NZ's longest sporting droughts: How does your team fare?

Northland's Jack Ram stands dejected during a Mitre 10 Cup game against Wellington. Photosport

The Philadelphia Eagles ended a 58-year title drought yesterday by claiming their debut Super Bowl crown with a 41-33 win over the New England Patriots. It was the fourth title for the Eagles franchise but first under the NFL merger with their last title coming in 1960 (Super Bowl I was seven years later).

That leaves 10 NFL teams that have yet to win a Super Bowl, with the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars and the Houston Texans yet to even contest in a Super Bowl.

The Arizona Cardinals still have the longest drought in the sport with 70 years since their last title - the 1947 NFL Championship.

How does that stack up with sporting teams in New Zealand? Here's a look at provincial title droughts on our shores.

Rugby

Of the 14 teams in the Mitre 10 Cup Northland, Hawkes Bay and Southland have failed to nail provincial rugby's top prize since the NPC began in 1976. North Harbour and Tasman are also barren, but Harbour were part of the Auckland rugby province until the mid-1980s and the very successful Tasman outfit arrived via an amalgamation of Marlborough and Nelson Bays in 2006.

It is a very long time since Southland and Hawkes Bay were powerhouse provinces with legendary characters such as Billy Stead and Cyril Brownlie in their ranks. Hawkes Bay were unofficial national champions in the second half of the 1960s with a famous Ranfurly Shield reign, while North Auckland's golden era under legendary coach Ted Griffin and featuring the fabulous Going brothers finished just before the national competition was formed.

The arrival of professional rugby in the mid-1990s didn't exactly help the outlying provinces by encouraging a drift of top players to the big city Super Rugby bases. But there has been something of a reversal or slowing down of that trend and it is relatively new Tasman outfit which has offered the little guys hope by making three of the last four grand finals. Tasman's success, however, could also be seen as a reflection of the Super Rugby Crusaders' expertise.

Sadly for Northland, Hawkes Bay and Southland supporters, their teams have never even made the ultimate provincial game.

Cricket

More competitions means more chance to win so title droughts aren't really prevalent among New Zealand Cricket's six provinces.

That being said Otago haven't won the Plunket Shield since 1987-88 which is a pretty impressive drought considering every other province has won the four-day competition at least once since 2004.

The men from the south also have the longest drought in the 50-over format, last winning the title in 2007-08. Every province as won the Twenty20 competition since its inception in 2005-06.

Basketball

The National Basketball League has been dominated in recent seasons by the Wellington Saints and Southland Sharks, with the two combining to claim seven of the last eight national titles.

In doing so, many teams are enduring prolonged title droughts, with some extending for more than three decades.

Sides such as the Super City Rangers (formed in 1990) and the Taranaki Mountainairs (formed in 1985) are yet to experience a title-winning campaign, while the Canterbury Rams are currently undergoing the longest title-less spell for a team that has previously claimed a championship, with the Christchurch-based outfit still waiting to add to their 1992 crown.

However, it is the Manawatu Jets that have been around the longest and are still on the hunt for a maiden NBL championship, 36 years after their formation in 1982.

The Palmerston North side will compete in New Zealand's premier basketball competition for the first time since 2015 this season, and will need to put in big shifts against the likes of Wellington and Southland if they are going to have any chance of breaking their enormous duck.

Netball

New Zealand's premier netball provinces have battled in out over a number of different named competitions through the years - the Coca-Cola Cup, the National Bank Cup, the ANZ Championship and now the ANZ Premiership - and a number of different franchise names (RIP Counties Manukau Cometz).

What has been consistent however is the lack of titles for three regions - Auckland, Canterbury and Wellington.

The Canterbury Flames played in four finals in the National Bank Cup, losing each of them to the Southern Sting. Then as the Tactix they haven't gone anywhere close to delivering a title to Christchurch.

The Northern Force (nee Auckland Diamonds) also have a couple of runners-up placings while the Mystics lost the ANZ Championship final in 2011.

Football

Given the superiority of Auckland City, Waitakere United, and – more recently – Team Wellington in the New Zealand Football Championship since its formation in 2004, perhaps a more appropriate competition to look into for title droughts within Kiwi football would be the prestigious Chatham Cup.

However, due to the extensive history of the knockout tournament, one that hundreds of club teams from across the nation have competed in since its inception in 1923, the sheer number of participating sides makes it near impossible to account for every team that has been involved over the past 95 years.

That's why only clubs with a Chatham Cup title will be considered for this undesirable accolade.

So which active Chatham Cup-winning club is currently undergoing the longest title drought in the tournament's history?

Two-time champions Wellington Marist are the unfortunate winners of that gong.

The first of their two titles came in 1932, while their most recent cup title came in 1946, a lengthy 72 years ago.

Other active clubs suffering Chatham Cup title droughts extending to around 70 years include Waterside Karori (71 years), Petone (69 years), and Onehunga-Mangere United (63 years).

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