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The 1978 season was the third year of the National Provincial Championship (NPC), a provincial rugby union competition in New Zealand. Wellington were the winners of Division 1.
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The 1978 season was the third year of the National Provincial Championship (NPC), a provincial rugby union competition in New Zealand. Wellington were the winners of Division 1.
| Relegated to Division Two |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Wellington | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 172 | 111 | +61 | 16 |
| 2 |  Counties | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 167 | 110 | +57 | 14 |
| 3 |  Canterbury | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 152 | 144 | +8 | 12 |
| 4 |  Auckland | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 123 | 100 | +23 | 12 |
| 5 |  North Auckland | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 129 | 137 | −8 | 12 |
| 6 |  Manawatu | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 141 | 122 | +19 | 11 |
| 7 |  Taranaki | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 156 | 129 | +27 | 10 |
| 8 |  Southland | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 114 | 101 | +13 | 10 |
| 9 |  Otago | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 115 | 164 | −49 | 7 |
| 10 |  South Canterbury | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 92 | 150 | −58 | 5 |
| 11 |  Hawke's Bay | 10 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 68 | 161 | −93 | 1 |
As the bottom-placed North Island team, Hawkes Bay were automatically relegated.
The winners of Division Two North, Bay of Plenty, were automatically promoted to Division One.
South Canterbury faced Division Two South winner Marlborough. The match was tied 10–10, which meant South Canterbury remained in Division One.
Division 2 North (in order of final placing)
Bay of Plenty 
Waikato 
Wanganui 
Poverty Bay 
Horowhenua 
Thames Valley 
Wairarapa Bush 
King Country 
East Coast Division 2 South (in order of final placing)
Manawatu began the season as holders having defeated Auckland in the 1976 season. In 1978, they defended the shield in four matches, extending their tenure to 13 successful defences before being defeated by North Auckland. North Auckland chose not to accept any more challenges in 1978 and thus held the shield for the summer.
Manawatu
The National Provincial Championship, often simply called the NPC, is an annual round-robin rugby union competition in men's domestic New Zealand rugby. First played during the 2006 season, it is the second highest level of competition in New Zealand alongside the Ranfurly Shield. It is organised by New Zealand Rugby (NZR) and since 2021, it has been known as the Bunnings NPC after its headline sponsor. A concurrent women's tournament is also held, the Farah Palmer Cup.
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The Canterbury Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in a portion of the Canterbury region of New Zealand. Its colours are red and black in a hooped design. The CRFU govern the running of the Canterbury representative team which have won New Zealand's first-tier domestic competition National Provincial Championship 14 times including a "six-peat" from 2008 to 2013 – with five in the National Provincial Championship, two in the Air New Zealand Cup, five in the ITM Cup and one in the Mitre 10 Cup. Their most recent victory was the 2017 Mitre 10 Cup. Canterbury also acts as a primary feeder to the Crusaders, who play in the Super Rugby competition.
The following lists events that happened during 1960 in New Zealand.
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The National Provincial Championship, often simply called the NPC, was an annual promotion and relegation rugby union competition in men's domestic New Zealand rugby. First played during the 1976 season, it was the highest level of competition in New Zealand until Super Rugby launched in 1996. It was organised by New Zealand Rugby (NZR) and ceased following the 2005 season.
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The 1979 season was the fourth year of the National Provincial Championship (NPC), a provincial rugby union competition in New Zealand. Counties were the winners of Division 1.
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George Gray Cook was a rugby union and rugby league player. Cook played for Horowhenua at rugby union, before moving to Wellington and playing for Wellington before switching codes. He played 2 matches for the New Zealand rugby league team in 1912–13. In so doing he became the 86th player to represent New Zealand at rugby league. He also played rugby league for Wellington, before moving to Auckland and playing for Newton Rangers, Otahuhu and Auckland. He enlisted in the army for World War I and died in France in 1918.
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