It is a little-known fact of sporting history that the first ''World Cup'' or true international trophy won by a New Zealand rugby team occurred during the Boer War.

The Zeerust Rugby League Challenge Trophy was won in 1900 by the Fifth Contingent of the New Zealand Mounted Rifles 10th Reinforcements on the battle fields of the Transvaal. The trophy, with the names of those that took part in the final engraved on the side, now rests in the ''Scars of the Heart'' section of New Zealand's War Memorial Museum in Auckland.

Although the trophy reads ''rugby league'' it's merely because the organisers used the language of the day rather than referring to RL, which didn't exist at all and, thankfully, still doesn't in South Africa.

The tournament featured Australia, England, New Zealand, Canada and a somewhat war-torn Transvaal Republic (but not the Cape Colony, British Kaffaria or the Natal and Free State Republics despite the existence of the oldest true National rugby union in the Southern Hemisphere, SARFB - the South African Rugby Football Board, founded in 1889).

Without any doubt, this was not an internationally sanctioned tournament as the IRB (previously the IRFB), which was only founded in 1886 by Ireland, Scotland and Wales, hadn't yet gotten hold of these Southern Hemisphere unions (the New Zealand union was only founded in 1892), let alone Canada.

The Australians have all sorts of claims about the founding of their National Aussie rugby union but we've all but given up trying to figure that out. Basically, the Aussies say: ''Whatever date you've got, take six months off and that's us, first!'' Puzzling, but typical.

The poor Aussies have comically gone so far as to claim playing rugby matches before the invention of rugby. A very well-known rugby history website has prominent listings of rugby by Australia in 1829 (doubtful as rules for rugby only existed as of 1845). And, to make matters worse, New Zealand trump this with a listing in 1810! One-upmanship at its finest.

Humble South Africans seem to be content with a list from their history, of independent Republics with rugby unions (who probably never played each other and just twiddled their thumbs if you believe Kiwis and Aussies) like the Cape Colony Rugby Football Union (1883) aka the WPRFU, Transvaal Rugby Football Union (1889), Griqualand Rugby Football Union (1886), British Kaffarian Rugby Football Union (1871), Free State Rugby Football Union (1891) and the Natal Rugby Football Union (1892). This excludes Bechuanaland, South West Africa, Southern Rhodesia and Northern Rhodesia who also, if you'd believe the Kiwis and Aussies once again, didn't bother to do much more than pick their noses while they exclusively racked up records.

It's also a laugh trying to claim the first unofficial game against England before 1900 as practically everyone playing rugby in South African (and no doubt in Oz & New Zealand) was born in England (thus the Home-Born versus Colonial-Born matches).

Australia (again) claim the first overseas tour by (a bunch of very English-looking guys) going to New Zealand (a very English-looking new colony) in 1883. New Zealand top this with an 1884 match (although the NZRU was only founded five years later).

But, as long as the Aussies and Kiwis have Union Jacks on their flags and celebrate the Queen's birthdays, I'm just going to have to say South Africa is the only TRUE independent rugby nation with a credible record that can claim domination of rugby union outside of England. For the rest, it's all wishy-washy, home-born versus colonial-born mumbo-jumbo (no wonder we can't find a decent referee).

And we want our Zeerust Rugby League Challenge Trophy back now, thank you very much. Strewth, it's been 108 years! Feel free to keep the little ones, like the Tri-Nations and Super 14 Trophies. We'll just hang on to the big fat juicy ones, like the Webby!