Air New Zealand Cup
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Air New Zealand Cup | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Sport | Rugby Union |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Teams | 14 |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Current Champions |  Canterbury |
| Upcoming Season: | |
| 2009 Air New Zealand Cup | |
| Begins | 30 July 2009 |
| Grand Final | 7 November 2009 |
The Air New Zealand Cup is New Zealand's annual professional domestic rugby union competition. It was founded in 2006 with 14 teams, after the NPC was split into two separate competitions. The other 12 provincial teams from the NPC now compete in the amateur Heartland Championship. It is sponsored by Air New Zealand, the national airline and flag carrier of New Zealand. New Zealand also has five teams in Super 14, an elite competition which also involves sides from Australia and South Africa.
Contents |
[edit] History
The 2006 reorganisation of New Zealand provincial rugby replaced the NPC's former three-division setup with two distinct competitions. This differs from the original two-division setup used in the NPC from its creation in 1976 to 1984 in two key ways. First, the two current competitions are nationwide, while the original NPC Division Two was split on a North Island/South Island basis. Second, the NZRU ruled that there would initially be no promotion or relegation between the Air New Zealand Cup and Heartland Championship—a feature that had always been present in the former NPC.
Also, the number of teams was reduced to 26, as the Marlborough and Nelson Bays unions merged to form the new Tasman union.
The 2006 expansion of the Super 12 and Tri Nations Series had a major effect on the Air New Zealand Cup. This expansion created the Super 14, adding two extra fixtures to that competition, and also added two more Tri-Nations matches for the All Blacks, at least in non-World Cup years. Because of these changes, it was intended for players in the All Blacks selection pool to make only limited appearances in the Air New Zealand Cup.
[edit] Inaugural Season
The first Air New Zealand drew some good support from fans and was a successful first season. The new competition also saw the introduction of 4 teams up from the old Division Two of the NPC, they were:
- Counties Manukau
- Hawke's Bay
- Manawatu
- Tasman (The amalgamation of the Nelson Bays and Marlborough unions)
The competition was taken out by Waikato 37-31, after they beat Wellington in the Grand Final in front of a Capacity plus crowd of 28,000 fans at Waikato Stadium, 3,000 more than normal seating at the venue. The leading try-scorer was emerging star Richard Kahui from Waikato with eight tries, and the leading point-scorer was Jimmy Gopperth from Wellington with 121 points.
[edit] Round One
The format saw the 14 teams split into two pools of seven, the teams in each pool, play the other teams in there pool once over seven weeks with also one bye to the name. The two pools were:
| Pool A | Pool B |
|---|---|
 Auckland |
Canterbury |
 Bay of Plenty |
 Counties Manukau |
 Manawatu |
 Hawke's Bay |
 North Harbour |
 Northland |
 Taranaki |
 Otago |
 Tasman |
 Southland |
 Wellington |
 Waikato |
Auckland topped Pool A with 25 points for Round One the most by any team and Pool B was taken out by Waikato on 24 points.
[edit] Round Two
Round Two was played over three weeks with the top three teams from each pool advancing into the Top Six, Auckland, North Harbour and Wellington were the three teams from pool A to advance with 25, 23 and 21 points respectively. The three teams from pool B were Waikato on 24 points and Canterbury and Otago on 23 points each. The remaining teams would be put into Repechage A and B. The teams in the Top Six would carry over there points from Round One and play three other teams they did not play in the first round, the Top Six automatically advance to the quarter-finals, their seedings are determined by Round Two. The teams in each Repechage play each other team in their respective pool, these teams do not carry over their points from the first round, the top team from each Repechage would play on to the quarter-finals.
| Top Six |
|---|
| Auckland |
| Canterbury |
| North Harbour |
| Otago |
| Waikato |
| Wellington |
| Repechage A | Repechage B |
|---|---|
| Bay of Plenty |
Northland |
| Counties Manukau |
Southland |
| Hawke's Bay |
Taranaki |
| Manawatu |
Tasman |
Waikato topped the Top Six with a total of 36 points, by doing this Waikato clinched home advantage through the Finals. Bay of Plenty took out repechage A with a dominating 14 points while repechage B was not so easy with Southland taken it out by one point from Northland 9 to 8, Southland's last game was against Northland and they lost, they had to get a bonus point to advance to the quarter-finals, they did this by losing by seven points.
[edit] Quarters and Semis
The finals are a straight lose and go home format. Waikato were the top seed going in and were home for the finals.
The eight finalists were:
| Finalists | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Waikato |
| 2 | Auckland |
| 3 | North Harbour |
| 4 | Wellington |
| 5 | Canterbury |
| 6 | Otago |
| 7 | Bay of Plenty |
| 8 | Southland |
1 vs 8, 2 vs 7, 3 vs 6 and 4 vs 5 was how they determined who faced who in the quarter-finals, this translates into Waikato vs Southland, Auckland vs Bay of Plenty, North Harbour vs Otago and Wellington vs Canterbury.
Waikato beat Southland 24-12 in the first match of the quarter-finals and Auckland trounced Bay of Plenty 46-14. The surprise of the week was a 56-21 try fest won by Otago against North Harbour, the only away team to win in the quarters. With the last match of the round, Wellington blocked out Canterbury into the semi's with satisfying 36-21 win in the Capital.
The semi-finals were to be contested Waikato facing off against Otago and Auckland playing Wellington at home. Wellington won their match against Auckland 30 to 15 while Waikato had an easy win with the scoreline of 44-15. This would see Waikato and Wellington square off in the Inaugural Grand Final of the Air New Zealand Cup.
[edit] Grand Final
The 2006 Air New Zealand Cup Grand Final was played on 21 October. It pitted the Lions from the capital city facing of the against the countrymen who call themselves the Mooloos. Bryce Lawrence officiated the match in front of 28,000 people at Waikato Stadium. The game finished with the Mooloo men on top with an aggregate score of 68, 37 points to and 31 points to Wellington. Byron Kelleher lead the charge for Waikato with scoring two of their four tries with Richard Kahui and Brendon Leonard scoring the others. David Hill scored seven kicks, landing all the conversions and three penalties that's 17 points in total, the leading point scorer for the game. Ma'a Nonu also scored two tries with Captain Tana Umaga following with one of his own, Jimmy Gopperth landed 6 kicks, 2 conversions and 4 penalties. Waikato wrapped the game up with about 5 mins to go, not even Umaga's try could save the Wellingtonians. Waikato finished what was one of their most successful seasons to date and Wellington was soon to realise winning the final was more easier said than done.
[edit] 2007 and 2008
The Air NZ Cup saw Auckland and Canterbury come out as champs in 2007 and 2008 respectively, both winning their finals against the Lions from Wellington. It also saw some changes in the format which the teams played through.
[edit] Format Changes
The 2007 and 2008 season saw changes in the format for the competition with the NZRU opting to dump the previous pool system used the year before, instead going for a 10 week round-robin where each team will miss out on playing three of the other teams. The finals format was not changed however still staying with the quarter-finals, semi-finals and grand final.
[edit] 2007 Air NZ Cup
The 2007 Air New Zealand Cup was a relatively quiet compared to its predecessor, it saw Auckland come out over Wellington. It was Wellington second successive Grand Final. Auckland finished the season at the top of the Points table with a record 48 competition points winning all ten matches. Jimmy Gopperth again finished as leading points scorer with 155, a new record and Brent Ward from Auckland finished with the top try scorer title with 8 tries.
The top eight teams going into the quarter-finals are listed left.
| Finalists | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Auckland |
| 2 | Canterbury |
| 3 | Wellington |
| 4 | Hawke's Bay |
| 5 | Waikato |
| 6 | Southland |
| 7 | Otago |
| 8 | Taranaki |
Auckland had an easy road into the final winning both of there matches, 30-10 against Taranaki in the quarter-final and winning 38-3 against Hawke's Bay in the semi. Wellington also had an convincing win in there quarter-final winning 45-3 against Southland but had a harder time in the semi beating Canterbury by 5 points 26-21 at AMI Stadium.
The Final was set to be played on the 20th of October between Auckland and Wellington at Eden Park.To first half tries both converted by Isa Nacewa gave Auckland a 14-3 lead halfway through the first-half, a try by Wellington meant that the halftime scoreline was 14-8 to Auckland. Two penalties to each team made it 20-14 early in the second, another penalty by Nacewa made the final score 23-14 with Auckland winning their 16th championship. Wellington, again, close but no cigar.
[edit] 2008 Air NZ Cup
2008 saw Hosea Gear set a record with an astounding 14 tries, it also saw his team reach the Grand Final once again, the third successive season, but like the previous two, coming up short once again losing to Canterbury 6 points to seven in a wet and low scoring final in the capital. The Wellington Rugby Football Union had something to cheer them up by putting the Ranfurly Shield away for the summer with their last challenge being Tasman beating them 26-20. Blair Stewart from Southland was the leading points-scorer with a lower than previous 105 points. 2008 also saw on August 11, 2008 that the New Zealand Rugby Union initially announced that both Tasman and Northland would be relegated from the Air New Zealand Cup after the completion of the 2008 season. Both teams failed to meet criteria which included financial stability, population, player training and development, playing history, and administration. This decision was reversed towards the end of the 2008 season, with Tasman and Northland remaining in the competition for two more years [1]
The top eight teams going into the quarters are listed.
| Finalists | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Wellington |
| 2 | Canterbury |
| 3 | Hawke's Bay |
| 4 | Bay of Plenty |
| 5 | Southland |
| 6 | Waikato |
| 7 | Tasman |
| 8 | Taranaki |
Both Canterbury and Wellington had easy semi-finals winning there games 48-10 and 50-30 respectively. There semi-finals were somewhat harder with Canterbury winning 31-21 against Hawke's Bay and Wellington beating Southland 28-19.
The 2008 Air New Zealand Cup Grand Final was played on the 25th of October in the capital. A converted try to Hayden Hopgood and a Piri Weepu penalty was the only scoring in the first half leaving Canterbury having a 7-3 advantage at the break. It was no better in the second with the only score being a Wellington penalty, and that is how it ended, with a Canterbury win and yet another Wellington loss.
[edit] 2009
2009 almost saw a reduced 12 team competition with Tasman and Northland being relegated involving a lot of reasons including finance and player retention. The 2009 Air NZ Cup Round-Robin will begin on the 30th of July and run to the 25th of October. The format has changed to a straight round-robin tournament where every team faces the others once over 13 weeks.
[edit] Future
The NZRU announced that the Air New Zealand Cup will be reduced to a 10 team competition either in 2010 or 2011. The new structure will see a Premier Division, First Division and the Heartland Championship running underneath. It means that four teams from the current competition will be cut. Possible unions include Counties-Manukau, Tasman, Manawatu and Northland. Other suggestions were to bring in the best teams 2nd XV's to compete in the second and third divisions.
The key principles agreed at the time were that the competitions must:
- Include Super Rugby players;
- Have a stand-alone window;
- Feature a full round-robin and playoffs;
- Have promotion-relegation;
- Guarantee four and five home games per team;
- Be completed within a 10-12 week window; and
- Conclude by the end of October.
[edit] Current Format
The 2009 Air New Zealand Cup will see a different structure than previous years, after a small pre-season the Round-Robin runs for 13 weeks with every team facing each other once. The top four teams will advance to the semi-finals and the winners from each semi goes on to compete for the title in the Grand Final.
To decide which four teams will go through to the semi-finals the Rugby Union Bonus Points System is used.
The Rugby Union Bonus Points System:
- 4 points for a win
- 2 points for a draw
- 1 point for scoring 4 tries
- 1 point for losing by 7 points or less
So the most points a winning team can receive is 5 and the most a losing team can receive is 2 points. Semi-Finals are played between 4 teams, the teams are seeded 1 to 4 and the two highest seeded teams play at home against the two lowest seeded teams meaning 1 plays 4 and 2 plays 3. The highest seed still remaining in the grand final plays at home.
[edit] Current Teams
The following teams contest for the Air New Zealand Cup:
| Team | Head Coach | Stadia |
|---|---|---|
| Auckland |
Mark Anscombe | Eden Park |
| Bay of Plenty Steamers |
Greg Smith | Baypark Stadium and Rotorua Int'l Stadium |
| Canterbury |
Rob Penney | AMI Stadium |
| Counties Manukau Steelers |
Greg Aldous | Growers Stadium and Mt Smart Stadium |
| Hawke's Bay Magpies |
Peter Russell | McLean Park |
| Manawatu Turbos |
Dave Rennie | FMG Stadium |
| North Harbour |
Craig Dowd | North Harbour Stadium |
| Northland Taniwha |
Bryce Woodward | Okara Park and Kerikeri Domain |
| Otago |
Steve Martin | Carisbrook |
| Southland Stags |
Simon Culhane | Rugby Park Stadium |
| Taranaki |
Adrian Kennedy | Yarrow Stadium |
| Tasman Makos |
B. Cadwallader and K. Keane | Lansdowne Park and Trafalgar Park |
| Waikato |
Chris Gibbes | Waikato Stadium |
| Wellington Lions |
Jamie Joseph | Westpac Stadium |
[edit] Air New Zealand Cup Winners
The Air New Zealand Cup Champions for each season are awarded the Air New Zealand Cup Trophy.
| Year | Date | Champion | Score | Runner up | Referee | Stadium | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 21 October | Waikato |
37–31 | Wellington |
Bryce Lawrence | Waikato Stadium | 28,000 |
| 2007 | 20 October | Auckland |
23–14 | Wellington |
Chris Pollock | Eden Park | unknown |
| 2008 | 25 October | Canterbury |
7–6 | Wellington |
Bryce Lawrence | Westpac Stadium | 21,237 |
[edit] Trophy
The Air New Zealand Cup is hand-forged and was created by Jens Hansen Gold and Silversmith of Nelson, the same workshop that crafted the ‘One Ring’ for Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy and the new Rebel Sport Super 14 trophy. Master silversmith Thorkild Hansen and his team spent 3 months crafting the trophy.
The trophy stands 45 centimetres tall and weighs 3.9 kilograms. It includes 2.7 kilograms of sterling silver and the inside of the trophy is gilded with gold. The trophy sits on a base of black basalt that was hand-crafted by Waihi stone carver Jeff Beckworth.
[edit] Ranfurly Shield
The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is perhaps the most prestigious trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First presented to Auckland in 1902, the Ranfurly Shield is based on a challenge system, rather than a league or knockout competition as with most football trophies. The holding union must defend the Shield in challenge matches, and if a challenger defeats them, they become the new holder of the Shield.
[edit] Current Holders
The Shield is currently held by Wellington, who won it from Auckland in Round 8 of the Round Robin in the 2008 Air New Zealand Cup. Since then they have had 3 successful challenges.
[edit] Challenges
The Shield holder at the end of each season is required to accept at least seven challenges for the following year. All home games during league play, but not during knockout playoffs, in the Air New Zealand Cup or Heartland Championship are automatic challenges. The remaining shield defences must be made up of challenges from unions in the other domestic competition. For example, since North Harbour, an Air New Zealand Cup team, held the Shield at the end of the 2006 Cup season despite losing their home quarter-final to Otago, they were forced to defend the Shield against Heartland Championship teams during the 2007 pre-season. Having successfully done so, all their home fixtures in the round-robin phase were Shield defences until they lost the shield to Waikato.
[edit] Contracts
A provincial union may, acting on behalf of the NZRU, employ players on a Provincial Union Contract a Provincial Union Development Contract. Each provincial union must, in each contract year, become parties to at least 26 Provincial Union Contracts. There is no limit on the number of Provincial Union Development Contracts. Any retainers paid are guaranteed for the term of the playing contract regardless of injury, illness, selection or non-selection. A player on a Provincial Union Contract must receive a minimum guaranteed retainer of $15,000 per contract year. There is no minimum guaranteed retainer for a player on a Provincial Union Development Contract but if the player is selected as part of his provincial union’s Air New Zealand Cup team he must be paid provincial union replacement player fees of at least $1,000 per week, inclusive of the player’s provincial union development retainer. The term of a Provincial Union Contract or Provincial Union Development Contract must expire between 31 October and 31 December in a specified contract year. A player on either a Provincial Union Contract or Provincial Union Development Contract may also agree to non-financial benefits and individual performance incentives. A provincial union may, at their discretion, make payments to players of provincial union team performance incentives up to the following amounts (such payment are excluded from the provincial union salary cap):
| Goal | Payment to Team |
|---|---|
| Home Semi-Final | $50,000 |
| Away Semi-Final | $25,000 |
| Home Final | $75,000 |
| Away Final | $50,000 |
| Winning Final | $25,000 |
All contractual negotiations and documents between a player and a provincial union are confidential between those parties except as provided for in the agreement. The provincial union must, upon request, make a copy available for inspection by the RPC of player contracts.
[edit] Provincial Union Obligations
The provincial union’s and player’s obligations under each of the above playing contracts are outlined in detail in the agreement.
[edit] Termination
A Provincial Union Contract or Provincial Union Development Contract is regarded as terminated upon the expiry of its term. A player may, at his option, terminate his Provincial Union Contract or Provincial Union Development Contract by giving written notice to the NZRU (including by giving it to his provincial union, on the NZRU’s behalf) if, at any time during his provincial union term (or provincial union development term), an NZRU contract to which he is a party is terminated (or if that NZRU contract expires and the player does not enter into a subsequent NZRU contract), and provided that he may not enter into a Provincial Union Contract or Provincial Union Development Contract with a different agreed provincial union during the period that would otherwise be his unexpired provincial union term or provincial union development term. However, a player may waive the right to terminate his Provincial Union Contract or Provincial Union Development Contract upon becoming a de-listed player, provided that certain conditions are met. The NZRU may terminate a Provincial Union Contract or Provincial Union Development Contract in the case of serious misconduct, in accordance with the agreement. A player and a provincial union (acting on behalf of the NZRU) may, at any time during the term of a Provincial Union Contract or Provincial Union Development Contract, agree to terminate the player’s employment relationship on such terms as they may negotiate between themselves.
[edit] Provisions relating to the Air New Zealand Cup
At least 10 days prior to the commencement of the Air New Zealand Cup in each contract year each provincial union must select at least 26 players to provide employment services for its Air New Zealand Cup team by providing a written list of those players to the NZRU. The group of players selected in this way is that provincial union’s Air New Zealand Cup squad.
[edit] Transfer
Existing NZRU Transfer Regulations will be abolished subject to Commerce Commission approval and the terms outlined later in this part. A player may enter into an agreement to transfer between 1 October in a particular contract year and the Friday following the final game in the Rebel Sport Super 14 competition in the contract year immediately following. For the avoidance of doubt, a player may transfer once only during each such period. If a transfer is agreed in writing and notified to the NZRU prior to the Rebel Sport Super 14 eligibility date (even if it is to take effect at a later date in that transfer period), the player’s new agreed provincial union will be taken into account for the purpose of determining his home franchise for the following Rebel Sport Super 14 competition. There is no restriction on the number of players that may transfer and no fee shall be payable, except for players transferring from a Division 1 provincial union to an Air New Zealand Cup provincial union. A player who is not a party to a Provincial Union Contract or Provincial Union Development Contract may enter into a Provincial Union Contract or a Provincial Union Development Contract at any time.
[edit] Loan
A player who is a party to a Provincial Union Contract or a Provincial Union Development Contract may agree with his agreed provincial union (in this clause, the lending provincial union) to be seconded to another provincial union (in this clause, the borrowing provincial union) for the purpose of providing his employment services to the borrowing provincial union’s team in the Air New Zealand Cup. Such secondment is referred to as a loan arrangement, and such player is referred to as a loan player. No loan arrangement may be entered into after round six of the round-robin matches in the Air New Zealand Cup. There is no limit upon the number of players which a provincial union may lend or borrow, but the starting 22 of any team in the Air New Zealand Cup may not include more than six loan players. The NZRU may amend these provisions by agreement with the RPC (such agreement not to be unreasonably withheld). A loan player named in a provincial union’s Air New Zealand Cup squad must receive payments of at least $15,000 in that contract year. In the event that a loan player is required to relocate from his usual home as a consequence of a loan arrangement, the borrowing provincial union will meet the player’s actual and reasonable costs (approved in writing by the borrowing provincial union in advance of being incurred) of up to $1,500 for relocation and travel (including up to three return trips to the player’s home) and of up to $250 per week for reasonable costs of rental accommodation and associated utilities (excluding telephone and food).
[edit] See also
- 2006 Air New Zealand Cup
- 2007 Air New Zealand Cup
- 2008 Air New Zealand Cup
- 2009 Air New Zealand Cup
- Heartland Championship
- List of attendance figures at domestic professional sports leagues — the Air New Zealand Cup and NPC in a worldwide context
- National Provincial Championship
- Ranfurly Shield
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Air New Zealand Cup official website
- Air New Zealand Cup News from Prime Rugby
- ANZ Rugby News
- NPC Rugby News
- Summary of the 2006 Air New Zealand Cup format at allblacks.com (PDF)
- Virtual Air NZ Cup Game
- Air New Zealand Cup on itsrugby.co.uk
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