Air New Zealand Cup

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Air New Zealand Cup
Sport	Rugby union
Founded	2006
No. of teams	14
Country(ies)	New Zealand
Most recent champion(s)	Auckland

The Air New Zealand Cup (also referred to by its previous name of the National Provincial Championship, its abbreviation of NPC, or for sponsorship reasons as the Air New Zealand NPC) is New Zealand's professional domestic rugby union competition. It was founded in 2006 with 14 teams, after the NPC was split into two separate competitions. The other 12 provincial teams from the NPC now compete in the amateur Heartland Championship. New Zealand also has five teams in Super 14, an elite competition which also involves sides from Australia and South Africa.

[edit] Format

The Air New Zealand Cup is held annually. 14 provincial teams participate, and they each play ten round-robin games; this means that each side misses playing three others. Table points are earned for winning, drawing, losing by seven points or less, and by scoring four or more tries (see rugby union bonus points system). The top eight teams at the end of the round robin then play a quarter-finals round, followed by semi-finals, and then the final.^[1]

[edit] History

The 2006 reorganisation of New Zealand provincial rugby replaced the NPC's former three-division setup with two distinct competitions. This differs from the original two-division setup used in the NPC from its creation in 1976 through 1984 in two key ways. First, the two current competitions are nationwide, while the original NPC Division Two was split on a North Island/South Island basis. Second, the NZRU ruled that there would initially be no promotion or relegation between the Air New Zealand Cup and Heartland Championship—a feature that had always been present in the former NPC.

Also, the number of teams was reduced to 26, as the Marlborough and Nelson Bays unions merged to form the new Tasman union.

The 2006 expansion of the Super 12 and Tri Nations Series had a major effect on the Air New Zealand Cup. This expansion created the Super 14, adding two extra fixtures to that competition, and also added two more Tri-Nations matches for the All Blacks, at least in non-World Cup years. Because of these changes, it was intended for players in the All Blacks selection pool to make only limited appearances in the Air New Zealand Cup.

[edit] Air New Zealand Cup teams

A map of NZRU provincial boundaries, including provinces competing in both the Air New Zealand Cup and Heartland Chanpionship

The following teams contest the Air New Zealand Cup:

	Province	Super Rugby Partner	Stadium	Championships*	2007 Placing
	Auckland	Blues	Eden Park, Auckland	16	1
	Bay of Plenty	Chiefs	Blue Chip Stadium, Tauranga Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua	1	13
	Canterbury	Crusaders	AMI Stadium, Christchurch	5	3
	Counties Manukau	Chiefs	Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland	1 [2]	14
	Hawke's Bay	Hurricanes	McLean Park, Napier	0	4
	Manawatu	Hurricanes	FMG Stadium, Palmerston North	1	12
	North Harbour	Blues	North Harbour Stadium, Albany	0	9
	Northland	Blues	ITM Stadium, Whangarei	0	10
	Otago	Highlanders	Carisbrook, Dunedin	2	7
	Southland	Highlanders	Rugby Park Stadium, Invercargill	0	6
	Taranaki	Hurricanes	Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth	0	8
	Tasman	Crusaders	Trafalgar Park, Nelson Lansdowne Park, Blenheim	0	11
	Waikato	Chiefs	Waikato Stadium, Hamilton	2	5
	Wellington	Hurricanes	Westpac Stadium, Wellington	4	2

• Includes NPC First Division championships

[edit] Air New Zealand Cup winners

[edit] See also

• 2006 Air New Zealand Cup
• 2007 Air New Zealand Cup
• Heartland Championship
• List of attendance figures at domestic professional sports leagues — the Air New Zealand Cup and NPC in a worldwide context
• National Provincial Championship
• Ranfurly Shield

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Air New Zealand Cup official website
• Air New Zealand Cup News from Prime Rugby
• ANZ Rugby News
• NPC Rugby News
• Summary of the 2006 Air New Zealand Cup format at allblacks.com (PDF)
• Virtual Air NZ Cup Game