- Structure of rugby union in New Zealand
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The New Zealand rugby union league structure is relatively complex in comparison with other major National Rugby Unions such as England. The major Nationwide domestic leagues in New Zealand, such as the ITM Cup and Heartland Championship, are competed for by Provincial representative sides rather than by club teams and these provincial competitions are always played at the conclusion of the club season. These provincial competitions are colloquially known as the National Provincial Championship but the official name of the National competitions have been altered since 2006 and are currently called the ITM Cup and the Heartland Championship.
In New Zealand there are 26 Provincial Unions and each conducts their own club competitions within their own boundaries. Within the 26 Provinces there are over 520 clubs who are affiliated both to the NZRU and to their respective Provincial Rugby Union. The number of clubs in each Provincial Union varies from 6 for the smallest Unions such as West Coast to more than 30 for bigger Unions such as Canterbury and Auckland.
Contents
Level 1: ITM Cup Premiership Division
The ITM Cup, renamed from the Air New Zealand Cup after a 2010 sponsorship change, is fully professional and the competition usually runs from late July or early August to late October. From 2006, when the ITM Cup replaced NPC division one, through to 2010, the competition contained 14 teams in a nationwide tournament. Starting with the 2011 season, the ITM Cup was split into two divisions, each with seven teams—the top-level Premiership and second-level Championship. Each division remains a nationwide tournament. With the split into two divisions, promotion and relegation was reintroduced into the top level; the bottom side in the Premiership is relegated to the Championship and replaced by that division's champion.
The majority of teams in both divisions of the ITM Cup already participated in the NPC First Division but four were promoted from the NPC 2nd Division in 2006.
The current ITM Cup Premiership teams, as of the upcoming 2012 season, are:
- Auckland
- Bay of Plenty
- Canterbury
- Hawke's Bay (formerly NPC 2nd division)
- Taranaki
- Waikato
- Wellington
Level 2: ITM Cup Championship Division
The ITM Cup Championship was created in 2011 by splitting the ITM Cup. Like the Premiership, it is a fully professional competition. As noted above, the champion of this division is automatically promoted to the following season's Premiership.
The current ITM Cup Championship teams, as of the upcoming 2012 season, are:
- Counties Manukau (formerly NPC 2nd division)
- Manawatu (formerly NPC 2nd division)
- North Harbour
- Northland
- Otago
- Southland
- Tasman (amalgamation of Marlborough and Nelson Bays both of which were in NPC 2nd division )
Level 3: Heartland Championship
The Heartland Championship is not fully professional. Like both divisions of the ITM Cup, the Heartland Championship is also a nationwide competition. The Championship generally runs from late August to late October. The Heartland Championship contains 12 teams, 8 of which came from the NPC 3rd division in 2006 with the other already in the NPC 2nd division. The 12 teams in the Heartland Championship are:
- Buller
- East Coast (formerly NPC 2nd division)
- Horowhenua Kapiti
- King Country
- Mid Canterbury
- North Otago (formerly NPC 2nd division)
- Poverty Bay (formerly NPC 2nd division)
- South Canterbury
- Thames Valley
- Wairarapa Bush
- Wanganui (formerly NPC 2nd division)
- West Coast
Level 4 and below: Club Rugby/Regional Leagues
The club season in New Zealand usually runs from March until late July or early August in any given year and clubs compete on a regional basis. The club sides play in intra provincial competitions against other club teams from within their own provincial Unions boundaries and this is the highest level of club play possible. There is no National club league, or nationwide competition for club rugby.
Most of the 26 Provincial Unions will have a number of divisions of club rugby within their province, particularly larger Unions who may have as many as 6 or 7 tiers of club leagues. Some smaller Unions only have 1 division however. Most Provincial Unions will have promotion and relegation between their divisions but playing premier division one club rugby in any provincial Union is the highest level of club rugby in New Zealand. In order to play in the Nationwide Representative competitions, The ITM Cup and Heartland Championship players must be selected, usually due to their form during the club season which precedes the Provincial representative season. Therefore a representative player will play both for a club and a Provincial team in the same season.
The System
Level
League(s)/Division(s)
1
ITM Cup Premiership Division
(Formerly NPC Division One and Air New Zealand Cup)
7 provincial teams2
ITM Cup Championship Division
(Formerly NPC Division One and Air New Zealand Cup)
7 provincial teams3
Heartland Championship
(Formerly NPC Division Two)
12 provincial teams4
Club Rugby
(26 Provincial based Leagues)
Number of teams in each league varies in each provinceAuckland Premier
Bay of Plenty Premier
Buller Senior
Canterbury Metro division one
Canterbury Country division one
Counties Manukau Premier
East Coast Senior
Horowhenua Kapiti Senior A
King Country Senior ACategories:- Rugby union leagues in New Zealand
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