All teams face each other at least once, with the top four teams in the championship proceeding to the semi-finals. From 2011 to 2014, the semi-finals round was eliminated and the top two teams in the championship automatically qualified for the finals. In 2015, the semi-finals round was reintroduced.
In 2017 the Farah Palmer Cup was split into two divisions with promotion and relegation between the two. The top division is named the Premiership while the bottom is called the Championship. A team will play every team in their division once in the regular season before a semi-final then final for each division. In 2019 Northland joined the competition, causing the Premiership to expand to seven teams and leaving the Championship at six teams.
In 2020 the competition was instead run in two pools split geographically between the north and south of New Zealand. The north pool contains seven teams and the south pool contains six, a single round robin is played in each pool. The top two teams from each pool take part in a crossover semi-finals with the final being held a week later. [3]
In 2021 and 2022, the FPC reverted to its original format with all 13 teams being split into two divisions with a promotion and relegation system. The top division is named the Premiership while the bottom division is named the Championship. A Round-Robin format was also used in the regular season to determine which teams will make the playoffs in the Semi Final's and the Grand Final.
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 in 1976, 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.
The New Zealand women's rugby union team, called the Black Ferns, represents New Zealand in women's international rugby union, which is regarded as the country's national sport. The team has won six out of nine Women's Rugby World Cup tournaments.
The Tasman Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere, a bay at the north end of the South Island in New Zealand. Headquartered in Nelson, TRU is New Zealand's newest provincial union, founded in 2006 with the amalgamation of the existing Marlborough and Nelson Bays sub unions.
The Waikato Rugby Union (WRU) is the official governing body of rugby union in the Waikato area in the North Island of New Zealand. Headquartered in Hamilton, WRU was founded in 1921.
The Heartland Championship competition, known for sponsorship reasons as the Bunnings Warehouse Heartland Championship, is a domestic rugby union competition in New Zealand. It was founded in 2006 as one of two successor competitions to the country's former domestic competition, the National Provincial Championship (NPC). The country's 27 provincial teams were split into two separate competitions. Thirteen of the original teams, plus one merged side created from two other teams, entered the new top-level professional competition, the Air New Zealand Cup. The remaining 12 sides entered the new Heartland Championship, whose teams contest two distinct trophies, both named after famous New Zealand players:
Rugby union in New Zealand is structured into four tiers. The top tier is composed of the national representative teams, with the men's team – known as the All Blacks – and the women's team – known as the Black Ferns, at the top, followed by other representative sides such as the Junior All Blacks and Māori All Blacks. These national sides are administered by the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU). Below this level is Super Rugby, where there are five New Zealand sides, each representing a different region of the country. Below this level is provincial rugby, the third tier – each province has a representative side that plays in either the semi-professional Bunnings Warehouse NPC, or amateur Heartland Championship. These provincial sides are selected of Super Rugby players, and club players from within the province. Club rugby is the fourth and lowest tier, and consists of clubs competing in local leagues organised by a provincial union.
The 2010 ITM Cup season was the fifth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on July 29, when Taranaki hosted Northland. It involved the top fourteen rugby unions of New Zealand. For sponsorship reasons, the competition was known as the ITM Cup and it was the first season under the lead sponsor. The winner of the competition, Canterbury was promoted along with the top seventh placed teams to the Premiership, the bottom seventh placed teams were relegated to the Championship.
The 2011 ITM Cup season was the sixth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on July 14, when Otago hosted North Harbour. It involved the top fourteen rugby unions of New Zealand. For sponsorship reasons, the competition was known as the ITM Cup and it was the second season under the lead sponsor. The winner of the Championship, Hawke's Bay was promoted to the Premiership, the seventh placed Premiership team, Southland was relegated to the Championship.
The 2012 ITM Cup season was the seventh season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on 23 August, when Hawke's Bay hosted Auckland. It involved the top fourteen rugby unions of New Zealand. For sponsorship reasons, the competition was known as the ITM Cup and it was the third season under the lead sponsor. The winner of the Championship, Counties Manukau was promoted to the Premiership, the seventh placed Premiership team, Hawke's Bay was relegated to the Championship.
The 2013 ITM Cup season was the eighth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on 15 August, when Counties Manukau hosted Wellington. It involved the top fourteen rugby unions of New Zealand. For sponsorship reasons, the competition was known as the ITM Cup and it was the fourth season under the lead sponsor. The winner of the Championship, Tasman was promoted to the Premiership, the seventh placed Premiership team, Bay of Plenty was relegated to the Championship.
The 2014 ITM Cup season was the ninth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on August 14, when Taranaki hosted Counties Manukau. It involved the top fourteen rugby unions of New Zealand. For sponsorship reasons, the competition was known as the ITM Cup and it was the fifth season under the lead sponsor. The winner of the Championship, Manawatu was promoted to the Premiership, and the seventh placed Premiership team, Wellington was relegated to the Championship.
The 2015 ITM Cup season was the tenth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on August 13, when Southland hosted Auckland. It involved the top fourteen rugby unions of New Zealand. For sponsorship reasons, the competition was known as the ITM Cup and it was the sixth season under the lead sponsor. The winner of the Championship, Hawke's Bay was promoted to the Premiership, the seventh placed Premiership team, Manawatu was relegated to the Championship.
The 2018 Mitre 10 Cup season was the thirteenth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on August 16, when North Harbour hosted Northland. It involved the top fourteen rugby unions of New Zealand. For sponsorship reasons, the competition was known as the Mitre 10 Cup and it was the third season under the lead sponsor. The winner of the Championship, Waikato was promoted to the Premiership, the seventh placed Premiership team, Taranaki was relegated to the Championship.
The 2019 Mitre 10 Cup season was the fourteenth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on August 8, when Southland hosted Northland. It involved the top fourteen rugby unions of New Zealand. For sponsorship reasons, the competition was known as the Mitre 10 Cup and it was the fourth season under the lead sponsor. The winner of the Championship, Bay of Plenty was promoted to the Premiership, the seventh placed Premiership team, Counties Manukau was relegated to the Championship.
The 2020 Mitre 10 Cup season was the 15th season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on September 11, when North Harbour hosted Canterbury. It involved the top fourteen rugby unions of New Zealand. For sponsorship reasons, the competition was known as the Mitre 10 Cup and it was the fifth season under the lead sponsor. The winner of the Championship, Hawke's Bay was promoted to the Premiership, the seventh placed Premiership team, North Harbour was relegated to the Championship.
The 2020 Farah Palmer Cup season was the 14th season of New Zealand's women's provincial rugby union competition since it changed formats in 2006, having not been held in 2010. The regular season began on 5 September with Waikato hosting a match against Northland. It involved the top thirteen rugby unions of New Zealand. The competition is known as the Farah Palmer Cup after former Black Ferns captain, Farah Palmer and it is the fifth season under this name. To cut down on travel, the teams were split into North and South pools for the 2020 season, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and thus no promotion or relegation was applied.
The 2022 Farah Palmer Cup season is the 16th season of the competition. The regular season ran from 16 July to 28 August, with the playoffs running from 3 to 10 September. Canterbury won their fifth title after defeating Auckland in the Premiership final and Hawke's Bay won their first Championship title after beating Otago 24–20 at the Clutha Showgrounds in Balclutha.
Patricia Amelia Vaka is a New Zealand professional rugby union player and professional boxer.
The 2023 Farah Palmer Cup season is the 17th season of the competition. The regular season ran from 15 July to 27 August, with the playoffs running from 2 to 9 September.
The 2024 Farah Palmer Cup season is the 18th season of the competition. The regular season will run from 9 August to 22 September, with the playoffs running from 14 September to 5 October. Auckland come into the 2024 season as the defending champions after defeating Canterbury in the Premiership final in 2023. Northland will now compete in the Premiership division after winning the Championship division last season.
