NPC - news, injuries etc
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From the media release:
Mitre 10 Cup crossover games confirmed for 2018
Wednesday, 8 November, 2017 - 09:45 Representatives from the 14 Mitre 10 Cup Provincial Unions have met to pick their opposition for crossover matches between the Premiership and Championship teams for the 2018 season. With Waikato and Wellington officially swapping sides of the two-column table, Waikato will play the 2018 season in the Championship and Wellington returns to the Premiership for the first time since 2014, courtesy of a thrilling extra-time win over Bay of Plenty. New Zealand Rugby’s Head of Provincial Union Rugby, Steve Lancaster, said these crossover games are exciting with no guarantee the Premiership team will come away with the win. "As we’ve seen in the 2017 season, the quality of rugby was outstanding, with some great match-ups between teams from the Premiership and Championship. "Wellington is a great example of this, beating eventual Premiership winners Canterbury convincingly in a crossover fixture. Wellington made the games against Premiership opposition count, winning three of their four crossover fixtures, and eventually earning promotion into the Premiership for 2018. "The crossover matches are an important part of the Mitre 10 Cup format, pitting Championship against Premiership, and seeing traditional geographic rivalries maintained," he said. The four rounds of picks took place as follows (home team listed first): i. The 1st round of picks are selected by Premiership teams in reverse order of seeding. These games will be played as home games for the Championship teams; - Manawatu v Wellington - Southland v Auckland - Hawke’s Bay v Counties Manukau - Waikato v North Harbour - Northland v Taranaki - Otago v Ta$man - Bay of Plenty v Canterburyii. The 2nd round of picks are selected by Championship teams in reverse order of seeding. These games will be played as home games for the Championship teams; - Southland v Counties Manukau - Hawke’s Bay v North Harbour - Manawatu v Ta$man - Northland v Auckland - Otago v Canterbury - Bay of Plenty v Taranaki - Waikato v Wellington iii. The 3rd round of picks are selected by Premiership teams in order of seeding. These games will be played as home games for the Premiership teams; - Canterbury v Hawke’s Bay - Ta$man v Southland - Taranaki v Manawatu - North Harbour v Bay of Plenty - Counties Manukau v Northland - Auckland v Waikato - Wellington v Otagoiv. The 4th round of picks are selected by Championship Teams in order of seeding. These games will be played as home games for the Premiership Teams; - Taranaki v Waikato - Counties Manukau v Bay of Plenty - Auckland v Otago - North Harbour v Northland - Canterbury v Manawatu - Ta$man v Hawke’s Bay - Wellington v Southland Following the meeting, New Zealand Rugby will begin work on the Mitre 10 Cup draw for 2018, which will be completed over the coming months. -
He said six provinces were on the hunt for coaches which provided plenty of opportunities.
It makes Rugby Southland's challenge of finding a coach even more difficult if, in fact, they feel they need to search outside the province.
Peter Skelt as already indicated he wants a shot at the Stags jobs, while outside the region there doesn't seem to be a stack load of options.
Former Highlanders assistant coach Jon Preston has indicated he would like a head coaching job, while former All Black prop Dave Hewett has applied for the Canterbury job previously without success.
The Taranaki job is vacant with Colin Cooper joining the Chiefs. New Zealand under-20 assistant coach Willie Rickards is believed to be a strong contender to fill that job.
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From Taranaki Rugby statement:
Mr Collins said it was expected the Port Taranaki Bulls’ home games would still be played at Yarrow Stadium in 2018, but without the use of the TSB Stand. “The venue remains open with a capacity of 18,000.” -
Heard the Auckland Mitre 10 cup head coaching job which was supposed to be announced a couple of weeks back has been put on hold due to Auckland Rugby conducting a full audit across the whole organisation.
Apparently along with Nick White,Assistant Bevan Cadwallander and team Manager Lewis McLintock from this years management have all been gased.I had heard that former All Black,Canterbury & Crusaders prop Dave Hewitt had applied for the job.
Would not be bad option in my opinion,might bring some ethic from the Saders region.italicised text -
Alama Ieremia is the new Auckland coach...
Alama Ieremia confirmed as new head coach of Auckland provincial side | Newshub
The former All Black will take the helm for the next three years.
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@kiwimurph said in Mitre 10 Cup - news, injuries etc:
Wasn't Ieremia the Canes backs coach when Hamateur was around?
Be interesting to know who else applied.
The good news is Nick White set the bar low.
Yep, the Hammettuer used to send him to do the Sunday radio shows after he (Hammettuer) had thrown the players under a bus the night before.
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@hooroo I might have the same attitude if I supported a team as hopeless as Waikato.
NPC rugby is entertaining and actually pretty good quality. Having a good system in place to recruit players and develop their abilities and attitudes is also very important for Super Rugby teams. A healthy Auckland Union and team is important for developing the region's large pool of talent, and developing players for the Blues and All Blacks.
I can't see someone having a strong interest in NZ Rugby but having no interest in their local NPC team, especially one with the player pool of Auckland. Sounds like the attitude of a fair-weather fan.
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@tim said in Mitre 10 Cup - news, injuries etc:
@hooroo I might have the same attitude if I supported a team as hopeless as Waikato.
NPC rugby is entertaining and actually pretty good quality. Having a good system in place to recruit players and develop their abilities and attitudes is also very important for Super Rugby teams. A healthy Auckland Union and team is important for developing the region's large pool of talent, and developing players for the Blues and All Blacks.
I can't see someone having a strong interest in NZ Rugby but having no interest in their local NPC team, especially one with the player pool of Auckland. Sounds like the attitude of a fair-weather fan.
Why just becasue a team is hopeless?
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@tim said in Mitre 10 Cup - news, injuries etc:
@hooroo That was just me musing as to why you are so uninterested, to the point of active apathy, in the entire competition.
I take a passing interest in the Shield but I jsut can't find the time or interest to watch any NPC in general.
