Inglewood Rugby has a proud history within the Taranaki Region. Rugby in Inglewood began in 1893, when Inglewood’s first rugby club, the Athletic Club, was formed. Shortly after in 1896, the Pirates Club was formed. After many years of fierce rivalry between the two clubs, it was found that it would be in the best interests of the town if these two clubs united to form one formidable club. Thus, in 1898, the Inglewood United Rugby Football Club was born.

We are proud to have produced some very talented rugby players over the years, with many going on to higher honors; most notably our All Blacks John Major (1963-67), Dave Loveridge (1978-1985), and Chris Masoe (2005-2007). As well as Lauren Bayens (nee Burgess), and Rhodes Fetherstone who have both represented All Blacks Sevens. Since the introduction of the professional era, the club has been lucky enough to have many players consistently representing us at both provincial and Super Rugby level.

Over the years, the culture within our Club has evolved from a male dominated bastion in to a community orientated and family focused club with the goal of creating an environment where everyone feels welcome. The progress the club has made was highlighted in 2001 when Inglewood Senior Netball was welcomed into the club, and Inglewood Country Netball amalgamating in 2020. In 2023 the club would then proudly take on the new name of Inglewood United Rugby Netball Club (IURNC).

As with rugby, a number of our netball players have represented us at provincial and national levels, with Erika Maifea (nee Burgess) earning a spot in the Silver Ferns squad in 2008, and more recently Parris Mason who made her Silver Ferns debut in 2024. We currently have three Senior and ten Junior Rugby teams as well as seven Senior and a handful of junior netball teams, of which we look forward to watching grow in the future.

In the last 25 years the club has been very successful in both netball and rugby having won multiple premier championships, this has also been the case in our lower grades of both sports and has lead IURNC to be one of the most successful clubs in Taranaki during this time.