Sport in New Zealand Sport in New Zealand Sport in New Zealand largely reflects its British colonial heritage, with some of the most popular sports being rugby union, rugby league, cricket, football (soccer), basketball and netball which are primarily played in Commonwealth countries. New Zealand is a small nation but has enjoyed success in many sports, notably rugby union (considered the national sport), rugby league, cricket (considered the national summer sport), America's Cup sailing, world championship and Olympics events and motorsport and softball. Other popular sports include squash, golf, hockey, tennis, cycling, rowing, and a variety of water sports, particularly sailing and surf sports.
Calcutta Cup Christmas Day 1872, a game of rugby, between 20 players representing England on one side and 20 representing Scotland on the other, was played in Calcutta. The match was such a success that it was repeated a week later. These lovers of rugby wanted to form a club in the area and the aforementioned matches were the agents which led to the formation of the Calcutta Football Club in January 1873. The Calcutta Club joined the Rugby Football Union in 1874. Despite the Indian climate not being entirely suitable for playing rugby, the club prospered during that first year. However,