International Rugby Events
All kind of International Rugby Events, like June Tours, Pacific cups and all others
Wales
VS.
England
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.
Match scheduled:
Gillette Fusion RUGBY LEAGUE International
Date : 17-10-2009
Time : from 19:15 until 21:15
All kind of International Rugby Events, like June Tours, Pacific cups and all others
Wales
VS.
England
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.
Match scheduled:
Gillette Fusion RUGBY LEAGUE International
Date : 17-10-2009
Time : from 19:15 until 21:15
Competition Explained
The Air New Zealand Cup replaces the former Air New Zealand National Provincial Championship Division One competition. The NPC competition, played across three divisions, was introduced in 1976, with finals introduced in 1992. The Air New Zealand Cup was established following the wide-ranging Competitions Review, which the NZRU launched in 2003. The objective of that Review was to conduct a comprehensive review of all NZRU competitions to ensure they provide the best possible platform for sustaining a winning All Blacks team and maintaining rugby as a game accessible and attractive to all New Zealanders. The inaugural competition involving 14 teams kicked off in 2006. The 2006 Air New Zealand Cup champions are Waikato.
Key features of the revised Air New Zealand Cup format
• The competition will feature the same 14 teams that participated in the inaugural 2006 Air New Zealand Cup – Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Counties Manukau, Hawke’s Bay, Manawatu, Northland, North Harbour, Otago, Southland, Taranaki, Tasman, Waikato and Wellington.
• The revised format will now see all 14 teams playing in a 10-week Modified Round Robin, followed by the quarterfinals, semifinals and final.
• There will be seven matches played each week during the Modified Round Robin.
• Not all teams will play each other during the Modified Round Robin. A formula has been developed to determine which teams do not play each other, based on a team’s competition placing from the previous season.
• During the 10 weeks of the Modified Round Robin, there will be a match played on every Thursday night.
• During the 10 weeks of the Modified Round Robin, two matches will be played simultaneously at 7.35pm on Friday night, with SKY Television broadcasting each match live on separate channels then repeating both matches on alternate channels straight after the live broadcast.
• The 2007 Air New Zealand Cup will kick off on Thursday 26 July 2007 with the Final played on Saturday 20 October 2007.
• Teams accumulate competition points as per normal: 4 points for a win; 2 points for a draw; 1 point for scoring four or more tries in a match; 1 point for losing a match by seven or fewer points.
• The top eight teams at the end of the Modified Round Robin will advance to the quarterfinals with the top four ranked teams hosting the matches. The quarterfinal match ups will be as follows: 1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, 3 vs. 6 and 4 vs. 5.
• The first semifinal will be contested between the highest-seeded quarterfinal winner and the lowest-seeded quarterfinal winner; the other semifinal will be contested between the two remaining teams.
• The Ranfurly Shield maintains its special place within the Air New Zealand Cup, with the holder putting the Shield up at all home games in the Round Robin only. If current Shield holders North Harbour win their pre-competition challenges they are scheduled to face Air New Zealand Cup challenges from Taranaki, Waikato, Manawatu, Bay of Plenty and Southland.
