The annual King's College v Auckland Grammar School rugby game is one of the oldest rivalries in New Zealand schoolboy rugby.
Notable rugby schools in Auckland include Auckland Grammar School, De La Salle College, Kelston Boys High School, King's College, Mount Albert Grammar School, Sacred Heart College and St Kentigern College.
Auckland 1A 1st XV Rugby is the Premier Rugby Union competition for secondary schools and colleges in Auckland, New Zealand. Auckland 1A 1st XV Rugby is an annual promotion and relegation competition that usually takes place with 12 schools. The competition is organised and run by the Auckland Rugby Union.
1A Teams (2024 Season)
Auckland Grammar, Epsom
Botany Downs Secondary College, East Tamaki
De La Salle College, Mangere East
Dilworth School, Epsom
Kelston Boys High School, Kelston
King's College, Otahuhu
Liston College, Henderson
Mount Albert Grammar, Mount Albert
Sacred Heart College, Glendowie
St Kentigern College, Pakuranga
St Paul's College, Ponsonby
St Peter's College, Epsom
The competition has been running since 1895. Many different teams have competed in the competition since the start as there is a promotion/relegation fixture involved at the end of every season. The competition has had 12 different winners over 127 years. On 16 occasions, the title has been shared by two or more teams. In recent years the winner of the Auckland 1A 1st XV Rugby competition will play either the winner of the North Harbour 1st XV competition or the Northland 1st XV competition to become the Blues representative at the National First XV Championship. For many years the competition winner was decided after round-robin play but in recent years the competition has added Semi Finals and Finals after round-robin play to find an outright winner. Auckland Grammar are the most successful school in the competition. Auckland Grammar has had a rugby team dating back to 1871 where they played against club teams. Auckland Grammar has won a title in every decade since the competition started in 1895. The Auckland Rugby Union, along with Collegesport and the Secondary Schools Executive Committee are responsible for administering the local secondary school competitions. Auckland 1st XV rugby is split into three divisions 1A, 1B, 1C.