The Counties Cavaliers Rugby Club holds a highly unique, niche place in New Zealand rugby history. It is not a traditional club that fields teams every weekend in a local club competition. Instead, its history splits into two distinct eras: a 1970s Barbarian-style invitational club, and its modern resurrection as a provincial development team.
1. The Original Invitation Club (1977)
The Counties Cavaliers Rugby Club was formally established in July 1977 by a small group of former Counties representative players.
The Concept: It was created as a “kindred” or “Barbarian-style” club. Rather than playing in a standard league, its purpose was to bring together elite local players for one-off exhibition matches, benefit games, and charity events.
The Context: The late 1970s was a booming golden era for rugby in the region—the official Counties provincial union won its first and only National Provincial Championship (NPC) first-division title shortly after in 1979.
The Matches: The Cavaliers primarily selected top-tier Counties players to play invitation fixtures against prominent secondary schools and neighboring invitation sides. One of their most famous recorded games occurred on April 13, 1980, when a Cavaliers squad selected by All Black legend Pat Walsh defeated the Thames Valley Goldfields club 30–11 in Pukekohe.
The Demise: The club was short-lived as a standalone entity. By the mid-1980s, the increasing intensity, training schedules, and calendar demands of the NPC meant premier players no longer had the freedom or time to participate in mid-week or off-season benefit matches, causing the original club structure to fade away.
2. A Note on “The Rebel Cavaliers” (1986)
It is worth noting that the name “Cavaliers” holds a completely separate, massive context in New Zealand rugby history. In 1986, an unofficial, rebel team of All Blacks toured apartheid-era South Africa under the name The New Zealand Cavaliers.
While the official Counties Cavaliers club had no structural connection to this rebel international team, the tour’s captain was none other than legendary Counties and All Black hooker Andy Dalton.
3. The Modern Era: The Counties Manukau Cavaliers
While the original 1970s social club no longer exists, the name was officially resurrected by the Counties Manukau Rugby Football Union (CMRFU).
Today, the Counties Cavaliers lives on as the official name for the union’s Men’s Development / B Team.
The Role: Acting as the bridge between local club rugby (the McNamara Cup competition) and the professional Counties Manukau Steelers (who compete in the NPC), the Cavaliers team is used to blood young talent, test promising club players, and give game time to returning professionals.
The Schedule: They wear the traditional red, white, and black colors and primarily play their fixtures during the pre-season and winter months against matching development teams from neighboring unions like Auckland, Waikato, and Northland.
