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The National Provincial Championship (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 Bunnings, its naming rights sponsor. A concurrent women's tournament is also held, the Farah Palmer Cup.
The North Harbour Rugby Union (NHRU), commonly known as North Harbour or simply Harbour, is the governing body of rugby union that encompasses a wide geographical area north of Auckland that includes North Shore City, Rodney District, the Hibiscus Coast and part of Waitakere City. There are 12 rugby clubs from Mahurangi RFC, based in Warkworth, Rodney District, in the north through to Massey the southernmost area of the union.
The 2006 Air New Zealand Cup was the first season of a new structure for the National Provincial Championship, contested by teams from New Zealand. The season ran from July to October 2006. At the end of the regular season, the top six teams were joined in the quarter-finals by the top team from each of the repechage routes, with the winners going through to the semi-finals. The winner of each semi-final qualified for the final, which was contested between Waikato and Wellington; Waikato won 37–31 to claim the first Air New Zealand Cup title.
Rugby union is a popular team sport on the island of Ireland, organised on an all-Ireland basis, including players and teams from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Its governing body, the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), was founded in 1875, making it the third oldest rugby union in the world after the RFU (England) and the SRU (Scotland), which were both founded in 1871.
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Eric Elwood is a former Irish rugby union player from Galway. He played as a fly-half. He played for Ireland internationally, and provincially for Connacht. He was on the Coláiste Iognáid team that won the Connacht Schools Rugby Senior Cup in 1985. He split his club career between hometown club Galwegians and Lansdowne in Dublin, starting and finishing his career in Galway, with a stint playing with Lansdowne in the 1990s. Elwood earned 35 caps for Ireland, scoring 296 points for the side. He played 168 games for Connacht scoring 1,152 points. He was the first Connacht player to make 100 appearances for the side, while his points tally remained a record until being surpassed by Jack Carty in 2023. Elwood also made a single appearance for international invitational side the Barbarians before being capped by Ireland.
Dave Gannon is a rugby union player from Ireland. He primarily plays as a lock, but has also played in the back row. Gannon currently plays with Rugby United New York (RUNY) in Major League Rugby (MLR).
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Fua Leiofi Bundellu Aki is a New Zealand-born Irish professional rugby union player who plays as a centre for United Rugby Championship club Connacht. Born in New Zealand, he represents Ireland at international level after qualifying on residency grounds. He became an Irish citizen in 2024, and maintains dual citizenship. He has one cap for the British and Irish Lions.
Niyi Adeolokun is an Irish rugby union player. He primarily plays as a winger. Currently unattached he most recently played for Bristol Bears & previously for Connacht. Adeolokun joined Connacht in 2014 from Trinity College. During his time with Dublin University, Adeolokun also played rugby sevens for the club.
Finlay Harry Bealham is a professional rugby union player who plays as a prop for United Rugby Championship club Connacht. Born in Australia, he represents Ireland at international level after qualifying on ancestry grounds.
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The Farah Palmer Cup, is the highest level domestic women's rugby union competition in New Zealand and is named after the former Black Ferns captain, Farah Palmer. It is held annually from early July to mid September and managed by the New Zealand Rugby Union, or NZRU. The competition was first introduced in 1999, with a total of fourteen teams competing initially. The number of teams increased to eighteen in the year 2000, but has decreased to as few as six teams, with 13 currently featured. Canterbury are the current holders of the JJ Stewart Trophy, the women's equivalent of the Ranfurly Shield. The Farah Palmer Cup is an amateur competition; players are not paid salaries and hold jobs outside of rugby.
Stacey Ili is a professional rugby union player, who most recently played as a midfield back for Hawke's Bay in New Zealand's domestic National Provincial Championship competition. From 2021 to 2023 he also played for the Rebels in Super Rugby. He was born and raised in New Zealand, but has represented Manu Samoa internationally, for which he is eligible due to his Samoan heritage.
North Harbour are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Albany, New Zealand. Established in 1985, they play in the National Provincial Championship. They play their home games at North Harbour Stadium in Albany. The team is affiliated with the Blues Super Rugby franchise and represents the area north of Auckland. Their home playing colours are white black and maroon.
The 2021 Bunnings NPC season was the 16th season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on August 6, when Manawatu hosted Counties Manukau. It involved the top 14 rugby unions in New Zealand. For sponsorship reasons, the competition was known as the Bunnings NPC and it was the first season under the lead sponsor and to carry the NPC moniker since 2005. The winner of the Championship, Taranaki wasn't promoted to the Premiership due to a format restructure earlier in the season. Despite finishing seventh in the Premiership, Auckland was not relegated to the Championship, having only played two matches due to a resurgence of COVID-19 in the Auckland Region.
References
- ↑ "Josh Rowland Player matches 2015". StatBunker. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
- ↑ "Connacht's latest Kiwi recruit is a former teammate of Bundee Aki". SportsJOE.ie. 14 July 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
- ↑ "National sevens: Counties Manukau defeat North Harbour for emphatic title win". Stuff.co.nz . 17 January 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
- 1 2 "Connacht sign Ireland sevens back Josh Rowland". RTÉ Sport . 14 July 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
- ↑ "Trophy Win Sees Ireland Qualify For European Grand Prix Series". Irish Rugby . 3 July 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2016.