Rugby's National Provincial Championship will have a new look for 2022 and beyond, with all teams now competing for one title.
NZ Rugby has announced its decision to eschew the premiership-championship divide, instead splitting the competition into two conferences, and seeding teams based on the previous season's standings for round-robin matches and quarter-finals.
The conferences will be selected based on odd and even seeding numbers.
The round robin includes four crossover matches per team, where teams from the 'odds' conference will play teams from the 'evens' conference.
The quarterfinals feature the top four teams in each conference playing for a spot in the semis.
The top two teams across the conferences play each other in the semi-finals, with the winners advancing to the NPC final.
The new approach follows provincial unions urging NZ Rugby to review its existing format and was determined by an "extensive" consultation process.
"We are pleased with where the competition format has landed," says NZR head of community rugby Steve Lancaster.
"Shifting to a single national championship with seeded pools based on the previous year's performance provides for evenly balanced conferences and strong competition to qualify for the playoffs.
"Any team can now be crowned national champion, which is exciting not only for teams, but also our wider rugby community who support them."
Starting August 12, the competition will be played over 12 weeks, with the inclusion of a mid-week round for all teams.
All competition matches carry full competition points, with a full draw released in due course.
The pools and seedings are as follows:
Odds |
|
1. Waikato |
|
3. Hawke's Bay |
|
5. Bay of Plenty |
|
7. Wellington |
|
9. Otago |
|
11. Southland |
|
13. Counties Manukau |
|
Evens
2. Tasman
4. Canterbury
6. Auckland
8. Taranaki
10. Manawatū
12. North Harbour
14. Northland
