History
When the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) reviewed the domestic competitions in 2005, a new 14 team premier division of competition was created, as the Air New Zealand Cup, taking the place of the National Provincial Championship (NPC).
The restructured domestic competition opened the door for the Nelson Bays and Marlborough Rugby Unions to form a relationship, forming one organisation in an attempt to be awarded a position in the new competition.[2]
Early years: 2006 to 2010
A Tasman 15 played Canada 'A' on April 26, 2006 at Trafalgar Park.[3] The Tasman side won by 40 points, the final score being 48 points to 8. The Mako were grouped in Pool A of the 2006 Air New Zealand Cup.
In their first ever match in the Air New Zealand Cup, the Mako earned a bonus point in a loss to the North Harbour team, losing 33 points to 27. They were defeated by Auckland the following week by 40 points. However, the Mako won their first match in round three, defeating Manawatu by 43 points to 0.
Their only other win of the season came at home against Northland, with an impressive 56–15 win.
Despite the season record of just 2 wins and 7 losses, the Mako showed the ability to compete and provided a platform to build for the future.
Ti'i Paulo captained the side.[4]
The 2007 season was disappointing for the Mako, finishing the season with a record of 2 wins and 8 losses. Wins came against Hawke's Bay and Manawatu, with close losses against Waikato and Canterbury.[5]
Early on in the 2008 season, the NZRU announced that Tasman and Northland would be relegated from the competition at the end of the season, due to failing to meet a set of criteria including financial stability. With the axe hovering over them, the Mako produced their best season yet, silencing their critics.
In round 2 against Waikato, Tasman first five Miah Nikora nailed a stunning last minute drop goal to snatch a 14–16 victory and claim the Mako first scalp over a major union. This was followed with wins over Taranaki, Northland, Manawatu and a draw against Otago to see the Mako finish the season 7th on the ladder. Facing a strong Canterbury side in the quarter-finals, the Mako lost 48–10. However, their strong season coupled with public pressure forced the NZRU to reverse its decision and announce that Tasman and Northland would remain in the competition.[6]
There were doubts as to whether Tasman would contest the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup, with funding issues and disagreement amongst its stakeholders on its future.[7] However, these disputes were resolved and Tasman finished the 2009 season in 9th place with 6 wins and 7 losses, with their most memorable performance coming in round 9 against Auckland. Tasman won 12–8 in the most significant result of their short history. The Mako had come from the brink of extinction to topple the biggest union in the country.[8]
2010 was disappointing for the Mako, finishing the season in 12th place on the ladder with just 4 wins, failing to hold on to their mid table status achieved in the previous two seasons.[9] However, the Mako managed to upset eventual champions and neighbours Canterbury in round 4, with a famous 27–25 victory at Trafalgar Park.[10]
Championship division: 2011 to 2013
In 2011, the ITM Cup was restructured into two competitions, with the top 7 teams competing for the Premiership title and the next 7 teams competing for the Championship title. Each province played the other 6 teams in their own division once, plus 4 interdivisional matches.[11]
The Tasman Mako played in the Championship for 2011. Despite taking just 2 wins and finishing in last spot for the season,[12] the Mako were well received by their fans by playing a positive attacking brand of rugby that included 4 losses by 4 points or less. Upset victories were achieved against Hawke's Bay 21–19 in Napier,[13] and Auckland (again) 30–28 in Nelson.[14] Shane Christie and James Marshall were selected for the New Zealand sevens team that year.[15][16]
2012 was a good season for the Mako, recording a win over Canterbury to start their season the Mako went on to win 5 out of their 10 round robin games and made the semi-final where they lost to Otago 41-34.[17][18]
In 2013 for the first time in their short history the Mako gained promotion to the Premiership division as they won the Championship playing 12 games in the season and coming away with 10 wins, including a 49-28 win over Southland in the semi-final at Lansdowne Park and the victory which sent them to the Premiership which was a tight 26-25 win over Hawke's Bay at Trafalgar Park.[19][20]
Premiership division: 2014 to 2021
Tasman was promoted to the ITM Cup Premiership division for the 2014 season.[12]
The Mako had a very good first year in the Premiership in 2014, making it all the way to the Premiership final where they lost in a close contest 36-32 to Taranaki at Yarrow Stadium. The Mako played 12 games in the 2014 season with 8 wins, 3 losses and a 16-16 draw against Auckland at Eden Park.[21][22]
2015 was again a solid year for the Mako, playing 11 games with 7 wins and 4 losses. The Mako made it to the semi-final but lost 44-24 against Auckland at Eden Park.[23]
2016 and 2017 were very similar years for the Mako, making the final in both seasons. The 2016 season saw the Mako play 12 games with 8 wins, 3 losses and a 27-27 draw against North Harbour at North Harbour Stadium.[24] While the 2017 season saw the Mako play 12 games, winning 7 and losing 5. Both years though saw the Mako go down to Canterbury in the final, played at Christchurch Stadium both years, with the 2016 scoreline being 43-27 and the 2017 scoreline being 35-13.[25][26] The team also went through a rebrand, changing the logo and team colours ahead of the 2016 season.[27] The logo was later changed back after it received widespread criticism.[28]
2018 was again a very good year for the Mako, winning 9 out of 10 of their round robin fixtures - losing only to Auckland 36-10 at Eden Park. The team made the semi-finals but lost 16-21 to Canterbury in a controversial game at Trafalgar Park.[29] 20 of the Mako squad from the 2018 season would go on to earn Super Rugby contracts for the 2019 Super Rugby season.[30] Ahead of the 2018 season, the team changed their name from the Tasman Makos to Tasman Mako, with 'Mako' being the correct plural of the Māori name.[31]
After just 14 seasons the Tasman Mako reached the pinnacle of New Zealand provincial rugby, winning the 2019 Mitre 10 Cup and doing it unbeaten. After going through the round robin with 10 wins from 10 games the Mako played Auckland at Lansdowne Park coming away with an 18-9 win in a game that went right down to the wire. The Mako then had their fourth crack at the Premiership title when they faced Wellington at Trafalgar Park and it was fourth time lucky as the Mako came away with the win 31-14.[32][33][34]
The Mako became just the second team to win back to back premiership titles, winning the 2020 Mitre 10 Cup. Hit hard by injury and without many players from their 2019 heroics the Mako were not as dominant in 2020 with heavy losses in the regular season to North Harbour (40-24), Auckland (31-10) and Canterbury (0-29). The Mako finished second on the premiership standings and came up against Bay of Plenty in the semi-final at Trafalgar Park, coming away with the win 19-10. They qualified for their sixth final in eight years, coming up against Auckland at Eden Park. In what was a thrilling game the Mako came away with the win 12-13.[35][36][37]
Tasman were unable to defend their premiership title in 2021, it was a great start to the season with wins over Bay of Plenty (14–27), Auckland (16–11) and Northland (29–48) before the side suffered a first loss 22–39 at the hands of Waikato. The Mako bounced back thumping Southland 51–14 before having a crack at the Ranfurly Shield against Hawke's Bay where they were again unsuccessful 34–22. The side then played a non competition match against Bay of Plenty in miserable conditions, coming away with the win 26–9. A third loss came against Canterbury 24–20 in Christchurch meaning it was a must win game for the Mako in Round 10 against Wellington where they came away with an impressive 34–22 win. Hawke's Bay were favourites ahead of the semi-final in Napier after losing only 1 game in the regular season, Tasman came up big hanging on to win 27–33. Yet another final for the Mako and they had a chance to make it a three peat when they met Waikato in the final in Hamilton, the side conceded 2 intercept tries and because of this lost 23–20.
Combined competition: 2022 to present
2022 was a season full of disappointment for the Mako with just 4 wins from 10 games, failing to make the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. The side was missing many key players with injury and All Blacks duties but still managed to drop many games they should have won. The best performance of the season came over Northland (52-17).
The Mako bounced back in 2023 as they made the quarter finals before losing to Taranaki, the most impressive wins came over Auckland (24-12), Manawatu (58-19) and Taranaki (18-29 in the regular season). Anton Segner had a stand out season and Alex Nankivell played his final season for the side after 81 appearances.
Ranfurly Shield
Tasman has not held the Ranfurly Shield but Marlborough held the shield for six challenges in 1973.[38]
Tasman have been involved in four Ranfurly Shield challenges since the union's inception in 2006.[39] Tasman lost their first challenge 26–20 at the hands of Wellington in 2008,[40] and their second challenge 49–40 to Taranaki in 2012.[41] Their third challenge was against Hawke's Bay in 2021, where they were defeated 34–22.[42] They had another challenge in 2023, a 7-0 loss to Wellington.
