National Provincial Championship (1976–2005)

For the history of New Zealand provincial competition from 2006, see National Provincial Championship (2006–present).

National Provincial Championship

Sport	Rugby union
Inaugural season	1976
Ceased	2005
Country	New Zealand (NZR)
Most titles	Auckland (15 titles)
Website	provincial.rugby
Related competitions	Farah Palmer Cup Heartland Championship Ranfurly Shield

The National Provincial Championship, often simply called the NPC, was an annual promotion and relegation rugby union competition in men's domestic New Zealand rugby. First played during the 1976 season, it was the highest level of competition in New Zealand until Super Rugby launched in 1996. It was organised by New Zealand Rugby (NZR) and ceased following the 2005 season.

The league was restructured into two distinct competitions. The National Provincial Championship would include professional and semi-professional players, and consist of the top fourteen financial and best performing regional teams. For sponsorship reasons it was rebranded as the Air New Zealand Cup. The remaining teams would form a breakaway amateur competition known as the Heartland Championship.

Twenty-eight teams had competed since the inception of the competition in 1976. Auckland were the most successful union with fifteen titles and Bay of Plenty were the inaugural champions. Six other teams had won the title: Canterbury (5), Wellington (4), Otago (2), Counties Manukau (1), Manawatu (1), and Waikato (1).

History

Origins and foundation

The first form of competition came in 1904 with the introduction of the Ranfurly Shield as a challenge trophy. The fixtures were planned each year in Wellington at the New Zealand Rugby Football Union annual meeting. An elected representative from each provincial union would submit a list of proposed dates and opponents that ideally wouldn't conflict with their local club competitions. In various parts of the country, regular matches were organised by neighbouring regions for challenge trophies. One of the most prestigious competitions presented in 1946 by Timaru's former mayor, A.E.S. Hanan, was the Hanan Shield. It was contested between Mid Canterbury, South Canterbury, and North Otago. Another notable trophy was the Seddon Shield, which was first challenged in 1906. It was named after the former premier of New Zealand, Richard Seddon and featured representative teams from Buller, Nelson Bays, Marlborough, and the West Coast. In the North Island, starting in the King Country and heading northwards, eleven teams played for the Coronation Shield.

In light of the fact that were so many competitions throughout New Zealand, a national tournament was needed and demanded. In 1972, Barry Smith proposed an inter-provincial competition to the Auckland Rugby Union. Once approved by the union, it was called for discussion at the New Zealand Rugby Football Union annual conference in early 1974. The proposal contained an overview of the scheme and covered matters of finance, travel, sponsorship potential, general implications in respect of club and sub-union competitions, traditional representative matches, international laws and Sunday play. Following a meeting in October 1975, modifications were made and eventually accepted by all provinces. Radio New Zealand was awarded sponsorship rights worth NZD 100,000. They also contributed to the marketing of the new proposed competition that was later followed by Lion Breweries, National Mutual, and Air New Zealand. Teams competed in one of two divisions. The representative performance of each team over the previous five years determined which division they would play in. The premier division was decided by a ranking mechanism and determined Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Counties, Hawke's Bay, Manawatu, Marlborough, North Auckland, Otago, Southland, and Wellington to take part. The remaining provinces, Buller, East Coast, Horowhenua, King Country, Mid Canterbury, Nelson Bays, North Otago, Poverty Bay, South Canterbury, Taranaki, Thames Valley, Waikato, Wairarapa Bush, Wanganui and the West Coast were split into North Island and South Island sub-divisions with the possibility of promotion to the top division.

Teams

Team	Union	Established	Location	Joined	Departed	Seasons	Colours
Auckland	Auckland Rugby Union	1883 (1883)	Auckland	1976	2005	29
Bay of Plenty	Bay of Plenty Rugby Union	1911 (1911)	Tauranga	1976	2005	29
Buller	Buller Rugby Union	1894 (1894)	Westport	1976	2005	29
Canterbury	Canterbury Rugby Football Union	1879 (1879)	Christchurch	1976	2005	29
Central Vikings	Central Vikings Rugby Union	1996 (1996)	Napier	1997	1998	2
Counties Manukau	Counties Manukau Rugby Football Union	1955 (1955)	Pukekohe	1976	2005	29
East Coast	Ngāti Porou East Coast Rugby Union	1922 (1922)	Ruatoria	1976	2005	29
Hawke's Bay	Hawke's Bay Rugby Union	1884 (1884)	Napier	1976	2005	29
Horowhenua Kapiti	Horowhenua Kapiti Rugby Football Union	1893 (1893)	Levin	1976	2005	29
King Country	King Country Rugby Union	1922 (1922)	Te Kuiti	1976	2005	29
Manawatu	Manawatu Rugby Union	1886 (1886)	Palmerston North	1976	2005	29
Marlborough	Marlborough Rugby Union	1888 (1888)	Blenheim	1976	2005	29
Mid Canterbury	Mid Canterbury Rugby Union	1904 (1904)	Ashburton	1976	2005	29
Nelson Bays	Nelson Bays Rugby Union	1968 (1968)	Nelson	1976	2005	29
North Harbour	North Harbour Rugby Union	1985 (1985)	Auckland	1985	2005	21
Northland	Northland Rugby Union	1920 (1920)	Whangārei	1976	2005	29
North Otago	North Otago Rugby Football Union	1927 (1927)	Oamaru	1976	2005	29
Otago	Otago Rugby Football Union	1881 (1881)	Dunedin	1976	2005	29
Poverty Bay	Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union	1890 (1890)	Gisborne	1976	2005	29
South Canterbury	South Canterbury Rugby Football Union	1888 (1888)	Timaru	1976	2005	29
Southland	Rugby Southland	1887 (1887)	Invercargill	1976	2005	29
Taranaki	Taranaki Rugby Football Union	1885 (1885)	New Plymouth	1976	2005	29
Thames Valley	Thames Valley Rugby Union	1922 (1922)	Paeroa	1976	2005	29
Waikato	Waikato Rugby Union	1921 (1921)	Hamilton	1976	2005	29
Wairarapa Bush	Wairarapa Bush Rugby Football Union	1971 (1971)	Masterton	1976	2005	29
Wellington	Wellington Rugby Football Union	1879 (1879)	Wellington	1976	2005	29
West Coast	West Coast Rugby Union	1890 (1890)	Greymouth	1976	2005	29
Whanganui	Whanganui Rugby Football Union	1888 (1888)	Whanganui	1976	2005	29

Champions

See also: National Provincial Championship § Champions, and Heartland Championship § Champions

Edition	Year	Champion	Result	Runner-up	Venue	Location	Coach
1	1976	Bay of Plenty	No result	Manawatu	No play-offs		Eric Anderson
2	1977	Canterbury	No result	Counties	No play-offs		Tiny Hill
3	1978	Wellington	No result	Counties	No play-offs		Ian Upston
4	1979	Counties	No result	Auckland	No play-offs		Hiwi Tauroa
5	1980	Manawatu	No result	Auckland	No play-offs		Graham Hamer
6	1981	Wellington	No result	Manawatu	No play-offs		Ian Upston
7	1982	Auckland	No result	Canterbury	No play-offs		John Hart
8	1983	Canterbury	No result	Wellington	No play-offs		Alex Wyllie
9	1984	Auckland	No result	Canterbury	No play-offs		John Hart
10	1985	Auckland	No result	Canterbury	No play-offs		John Hart
11	1986	Wellington	No result	Auckland	No play-offs		Earle Kirton
12	1987	Auckland	No result	Wellington	No play-offs		Maurice Trapp
13	1988	Auckland	No result	Wellington	No play-offs		Maurice Trapp
14	1989	Auckland	No result	Canterbury	No play-offs		Maurice Trapp
15	1990	Auckland	No result	Waikato	No play-offs		Maurice Trapp
16	1991	Otago	No result	Auckland	No play-offs		Laurie Mains
17	1992	Waikato	40–5	Otago	Rugby Park	Hamilton	Kevin Greene
18	1993	Auckland	27–18	Otago	Eden Park	Auckland	Graham Henry
19	1994	Auckland	22–16	North Harbour	Onewa Domain	Auckland	Graham Henry
20	1995	Auckland	23–19	Otago	Eden Park	Auckland	Graham Henry
21	1996	Auckland	46–15	Counties Manukau	Eden Park	Auckland	Graham Henry
22	1997	Canterbury	44–13	Counties Manukau	Lancaster Park	Christchurch	Robbie Deans
23	1998	Otago	49–20	Waikato	Carisbrook	Dunedin	Tony Gilbert
24	1999	Auckland	24–18	Wellington	Eden Park	Auckland	Wayne Pivac
25	2000	Wellington	34–29	Canterbury	Jade Stadium	Christchurch	Dave Rennie
26	2001	Canterbury	30–19	Otago	Jade Stadium	Christchurch	Steve Hansen
27	2002	Auckland	40–28	Waikato	Waikato Stadium	Hamilton	Wayne Pivac
28	2003	Auckland	41–29	Wellington	Westpac Stadium	Wellington	Wayne Pivac
29	2004	Canterbury	40–27	Wellington	Westpac Stadium	Wellington	Brian McLean
30	2005	Auckland	39–11	Otago	Eden Park	Auckland	Pat Lam

Overview

Team	Total	First	Latest	Won	Lost	Win %
Auckland	15	1982	2005	15	0	100.00
Wellington	7	1978	2003	4	3	57.14
Otago	7	1991	2005	2	5	28.57
Canterbury	6	1977	2004	5	1	83.33
Counties Manukau	3	1979	1997	1	2	33.33
Waikato	3	1992	2002	1	2	33.33
Bay of Plenty	1	1976	1976	1	0	100.00
Manawatu	1	1980	1980	1	0	100.00
North Harbour	1	1994	1994	0	1	0.00

Second-tier champions

1976—1984

Season	Division 2 North		Division 2 South
	Champion	Runner-up	Champion	Runner-up
1976	Taranaki	Wanganui	South Canterbury	Buller
1977	North Auckland	Waikato	South Canterbury	Mid Canterbury
1978	Bay of Plenty	Waikato	Marlborough	Nelson Bays
1979	Hawke's Bay	Waikato	Marlborough	Mid Canterbury
1980	Waikato	Taranaki	Mid Canterbury	Marlborough
1981	Wairarapa Bush	Taranaki	South Canterbury	Marlborough
1982	Taranaki	Un­known	Southland	Un­known
1983	Taranaki	Un­known	Mid Canterbury	Un­known
1984	Taranaki	Un­known	Southland	Un­known

1985—2005

Season	Division 2		Division 3
	Champion	Runner-up	Champion	Runner-up
1985	Taranaki	Un­known	North Harbour	Un­known
1986	Waikato	Un­known	South Canterbury	Un­known
1987	North Harbour	Un­known	Poverty Bay	Un­known
1988	Hawke's Bay	Un­known	Thames Valley	Un­known
1989	Southland	Un­known	Wanganui	Un­known
1990	Hawke's Bay	Un­known	Thames Valley	Un­known
1991	King Country	Un­known	South Canterbury	Un­known
1992	Taranaki	Counties	Nelson Bays	Horowhenua
1993	Counties	Bay of Plenty	Horowhenua	Wanganui
1994	Southland	Hawke's Bay	Mid Canterbury	Poverty Bay
1995	Taranaki	Northland	Thames Valley	Poverty Bay
1996	Southland	Northland	Wanganui	Marlborough
1997	Northland	Central Vikings	Marlborough	North Otago
1998	Central Vikings	Bay of Plenty	Mid Canterbury	Horowhenua Kapiti
1999	Nelson Bays	Bay of Plenty	East Coast	Poverty Bay
2000	Bay of Plenty	Nelson Bays	East Coast	North Otago
2001	Hawke's Bay	East Coast	South Canterbury	North Otago
2002	Hawke's Bay	Counties Manukau	North Otago	Horowhenua Kapiti
2003	Hawke's Bay	Nelson Bays	Wanganui	King Country
2004	Nelson Bays	Hawke's Bay	Poverty Bay	Wairarapa Bush
2005	Hawke's Bay	Nelson Bays	Wairarapa Bush	Horowhenua Kapiti

Awards

Player of the year

Season	Division 1			Division 2			Division 3
	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team
1994	Waisake Sotutu	Wing	Auckland	Simon Culhane	First five-eighth	Southland	John Smitheram	Number 8	Mid Canterbury
1995	Olo Brown	Prop	Auckland	Bull Allen	Prop	Taranaki	Gavin McLiver	Number 8	Thames Valley
1996	Justin Marshall	Half-back	Canterbury	Norm Hewitt	Hooker	Southland	Rob Penney	Number 8	Marlborough
1997	Todd Blackadder	Flanker	Canterbury	Justin Collins	Flanker	Northland	Chris Finch	First five-eighth	North Otago
1998	Tony Brown	First five-eighth	Otago	Jarrod Cunningham	Fullback	Central Vikings	Greg Moriarty	Hooker	Mid Canterbury
1999	Filo Tiatia	Number 8	Wellington	Warren Johnston	First five-eighth	Nelson Bays	Victor Taingahue	Half-back	East Coast
2000	Andrew Slater	Lock	Taranaki	Cory Holdaway	Flanker	Nelson Bays	Mano Flutey	First five-eighth	East Coast
2001	Richie McCaw	Flanker	Canterbury	Reece Robinson	Lock	Hawke's Bay	Hotili 'Asi	Prop	North Otago
2002	Keith Lowen	Centre	Waikato	Sitiveni Sivivatu	Wing	Counties Manukau	Simon Porter	First five-eighth	North Otago
2003	Iliesa Tanivula	Wing	Auckland	Davis Norman	Centre	Hawke's Bay	Jonathan Walker	Number 8	Whanganui
2004	Richie McCaw	Flanker	Canterbury	Mark Bright	Flanker	Nelson Bays	Craig Tansley	Flanker	Horowhenua Kapiti
2005	Chris Smylie	Half-back	Otago	Clint Newland	Prop	Hawke's Bay	Simanu Simanu	Centre	Wairarapa Bush

See also

• National Provincial Championship (2006–present)
• Heartland Championship
• Ranfurly Shield