National Provincial Championship (2006–present)
Current season or competition: 2023 Bunnings NPC | |
Sport | Rugby union |
---|---|
Formerly known as | Air New Zealand Cup ITM Cup Mitre 10 Cup |
Inaugural season | 2006 |
Country | New Zealand (NZR) |
Holders | Taranaki (2023) |
Most titles | Canterbury (9 titles) |
Website | provincial.rugby |
Related competitions |
Seasons |
---|
The National Provincial Championship, often simply called the NPC, is an annual
Following the 2005 season the league was restructured into a two-tier competition. The National Provincial Championship would include professional and semi-professional players, and consist of the top fourteen financial and best performing regional teams. For sponsorship reasons it was rebranded as the Air New Zealand Cup. The remaining teams would form a breakaway amateur competition known as the Heartland Championship.[1]
Twenty-nine teams have competed since the inception of the competition in 1976. Auckland are historically the most successful union with seventeen titles and Canterbury is the most successful team during the professional-era, having won nine from eleven finals. Eight other teams have won titles from both periods: Wellington (5), Waikato (3), Otago (2), Taranaki (2), Tasman (2), Bay of Plenty (1), Counties Manukau (1) and Manawatu (1).
History
Origins and foundation
The first form of competition came in 1904 with the introduction of the Ranfurly Shield as a challenge trophy. The fixtures were planned each year in
In light of the fact that were so many competitions throughout New Zealand, a national tournament was needed and demanded. In 1972, Barry Smith proposed an inter-provincial competition to the
Creation of Air New Zealand Cup
The inaugural 2006 season was played by 14 teams over 13 weeks from 28 July until the grand final on 21 October. The inaugural format saw the season split into two rounds. In round one teams split into two pools and played everybody in their pool as well as a bye week. In round two the top three teams from each pool went into the top six, which faced every team they did not play in round one Every other team was split into either Repêchage A and Repêchage B, and the winners of each repêchage filled the two remaining spots for the quarter-finals with the top six. The quarter-finals were followed by semifinals and a grand final. The new competition saw the introduction of four teams elevated from Division two of the 2005 NPC;
The 2007 season saw the NZRU dumping the pool system. The new format opened with a 10-week round-robin where each team missed out on playing three of the other teams. The finals format was not changed from 2006, with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and a grand final. The champion was
Canterbury dominance
The 2008 champion was
2009 saw more changes in the format. The season, which ran from 30 July to 25 October, was changed to a straight
The 2010 ITM Cup was the 34th provincial rugby union competition, the fifth since the competition reconstruction in 2006 and the first under the new sponsor of ITM. It ran for 15 weeks, with 13 used for a round robin and 2 for the finals, from 29 July to 5 November.
Changes in 2011 saw the 14 teams split into two divisions, with the top seven playing in the Premiership, the rest in the Championship. The two divisions played each other, though their ten-game round-robin season saw each team playing only four games per year against teams in the 'other' division. Other key principles introduced were that the competitions must include Super Rugby players, have a stand-alone window, feature a full round-robin and play-offs, have promotion/relegation, guarantee four and five home games per team, be completed within a 10- to 12-week window and conclude by the end of October.
In December 2015, Mitre 10 was announced as the new sponsor of all of New Zealand's major domestic rugby union competitions effective with the 2016 season. This included the top-level men's competition, formerly known as the ITM Cup; the second-level men's Heartland Championship, most recently sponsored by Pink Batts; the Women's Provincial Championship; and the Jock Hobbs Memorial National U19 tournament. This deal ran through to the 2020 season and was not renewed.[7]
Recent years
In 2021,
Teams
The fourteen provincial unions that have participated in the current National Provincial Championship since its founding in 2006 are listed below. Ten teams are situated in the North Island and four teams in the South Island.[10]
The NPC, which comes after Super Rugby and international rugby, constitutes the "third tier" of rugby union in New Zealand. Below this tier are numerous club competitions, which are organised by each provincial union.
With the creation of two distinct provincial competitions in 2006, thirteen teams, together with the newly established Tasman Rugby Union, remained in the newly restructured competition. The remainder formed an amateur competition called the Heartland Championship. The teams who were chosen to stay were reorganised to play professionally. In order for the area to field a squad for the 2006 season, Tasman was established in December 2005. This became the newest provincial union in New Zealand, having been created through the amalgamation of Nelson Bays and Marlborough Rugby Union.[11]
Another one of New Zealand's newest provincial rugby unions, North Harbour was founded in 1985, which was followed by Tasman. After North Harbour being promoted to the first division in 1987, they entered the National Provincial Championship by taking first place in the third division in its inaugural year.[12] While the former competition received further additional participants such as the Central Vikings, another two unions underwent name changes throughout its time. In 1994, the 1920-founded North Auckland Rugby Union changed its name to Northland.[13] South Auckland Counties was established with full union status in 1955. The following year, the name was abbreviated to Counties, and in 1996 the organisation changed its name to Counties Manukau.[14]
Following a review conducted after the 2007 season, New Zealand Rugby declared Northland and Tasman might be removed from the competition due to widespread support for a smaller Air New Zealand Cup. However, after members unanimously decided to keep the fourteen-team structure, both teams appealed the decision to be eliminated and won their case. But their existence at top level was conditional upon them meeting further requirements. The relationship between the Nelson and Marlborough unions, which broke down the previous year, needed to be repaired and kept together by Tasman. Additionally, they had to persuade the NZR of their financial viability and begin making payments on a loan they had received from the organisation worth NZD 340,000. Furthermore, Northland had to make governance changes that include a new chief executive and the current board had to resign, seeking a re-election.[15]
- a One of the two home fields used by the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union is the Tauranga Domain. It serves as both their main stadium and training facility, with the Rotorua International Stadium serving as a temporary location for the occasional fixture.[16]
- b Home matches for the Tasman Rugby Union alternate between Blenheim and Nelson. Their main training facility is located at Trafalgar Park, where their headquarters is located in the vicinity. An alternative host for games is Lansdowne Park.[17]
Structure and finances
Format
In December 2005, the final pools and draws for the inaugural Air New Zealand Cup were made. The competition was established as a result of a thorough competitions review conducted by the
The New Zealand Rugby Union conducted a meeting after the inaugural season to assess how well the tournament went in its first year and to seek formal feedback from its stakeholders and the provincial unions. The meeting's conclusion confirmed that the fourteen teams currently playing would remain for the 2007 season.[19] Later, it was revealed that the format would be altered, with seven matches being played each week during a ten-week modified round robin, followed by quarterfinals, semifinals, and final matches. The modified round robin didn't have all teams playing one another. This was based on a team's performance in competition during the previous season. A formula was established to determine which teams did not play each other.[20]
Sponsorship
The competition was known as the Air New Zealand Cup from 2006 to 2009. Air New Zealand, the national carrier of New Zealand, held the naming rights during that time. It was announced in March 2010 that the building suppliers' cooperative ITM, which is owned by New Zealand, would sponsor the tournament from 2010 to 2012. Air New Zealand opted to give up their sponsorship rights in order to concentrate their efforts on helping the New Zealand national men's team.[21]
ITM continued owning sponsorship naming rights until another bidder beat them for the
New Zealand owned home improvement and garden retailer, Mitre 10 took over sponsorship in 2016 after they were announced the new title sponsor for the national domestic rugby union competition. With the inclusion of the Farah Palmer Cup, and support of the Jock Hobbs Memorial National under-19 tournament, Mitre 10 became the first sponsor of all major fifteens domestic rugby competitions in New Zealand.[23]
In March 2024, the NPC signed a 4 year sponsorship deal with insurance firm Gallagher as an "official national partner" which sees their logo displayed on team jerseys, in stadiums, and during televised matches.[25]
Salary cap
The preliminary determination on a proposed
The Commerce Commission was considering overturning its ruling that allowed the New Zealand Rugby Union to impose player movement restrictions and a salary cap. The NZRU modified its employment policies between the 2006 and 2011 seasons, classifying all players as employees rather than independent contractors. Since all of the professional athletes were employed, the Commerce Act did not apply, and there was no violation of the Act's anti-competitive provisions. As a result, the Commission thought about overturning its judgement.[28]
Information about player salaries and the salary limit was made public in 2015. It was revealed that no matter if a player participates in a single game or not, the minimum worth of any contract is NZD 18,000, and that sum counts towards the salary cap. No union can spend more than a little over one million on salaries. Any individual contract cannot be worth more than NZD 55,000 per season. The NZRU pays provincial unions $50,000 for each contracted New Zealand international they have on file that participates in a World Cup. The union is required to reimburse the NZRU a pro rata sum if that player becomes available for any reason in order to have access to that athlete. Internationals who are unable to play because of test obligations are not subject to the salary cap.[29]
Champions
The winner of the Bunnings NPC trophy, also known as the Rugby Cup from the
Prior to the tournament undergoing a redesign in 2006, the previous competition was split into three divisions, with division one being acknowledged and recognised as the champion. The promotion and relegation structure was reintroduced in 2011 until disbanding after the 2021 season.[30] These divisions were known as the Premiership and Championship. The winner of the Premiership was crowned the competition's champion, whereas the winner of the Championship was elevated to the Premiership in order to compete for the title. Nine teams were promoted over this time. Bay of Plenty, Counties Manukau, Manawatu, North Harbour, Taranaki, Tasman, Waikato, and Wellington had once all received promotion, whereas Hawke's Bay had been promoted on three different occasions.
With nine titles, Canterbury leads all other teams in final victories; Auckland, Tasman, Taranaki and Waikato each have two; Wellington has one. The most final appearances of eleven and most consecutive appearances with six in a row from 2008 to 2013 belong to Canterbury. From 2006 to 2009, Wellington was the only other team to make at least four straight appearances. Wellington has also lost a record number of six finals compared to Tasman's four, Auckland's three, Waikato's two, and Canterbury's two. The only union with a flawless record is Taranaki, which won their two finals appearance in 2014 and 2023.
Finals appearances by union
In the sortable table below, teams are ordered first by number of appearances, then by number of wins, and finally by season of first appearance.
Team | Total | First | Latest | Won | Lost | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Canterbury | 11 | 2008 | 2022 | 9 | 2 | 81.82 |
Wellington | 7 | 2006 | 2022 | 1 | 6 | 14.29 |
Tasman | 6 | 2014 | 2021 | 2 | 4 | 33.33 |
Auckland | 5 | 2007 | 2020 | 2 | 3 | 40.00 |
Waikato | 4 | 2006 | 2021 | 2 | 2 | 50.00 |
Taranaki | 2 | 2014 | 2023 | 2 | 0 | 100.00 |
Hawke's Bay | 1 | 2023 | 2023 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
Second-tier champions
For the 2011 season, three midweek games were agreed upon by all provincial teams in a one-off arrangement to accommodate an expanded Super 15 and the Rugby World Cup. The entire competition would be played over eight weeks, reduced from twelve. The final was held the week before the World Cup began; there were no semifinals. This was necessary because, according to IRB regulations, the World Cup host was required to cease all domestic rugby action a fortnight or more before the beginning of the competition in order to give all venues enough time to display their sponsors' logos.[49] The brand-new two division format was introduced at this time. Those placed from first to seventh made up the Premiership after the 2010 ITM Cup, and teams ranked eighth to fourteenth made up the Championship. Each team would play four crossover games in addition to every other team in their division.[50]
The Premiership and Championship division structures were removed after the 2021 season, returning all fourteen teams to compete for a single title. This was partly because teams had requested a change to the current structure and desired that every side have the opportunity to compete for the championship. Andrew Thompson, the chairman of the Taranaki Rugby Football Union board, collaborated with the other provinces to provide a new format to the NZR.[51]
Only two teams, Auckland and Canterbury, haven't competed in the Championship tier. Northland and Otago, on the other hand, have both participated in the Championship each year. Only one side, Hawke's Bay, has won the Championship more than once, their 2020 victory adding to their 2011 and 2015 successes. Of the twelve teams that have participated in the Championship, there have been eight different winners. With the exception of Taranaki in its final season, no Championship team has ever won each of its four crossover matches in a single season.[52]
Year | Champion | Winning coach | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
2011 | Hawke's Bay | Peter Russell | [53] |
2012 | Counties Manukau | Tana Umaga | [54] |
2013 | Tasman | Kieran Keane | [55] |
2014 | Manawatu | Jason O'Halloran | [56] |
2015 | Hawke's Bay | Craig Philpott | [57] |
2016 | North Harbour | Steve Jackson | [58] |
2017 | Wellington | Chris Gibbes | [59] |
2018 | Waikato | Jono Gibbes | [60] |
2019 | Bay of Plenty | Clayton McMillan | [61] |
2020 | Hawke's Bay | Mark Ozich | [62] |
2021 | Taranaki | Neil Barnes | [63] |
Honours
The inaugural trophy was first displayed at the tournaments' launch at
Ranfurly Shield
The
Inter-union trophies
Player awards
The Duane Monkley medal, named in honour of the legendary
Season | Player | Position | Team | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
2006 | Richard Kahui | Centre
|
Waikato | [85] |
2007 | Isa Nacewa | Centre
|
Auckland | [86] |
2008 | Jamie Mackintosh | Prop
|
Southland | [87] |
2009 | Mike Delany | First five-eighth
|
Bay of Plenty | [88] |
2010 | Robbie Fruean | Centre
|
Canterbury | [89] |
2011 | Aaron Cruden | First five-eighth
|
Manawatu | [90] |
2012 | Robbie Fruean | Centre
|
Canterbury | [91] |
2013 | Andrew Ellis | Half-back
|
Canterbury | [92] |
2014 | Seta Tamanivalu | Centre
|
Taranaki | [93] |
2015 | George Moala | Centre
|
Auckland | [94] |
2016 | Jordie Barrett | Fullback
|
Canterbury | [95] |
2017 | Jack Goodhue | Centre
|
Northland | [96] |
2018 | Luke Romano | Lock
|
Canterbury | [97] |
2019 | Chase Tiatia | Fullback
|
Bay of Plenty | [98] |
2020 | Folau Fakatava | Half-back
|
Hawke's Bay | [99] |
2021 | Stephen Perofeta | Fullback
|
Taranaki | [100] |
2022 | Bryn Gatland | First five-eighth
|
North Harbour | [101] |
See also
- Rugby union in New Zealand
- History of rugby union in New Zealand
- List of New Zealand rugby union teams
- Heartland Championship
- National Provincial Championship
- Ranfurly Shield
- Farah Palmer Cup
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External links
- Official website (archived)
- National Provincial Championship news at Prime Rugby (archived)
- National Provincial Championship news at Rugby Week
- National Provincial Championship news at Rugby Week (archived)
- National Provincial Championship overview at All Blacks