National Provincial Championship (2006–present)

Uncommon card · No. 108249

The National Provincial Championship (NPC) is an annual, men's round-robin rugby union competition organised by New Zealand Rugby. First played in 1976, it is the second highest level of professional rugby in New Zealand. The Ranfurly Shield is also played for during the season. A concurrent women's tournament is also held, called the Farah Palmer Cup. Since 2026, it has been known as the Hilux National Provincial Championship after Toyota Hilux, its naming rights sponsor. Following the 2005 season the league was restructured into a two-tier competition. The National Provincial Championship would include professional and semi-professional players, and consist of the top fourteen financial and sporting best performing regional teams. For sponsorship reasons it was rebranded as the Air New Zealand Cup. The remaining teams would form an amateur competition known as the Heartland Championship. Twenty-nine teams have competed since the inception of the competition in 1976. Auckland are historically...

Read on Wikipedia