NPC Update: Three options in the table when switching New Zealand rugby drives

It remains to be seen before Christmas what the provincial national championship of New Zealand domestic rugby will look like next year.

Al No. One year ago, New Zealand Rugby (NZR) was trying to reconsider the competition ahead of the 2022 season.

The NZR is not in a position to comment while consultations with stakeholders, including 14 provincial unions (UP) are ongoing, but is expected to be able to do so in the coming weeks.

It is understood that three options are at the table, including dividing the match with 14 teams into northern and southern groups. A comment discussed last year.

Evidence of a provincial union spoken with பொருள், He was hopeful that this time the change would cross the line, but said getting 14 UP in the same order would be easier than possible.

Consensus among those involved, if change continues, regardless of design chosen Subject They wanted a match where all 14 teams could win the title.

The NZR has been pushing for renewals ahead of the 2021 season, following a severe financial blow to both local rugby and the NZR due to the Kovit-19 epidemic. Stakeholders cannot be trusted at the right time.

However, CEO Mark Robinson made it clear at the time that they would make a change again at the end of the 2021 tournament.

Given the progress the NZR has made between November 2020 and March 2021, when they announced that this year’s competition would remain unchanged, the governing body was in a strong position to break the fort this time.

The current format, which includes the Premiership and Championship competition, has been played since 2011 with a promotion and exit system, but a review of the provincial game, known as the Nga Miro Report, suggested a change.

Canterbury co-coach Ruben Thorne and his Wellington co-coach Leo Crowley , And Taranaki’s coach Neil Barnes has been calling for change for the past 12 months.

Barnes, who coached Taranaki, who won the championship this year, It was particularly vocal when the NZR announced that promotions and expulsions would be eliminated in 2021 Three Auckland teams were eliminated from the tournament due to a delta explosion in the city.

He called the current design “flawed” and asked the NZR to “stick its head out of the sand” and turn the tournament into one where all 14 teams could win the jackpot.

Taranaki was the only unbeaten team in the NPC this year. Proud to be the first championship team to win all four Premiership rivals by winning all 10 matches.

Before the main championship split, there was a 15-week deadline (NPC now plays for 12 weeks) before the first four teams reached the semifinals, with 14 teams facing each other and each other.

When the North-South option was proposed last year, It was understood he could save about $ 700,000 on travel and accommodation.

A uniform division of the Northern and Southern Zones into Hawks Bay, Manavadu, Wellington, Tasman, Canterbury, Otago and Southland into the Southern Hemisphere, leaving the Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Manukau, North Harbor, and the Bay of Plenty. And Taranaki in the north.

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