The 2023 Bunnings NPC season was the 18th season of
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
's provincial
rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
competition, the
National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to:
* National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides
* National Provincial Championship (2006–present)
The National Provincial Championship (NP ...
, since it turned professional in 2006. It involved the top fourteen provincial rugby unions of New Zealand, which – under a new format introduced in 2022 – all played for the same title. For sponsorship reasons, the competition is known as the
Bunnings
Bunnings Group Limited, trading as Bunnings Warehouse or Bunnings, is an Australian hardware and garden centre chain. The chain has been owned by Wesfarmers since 1994, and has stores in Australia and New Zealand.
Bunnings was founded in Per ...
NPC. The regular season began on 4 August 2023, when
Tasman hosted
Otago
Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...
. The final took place on 21 October 2023.
Format
In
2022
The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
, a new competition format was introduced.
In this new format, the 14 provincial unions participating in the
Bunnings NPC
Bunnings Group Limited, trading as Bunnings Warehouse or Bunnings, is an Australian hardware and garden centre chain. The chain has been owned by Wesfarmers since 1994, and has stores in Australia and New Zealand.
Bunnings was founded in Pert ...
are grouped in one single division and play for one NPC title.
While in 2022 the teams were seeded in two equal conferences, an "Odds Conference" and an "Evens Conference", a further format change in 2023 has resulted in the merger of the two conferences and teams are now ranked on one competition table instead of two separate conference tables.
All provincial teams play ten games during the regular season (round robin): five games are played at the provincial union's home ground and five games are away games. The seven teams that finished the previous season in 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th place will play each other as well as four cross-over matches against the teams that finished 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th and 14th. Likewise, the teams that finished 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th and 14th will also play each other as well as four cross-over games against the provinces that were ranked 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th or 13th at the end of the previous season.
The ten round robin games in 2023 are played over a period of nine weeks (starting on Friday 4 August 2023) and include one mid-week game to be played on a Wednesday night.
The regular season is followed by quarter-finals to be played by the eight highest ranked teams on the competition table. The finals rankings are determined by the number of competition points earned during the regular season. Competition points can be gained in the following way: four points are awarded to the winning team, two points to each team for a draw, and no points for a loss. Teams can also receive a
bonus point if they score four or more tries in a match, or lose by seven points or less.
If two or more provincial teams finish with an equal number of competition points, the following
tiebreaker
In games and sport, a tiebreaker or tiebreak is any method used to determine a winner or to rank participants when there is a tie - meaning two or more parties have achieved a same score or result. A tiebreaker provides the additional criterion ...
rules apply. If ''two'' unions are tied, the union which has defeated the other in a head-to-head is placed higher. In case of a draw between them, the side with the biggest
points difference is ranked higher. If ''three or more'' unions are tied and they have all played each other, the team with most competition points in that year against the other tied unions is ranked higher; if they have not all played each other, the team with the biggest points difference in the round robin is ranked higher. In all cases, if these unions are still tied, the ranking is decided by the highest number of tries scored, the most points scored, or a
coin toss
A coin is a small object, usually round and flat, used primarily as a medium of exchange or legal tender. They are standardized in weight, and produced in large quantities at a mint in order to facilitate trade. They are most often issued by a ...
.
The quarter-finals are played as follows, with the highest ranked team hosting:
:QF 1: 1 v 8;
:QF 2: 2 v 7;
:QF 3: 3 v 6; and
:QF 4: 4 v 5.
In the semi-finals, the highest-ranked quarter-final winner hosts the lowest-ranked quarter-final winner and the second highest-ranked quarter-final winner hosts the third highest-ranked quarter-final winner.
The NPC Final will be played between the two semi-final winners, again at the home venue of the team with the higher finals ranking.
No changes have been made to the rules governing
Ranfurly Shield
The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challenge ...
Challenges. Every home game during the regular season played by the union that holds the Ranfurly Shield is a mandartory challenge match. No challenge matches will be played after the regular season has ended (i.e., during the finals). A holder who competes in the
Bunnings NPC
Bunnings Group Limited, trading as Bunnings Warehouse or Bunnings, is an Australian hardware and garden centre chain. The chain has been owned by Wesfarmers since 1994, and has stores in Australia and New Zealand.
Bunnings was founded in Pert ...
must also accept at least two challenges from unions competing in the
Heartland Championship
The Heartland Championship is an annual Round-robin tournament, round-robin rugby union competition in men's domestic Rugby union in New Zealand, New Zealand rugby. First played in 2006, it is the third highest level of List of rugby union comp ...
, including the winner of the
Meads Cup
The Meads Cup is a rugby union trophy named after King Country Rugby Football Union, King Country and All Blacks player Colin Meads. It is contested during the Heartland Championship. It was first awarded in 2006 Heartland Championship, 2006, when ...
at the end of the previous season. These non-mandatory challenge matches must be played before the start of the NPC season.
Standings
The final standings for the 2023 Bunnings NPC season:
Standings progression
The table below shows each team's progression throughout the season. For each round of the regular season, their cumulative points total is shown with the overall log position in brackets.
Regular season
During the regular season of the 2023 Bunnings NPC, each team plays 10 games over a period of nine weeks, including one mid-week game. The competition began on 4 August 2023, when
Tasman hosted
Otago
Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...
in
Nelson
Nelson may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey
* ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers
* ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
.
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Play-offs
The play-off fixtures are as follows:
Quarter-finals
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Semi-finals
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Final
Statistics
Leading point scorers
Source: The weekly reviews of the matches published o
provincial.rugby
(see "Report" in the individual match scoring stats).
Leading try scorers
Source: The weekly reviews of the matches published o
provincial.rugby
(see "Report" in the individual match scoring stats).
Points by game
Source: Bunnings NPC Fixtures and Results 2023
Tries by game
Source: The weekly reviews of the matches published o
provincial.rugby
(see "Report" in the individual match scoring stats).
Discipline
Ranfurly Shield
Pre-season challenges
For the 2023 pre-season,
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
accepted
Ranfurly Shield
The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challenge ...
challenges from
Horowhenua-Kapiti and 2022
Meads Cup
The Meads Cup is a rugby union trophy named after King Country Rugby Football Union, King Country and All Blacks player Colin Meads. It is contested during the Heartland Championship. It was first awarded in 2006 Heartland Championship, 2006, when ...
winners
South Canterbury
South Canterbury is the area of the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand bounded by the Rangitata River in the north and the Waitaki River (the border with the Otago Region) to the south. The Pacific Ocean and ridge of the S ...
.
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References
External links
*
{{NPC
National Provincial Championship seasons
Bunnings NPC
Bunnings Group Limited, trading as Bunnings Warehouse or Bunnings, is an Australian hardware and garden centre chain. The chain has been owned by Wesfarmers since 1994, and has stores in Australia and New Zealand.
Bunnings was founded in Pert ...
Bunnings NPC
Bunnings Group Limited, trading as Bunnings Warehouse or Bunnings, is an Australian hardware and garden centre chain. The chain has been owned by Wesfarmers since 1994, and has stores in Australia and New Zealand.
Bunnings was founded in Pert ...