Air New Zealand Cup

All you want to know about Air New Zealand Cup

For the history of New Zealand provincial competition before 2006, see National Provincial Championship.

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 to 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.

On August 11, 2008 the New Zealand Rugby Union initially announced that Tasman and Northland would both be relegated from the Air New Zealand Cup after the completion of the 2008 season. Both teams failed to meet criteria which included financial stability, population, player training and development, playing history, and administration. This decision was reversed towards the end of the 2008 season, with Tasman and Northland remaining in the competition for two more years [2]

Air New Zealand Cup teams

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

The following teams contest the Air New Zealand Cup:

Province Super Rugby Partner Stadium Championships* 2008 Placing
Auckland Blues Eden Park, Auckland 16 11
Bay of Plenty Chiefs Baypark Stadium, Tauranga
Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua		 1 4
Canterbury Crusaders AMI Stadium, Christchurch 5 2
Counties Manukau Chiefs Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland 1 [3] 13
Hawke's Bay Hurricanes McLean Park, Napier 0 3
Manawatu Hurricanes FMG Stadium, Palmerston North 1 14
North Harbour Blues North Harbour Stadium, Albany 0 12
Northland Blues ITM Stadium, Whangarei 0 9
Otago Highlanders Carisbrook, Dunedin 2 10
Southland Highlanders Rugby Park Stadium, Invercargill 0 5
Taranaki Hurricanes Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth 0 8
Tasman Crusaders Trafalgar Park, Nelson
Lansdowne Park, Blenheim		 0 7
Waikato Chiefs Waikato Stadium, Hamilton 2 6
Wellington Hurricanes Westpac Stadium, Wellington 4 1
  • Includes NPC First Division championships

Air New Zealand Cup winners

Year Champion Score Runner up Stadium Attendance
2006 Waikato 37–31 Wellington Waikato Stadium 28,000
2007 Auckland 23–14 Wellington
2008 Canterbury 7–6 Wellington Westpac Stadium 21,237

See also

References

  1. ^ "Welcome to SuperBru Air NZ Cup!". superbru.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-31.
  2. ^ http://www.stuff.co.nz/4707075a1823.html
  3. ^ As Counties, in 1979

External links

v • d • e
Air New Zealand Cup
Teams
Seasons
2006 • 2007 • 2008
Predecessor
v • d • e
Rugby union in New Zealand
Governing body
National teams
Competitions
Super Rugby • Air New Zealand Cup • Heartland Championship • Ranfurly Shield • Hanan Shield
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_New_Zealand_Cup"

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