Club History

Rugby League has a long history in the Army, the first known game being played by New Zealand soldiers in South Africa during the Boer War.  Today the game is played widely throughout the Army, drawing players from the Auckland, Central Plateau, Manawatu, Wellington and Canterbury regions.

The Linton Cobras Club formed in 1989 as a result of 1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment being permanently relocated from Singapore to Linton Camp.  The following year, 1990 saw the emergence of the Linton Cobras Club, as well as their adoption of the “Cobras” Club emblem and title.  

The Club then quickly became one of the most respected clubs in the Manawatu competition.  Since our emergence, the Cobra’s have played in several Grand Finals in both the Premier (four of the last seven years) and Reserve grade, taking honours in both grades on several occasions. 

Many of our players and officials, both past and present, also have representative titles that range from Inter-Services, Provincial and National positions.  Several of the Cobra’s players have also gone on to become professional players within the National Rugby League competition.  Jessie Royal who played a few seasons for the Newcastle Knights and the Vodafone Warriors served in the Army, and while based in Linton, played for this Club.  

The club has a proud record within the Manawatu Competition.  Right from the early years, the club has been a constant challenger come finals time.  In 1991 the Cobras finished in fifth spot after edging out Foxton on points difference, and then went all the way to the clubs first Grand Final.  The Cobras were on track to win the Grand Final where they led 17-12 with two mins left of play against the Waiouru Bobcats.  It took a remarkable play from Bobcats captain Lee McLean to score and covert the try to win the match 18-17.

The Cobras didn’t have to wait long to taste victory in a Grand Final, when in 1992 the Cobras defeated 1990 Champions Kia Ora 22-16.  In 1993 the club played consistently well throughout the season before being bundled out in the sudden death final to Tainui 40-34.  In 1994 the Cobras competed in their third Grand Final in four years, where they went down 20-16 to the Kia Ora Warriors.

While the club had established many highs in their early years of competition, the strain of Army Commitments began to show in 1995.  After finishing the season well, Both Linton Cobra’s teams and the Waiouru Bobcats were disqualified from the finals due to not paying their affiliation fees.  All three teams came under one club, and a lack of communication was blamed for the mistake!

From here on the Club continued to be a regular grand finalist, picking up a second Grand Final win in 1998 against Castlecliff.  In 2001 the club was forced to pull out mid season due to the operational deployment to East Timor. 

However the club came back with a vengeance in 2002 where they won their first Grand Final since the 1990’s when they defeated Levin 48-26.  There was drama surrounding the final because, although the Cobras won the round robin to be crowned minor-premiers, they still weren’t able to host the final due to not having a grandstand or a way to collet money at a gate.  So the Cobras travelled south to Levin and had the final all but secured by leading 40-4 at half time. Centre Joe Tevaga and second rower Jesse Royal were in good form as the Cobras ripped Levin to pieces.

In 2003 the Cobras went down to the Keywest Lions 34-28 in the Grand Final after leading 20-0 in the first 20 mins!  In 2004 the club competed in the Western Alliance which comprised of all the top teams from Wellington, Manawatu and Taranaki.  The Cobras finished 10th out of 20 teams over all with a credible 10 wins out of 19 games.

Since 2003 the club continued to play in the Manawatu and Western Alliance Competitions.  Over the 2010-13 seasons the Cobra’s played in three grand finals winning the 2012 Final 43-22 over Dannevirke. 

2014 saw the birth of the Linton Cobras Women’s team which played in the Wellington Women’s Competition.  The team had an outstanding season, winning every single match including the Grand Final.  Their outstanding performances throughout the year were rewarded when five players were selected in the Kiwi Ferns train on squad.  From there, Krystal Murray and Jana Vaughan represented the Kiwi Ferns in the Auckland NRL Nines and the ANZAC Test against the Jillaroos side.

In 2015 the Club has continued to strive to maintain the proud history of the Cobras.  They currently field two Premier Men team’s and the Women’s team has carried on where they left off the previous season in the Wellington Women’s Competition.