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.
New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it became an affiliate to the International Rugby Football Board, now known as World Rugby, the governing body of rugby union for the world. It dropped the word "Football" from its name in 2006. The brand name New Zealand Rugby was adopted in 2013. Officially, it is an incorporated society with the name New Zealand Rugby Union Incorporated.
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.
David Gallaher was an Irish-born New Zealand rugby union footballer best remembered as the captain of the "Original All Blacks"—the 1905–06 New Zealand national team, the first representative New Zealand side to tour the British Isles. Under Gallaher's leadership the Originals won 34 out of 35 matches over the course of tour, including legs in France and North America; the New Zealanders scored 976 points and conceded only 59. Before returning home he co-wrote the classic rugby text The Complete Rugby Footballer with his vice-captain Billy Stead. Gallaher retired as a player after the 1905–06 tour and took up coaching and selecting; he was a selector for both Auckland and New Zealand for most of the following decade.
Rugby union is the unofficial national sport of New Zealand. The men's national team, the All Blacks, is currently ranked the third best national rugby team in the world. The sport has been known in New Zealand since 1870. The top domestic competitions are the professional National Provincial Championship and amateur Heartland Championship, and above them Super Rugby, in which New Zealand has five franchises. The country co-hosted and won the first ever Rugby World Cup in 1987, and hosted and won the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The men have won three World Cups, tied with South Africa, the most of any other country. They are the current World Champions for Women's rugby union and in rugby sevens for men and women.
The Otago Rugby Football Union is the official governing body of rugby union for the Otago region of New Zealand. The union is based in the city of Dunedin, and its home ground is Forsyth Barr Stadium. The top representative team competes in the ITM Cup, New Zealand's top provincial competition. The union was to have been liquidated in March 2012. However a deal involving the Dunedin City Council allowed it to keep operating. Otago have won the Ranfurly Shield on seven occasions. They were the National provincial championship winners in 1991 and 1998. They have a proud record playing international teams, having defeated South Africa and the British and Irish Lions.
Paul Lane Penn was a New Zealand rugby union player, coach and administrator. A wing, Penn played for Taranaki and Wairarapa at provincial level, and later became coach of Wairarapa-Bush. He was an All Black selector from 1988 to 1991, and served as president of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union from 2001 to 2003.
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.
Taranaki Rugby, previously the Taranaki Rugby Football Union, is the governing body for rugby union in Taranaki, New Zealand; Taranaki is a region of New Zealand that covers areas in the districts of New Plymouth and South Taranaki. Established in 1889, they represent the Mitre 10 Cup side, Taranaki Bulls, and Farah Palmer Cup side, Taranaki Whio. It is also affiliated with the Chiefs Super Rugby franchise. Their home playing colours are amber and black and they play their home games at TET Stadium & Events Centre in Inglewood.
Charles Kesteven Saxton was a New Zealand first-class rugby union and cricket player, and a rugby union coach and administrator.
The Cavaliers was an unofficial New Zealand rugby union team which toured South Africa in 1986. Because of the Apartheid policies of the South African government, the official New Zealand Rugby Union tour scheduled for 1985 was cancelled, and the Cavaliers tour was very controversial in New Zealand.
Thomas Rangiwahia Ellison, also known as Tom Ellison or Tamati Erihana was a New Zealand rugby union player and lawyer. He led the first New Zealand representative rugby team organised by the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU) on their 1893 tour of Australia. Ellison also played in the 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team on their epic 107-match tour, scoring 113 points, and 43 tries with the side.
The 1972–73 New Zealand rugby union tour of the Britain, Ireland, France and North America was a collection of rugby union test match games undertaken by the All Blacks against England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France. The tour also took in several matches against British, Irish, French and North American club, county and invitational teams. This was the seventh tour of the Northern Hemisphere. It was also the first time the All Blacks lost to the invitational Barbarians team.
Kurt Baker is a New Zealand rugby union player, who currently plays as a fullback or wing for Hawke's Bay in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup competition. He is a New Zealand Sevens representative, who has played in 43 World Rugby Sevens Series tournaments and has won two Rugby Sevens World Cup titles and two Gold medals at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and 2018 Commonwealth Games. He has also played for the Māori All Blacks.
Kelly Brazier is a New Zealand rugby union player. She plays flyhalf, centre or fullback in New Zealand, Canterbury and Canadian club Edmonton Clansmen RFC.
John Joseph Stewart, generally known as JJ Stewart, was a New Zealand rugby union coach and administrator, and secondary school teacher. His obituary said that in 1973 when he took over as All Blacks coach, he was the right man at the right time for a team that was scarred and in crisis from a home loss to the British Lions in 1971, a controversial British tour in 1972–73 and a cancelled Springbok tour in 1973.
Davida White is a former female rugby union player. She represented New Zealand and Auckland. She was a member of the 1998 Women's Rugby World Cup winning squad. White captained Auckland to victory in the 2000 National Provincial Championship.
Peter Standish Burke was a New Zealand rugby union player, coach and administrator. A lock and number 8, Burke represented Bay of Plenty, Auckland and Taranaki at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, in 1951, 1955 and 1957. He played 12 matches for the All Blacks including three internationals.
Michaela Blyde is a New Zealand professional rugby sevens player and Olympic gold medalist. Her mother, Cherry Blyde, became the first female president of the Taranaki rugby football union in 2022.
Hurricanes Poua are a New Zealand women's professional rugby union team based in Wellington, New Zealand that competes in the Super Rugby Aupiki competition.
