Early years Taranaki was officially established in 1889 after a team chosen from the surrounding clubs in existence played as Egmont in 1885. They began with a brown coloured jersey before adopting the amber and black hoops in 1892. During the amateur period, the team won the
Ranfurly Shield on four occasions. It had also won seven-second division titles in the
National Provincial Championship, more than any other team. Further notable moments were in 1959, when a record 35,000 spectators attended Rugby Park in
New Plymouth to see the province play the
British Lions. Two years later 36,000 people were on hand to watch
France defeat the side 11-9. Their first Ranfurly Shield victory came in 1913 when
Auckland was defeated 14-11. Six successful defences followed before a 12-6 loss to
Wellington in September 1914. In 1957 shield holders Wellington was defeated in a friendly match early in the year and a rematch was scheduled for later in the season.
Otago defeated Wellington, and Otago accepted a special challenge by Taranaki. The match was played on 28 September 1957, the last Saturday of the season, after
King Country gave up its scheduled fixture with Taranaki. Taranaki won against Otago for them to, later on, go a 13-match tenure. This ended in October 2012 when Waikato won the last challenge of the season. In 2013 Taranaki RFU assembled a women's professional team although it was later disbanded the following year. They claimed the national title for the first time in their history with a win over
Tasman in the
2014 ITM Cup. and Hawke's Bay in the 2023 competition. == Club rugby ==