National Provincial Championship

The National Provincial Championship (which for sponsorship reasons, is referred to as Air New Zealand NPC or just simply NPC) is New Zealand's principal domestic rugby union competition. It is held annually, with 27 provincial unions competing in three divisions.

Changes for 2006

As noted previously, the NPC will switch to a two-division setup for 2006. The number of teams will be reduced from 27 to 26, as Nelson Bays and Marlborough will form a combined side starting that year. The new Premier Division will have 14 teams, while the new Division One will have 12; as both divisions have an even number of teams, byes will not be required. There will be no promotion or relegation between the two divisions through the 2008 season.

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Highlights of the new competition format:

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• Both divisions will be split into equally sized pools for the first round of the NPC. Each pool will be conducted as a single round-robin.
• In the second round of both divisions, the top three teams in each first-round pool will play a round-robin against the top three from the other pool.
• Also in the second round, the bottom four teams in each Premier Division first-round pool will be drawn into two repechage pools of four teams each, conducted as a round-robin.
• In the second round of Division One, the bottom three teams from each first-round pool will play a round-robin against the bottom three from the other pool.
• In the Premier Division, the top three teams from each first-round pool, plus the winners of each repechage pool, advance to a single-elimination tournament to determine the champion.
• In Division One, the four best teams from the top six, as determined by combined results of the first two rounds, advance to a single-elimination tournament to determine the champion. Also, the four best teams from the bottom six, determined in the same manner, advance to a single-elimination secondary cup competition.

For a more detailed description of the new format, see this PDF file from the New Zealand Rugby Football Union.

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The new divisional alignments will be:

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Premier Division

• Auckland
• Bay of Plenty
• Canterbury
• Counties Manukau
• Hawke's Bay
• Manawatu
• Nelson Bays/Marlborough
• North Harbour
• Northland
• Otago
• Southland
• Taranaki
• Waikato
• Wellington

Division One

• Buller
• East Coast
• King Country
• Horowhenua-Kapiti
• Mid Canterbury
• North Otago
• Poverty Bay
• South Canterbury
• Thames Valley
• Wairarapa-Bush
• Wanganui
• West Coast