defences against Thames Valley on 30 June 2007 and Horowhenua-Kapiti on 14 July. Harbour easily won their first defence 69–0 over Thames Valley, and followed it up two weeks later with a 99–6 victory over Horowhenua-Kapiti. After defeating Taranaki 19–13 in their first challenge in the Air New Zealand Cup, North Harbour lost the Ranfurly Shield to Waikato by a record margin of 52–7. North Harbour in Super Rugby North Harbour is one of three provinces included in the Blues franchise who play in the Super Rugby competition; their players are eligible to be picked by the Blues without relying on player drafting. At the beginning of Super Rugby, North Harbour was part of the Chiefs franchise as a combined team of Auckland and North Harbour was thought to be unfair by the NZRU; Auckland and North Harbour collectively had a large percentage of the All Blacks of the time. Later however, North Harbour along with Northland were 'swapped' for Counties Manukau and Thames Valley, thus joined the Blues. Prior to the professionalisation of rugby, North Harbour competed as a stand-alone union in the predecessor to Super Rugby, the Super 10 competition, in 1993, 1994 and 1995. Club and high-school rugby The North Harbour Club Rugby season runs annually from March through to the beginning of August. The premier title is fought for among senior teams for the right to be crowned North Harbour Club Rugby Champions. The winner receives the ASB Cup. There are also 16 secondary schools fielding close to 100 teams within the North Harbour Region. Due to the ratio of secondary schools to rugby clubs, there is a strong relationship between the two. Member clubs Mahurangi Silverdale Helensville Kumeu (Riverhead) Massey East Coast Bays RFC Glenfield Northcote Takapuna North Shore Marist Royal New Zealand Navy Club Champions For list of North Harbour club rugby champions, see North Harbour Club Rugby Champions Bunnings NPC Former players These are players who have played for North Harbour in the past and have gone on to play international rugby and accomplish other feats as listed: Todd Clever (USA Eagles captain) Liam Barry (former All Black, former Harbour Head Coach) Richard Turner(former All Black) Frano Botica (former All Black, former Kiwi League International and former Croatian International) Frank Bunce (former All Black, Western Samoa centre, New Zealand Sevens) Daniel Devereaux (former Cook Island half back) Graham Dowd (former All Black hooker)