The Gordon Hunter Memorial Trophy is a Rugby Union trophy contested between the Blues and Highlanders as a part of some regular season Super Rugby fixtures between the two sides. The trophy is awarded in memory of Gordon Hunter, who had been head coach of both teams prior to his passing in 2002. The Blues currently lead in trophy-match wins with eight victories to the Highlanders seven. Prior to 2013, the trophy was contested every time the two teams met, but with the introduction of the conference system meaning there are two meetings per regular season, the decision was made that the trophy would only be contested in matches hosted by the holders. The Highlanders currently hold the trophy, and have done so since winning both matches in the 2012 season. While the Blues scored non-trophy-match wins over the Highlanders in the 2013 and 2014 seasons, the Highlanders won both home and away on 2015 on their way to lifting the Super Rugby title.
Past Winners
The following table summarises the results between the two sides since the trophy was first contested in 2002. 2016 will be the first season in which the Gordon Hunter Memorial Trophy cannot be contested due to the Blues only playing the Highlanders once - not in the host city of the current holders.
The next contest for the trophy will take place in Round 7 of the 2017 Super Rugby season when the Blues head down south to try and stop the Highlanders retaining the trophy for a 5th consecutive time. The Blues have held the trophy 8 times while the Highlanders are currently 1 behind with 7 wins.