth Games tournaments. Since 2010 the two teams have also competed for theConstellation Cup. Notable and memorable clashes have included the finals of the1991,1999 and2011 World Netball Championships, the finals of the2010 and the2014 Commonwealth Games and the final match of the2013 Constellation Cup.[4][5][6][7][8][9]
_2.jpg)
The rivalry between the two national rugby league teams, theKangaroos and theKiwis, commenced with matches at the conclusion of the professional1907All Golds tour. A collaborative side, that toured Great Britain, was fieldedin 1911–12, but with the exception of a2007 team this has not been repeated. AnANZAC Test, for theBill Kelly Memorial Trophy, was contested between the two countries from 1997 to 2017, and was held close to ANZAC Day.[10][11]Additionally, the two countries competed in theRugby League Tri-Nations and then, between 2009 and 2016, in theRugby League Four Nations tournament.[12] The teams have faced each other numerous times at theWorld Cup, however, unlikeNew Zealand Rugby League, theAustralian Rugby League does not consider matches the World Cup as officialTests and therefore they have different totals in their head-to-head test records.[13] Since 1995 a New Zealand professional team, theWarriors, have played in the Australia-centredNational Rugby League.
The women's national teams, theJillaroos and theKiwi Ferns, played their first test match in 1995.[14] Since 2000, they have faced each other several times at theWomen's Rugby League World Cups and at theRugby League Pacific Championships.
Thewheelchair rugby league teams, theWheelaroos and theWheel Kiwis, played their first match in November 2024.[15]
An early 1882New South Wales Waratahs tour of New Zealand was followed by an1884 New Zealand rugby union tour of New South Wales and then with thehistory of rugby union matches between Australia and New Zealand commencing in 1903. Since 1931 that rivalry has been pursued for the prize of possession of theBledisloe Cup. Both nations together hosted the inaugural1987 Rugby World Cup and have since furthered a spirited rivalry directly and indirectly competing against each other for the sport'sWebb Ellis Cupworld championship trophy on every subsequent occasion. The firstwomen's international rugby test between theWallaroos andBlack Ferns occurred in 1994. From 1996 their men's national teams compete annually inThe Rugby Championship, as do their elite provincial teams inSuper Rugby.
From 1966 to the end of 2005 the two countries competed in theOceania Football Confederation and a New Zealand club side has played against Australian clubs in the professional soccerA-League since2005–06. Their national youth teams competed in theOFC U-20 Championship between 1978 and 2001. A first match between theMatildas andFootball Ferns female teams occurred in 1975. The women's teams competed for theOceania Cup seven times between 1983 and 2003.[16]
Between 1922 and 1954, and since 2023, the teams compete in theSoccer Ashes.
Australasian Championships in tennis commenced in 1905, later becoming the Australian Open. Between 1905 and 1915 the two nations combined their best players to compete in theDavis Cup, winning in all of 1907, 1908, 1909, 1911 and 1914.
The introduction ofAustralian rules football in New Zealand occurred around 1868 and maintained some cultural significance there until 1914 and then from the 1974 restarting of senior competition in three of its major cities.[17][18][19][20] In 1890 anAustralasian Football Council was formed including delegates from New Zealand and in 1908 New Zealand defeated bothNew South Wales and Queensland at theJubilee Australasian Football Carnival.[21] In 1961, theMelbourne Football Club toured New Zealand during its off season, becoming the first VFL/AFL club to do so.[22] TheNew Zealand Falcons have represented their country in the sport since 1995 and theNew Zealand AFL has existed since 1997. Nointernational AFL exhibition matches have been played in New Zealand since 2001.AFL matches have been broadcast live into New Zealand since 2006 and there is regular coverage of AFL matches inThe New Zealand Herald.Women's AFL in New Zealand found its first expression through a match convened by theCanterbury AFL in 2006.[23]
.jpg)
TheInter Dominionharness racing competition has been contested since 1936 at venues in both countries.
TheTasman Series ofmotor races across Australia and New Zealand was held from 1964 to 1975 and from 2001, theV8 Supercar Round at Pukekohe and subsequently theHamilton 400 has been promoted as the New Zealand leg of theV8 Supercars category oftouring car racing otherwise predominantly contested in Australia.[24]
AtISF Women's World Championships from 1965 and insoftball at the Summer Olympics – except the Championships of 1978, 1982, 1986 and 1990 – Australia can be seen to have consistently distinguished itself ahead of New Zealand. TheBlack Sox men's team won the inaugural Commonwealth Championships over Australia and other nations in 2006[25] and have otherwise outperformed Australia in world championships.
International indoor bowls competition began in 1975 when Australia and New Zealand first met for the Henselite Trophy. Trans-Tasman matches are held bi-annually with Australia being the current holder of the trophy as the test was a draw and Australia were the previous holders of the Trophy and therefore retained it.
TheBlack Sticks Men (New Zealand) defeatedthe Kookaburras (Australia) to win gold infield hockey at the 1976 Summer Olympics. Competition between theBlack Sticks Women (New Zealand) and theHockeyroos (Australia) female teams is recorded back to 1935. Both teams from both countries have contested theOceania Cup biennially since 1999.
Respectivetouch football national teams of either and mixed gender, and across age categories, have sustained close competitive rivalry for championship honours throughTouch Football World Cups contested since 1988.
As of 25 May 2009 and starting from 1987 the two nations had met 10 times at the sport ofice hockey.
Biennially since 1987 Australasian Masters Games have been contested in a range of sports by mature-aged athletes and teams of participants.
APGA Tour of Australasia for men's golfers commenced under its current name in 1991.
TheAustralasian Pacers Grand Circuit forstandardbred horses commenced in 1992 and theAustralasian Breeders Crown futurity race series for 2 and 3-year-old horses bred in Australia and New Zealand is contested on a Sunday in late August each year at a venue in theAustralian State of Victoria.
From 1997 both nations are known to have hosted theOceania Badminton Championships.Overall in badminton at the Commonwealth Games it might be considered thatBadminton Australia has marginally outperformed theBlack Cocks.
They have had common membership of theInternational Korfball Federation since 1998 and they are recorded to have competed at the 2004Asia-Oceania Korfball Championship.
Men's teams for both nations have contested theOceania Handball Nations Cup from 2004 with both nations being members of theOceania Handball Federation.
| Diplomatic posts | |
|---|---|
| Diplomacy | |
| Incidents | |
| Military relations | |
| Economic relations | |
| Border | |
| Related |
|
