NPC - news, injuries etc
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From NRU
Kia ora,
The Northland Rugby Football Union seek to clarify statements made in several news articles and TV items over recent days regarding our participation in the 2020 Mitre 10 Cup.
Reference in the articles, and the TV news item, to Northland “not being one of the starters” for Mitre 10 Cup is incorrect and misleading. The NRU is, and always has been, committed to participating in a 14 Team Mitre 10 Cup competition as agreed with all other Provincial Unions and previously communicated very clearly to NZ Rugby and our own stakeholder base. The NRU Board and staff were excited and focussed when NZ Rugby confirmed on the 12th May, that a full 14 team Mitre 10 Cup competition would kick off on 11 September. We have accordingly ramped up planning and preparation, that was already in play, to align to the new start date.
All Provincial Unions understand that their participation is subject to fully understanding the financial impact of doing so and so we eagerly await a resolution to the current negotiations between NZ Rugby, the New Zealand Rugby Players Association and Provincial Unions to provide greater certainty around player costs to align more realistically with what we have been forced to undertake ourselves due to Covid 19. Whilst we have great lines of communication with our local media, NRU has not been approached for comment regarding participation in the competition by the media who published the national articles.
We are extremely disappointed that Northland has incorrectly identified as a non-starter in the Mitre 10 Cup. Equally this has created concern and distress across our passionate supporter base and confusion in the Mitre 10 Coaching and Player squad which we are at pains to set straight. Even more so at a time like this, inaccurate speculation is unhelpful and an unnecessary distraction as we plan and look forward to the commencement of the community and high performance rugby season.
Kia rewa, kia runga te Taniwha!
Nga Mihi
Cameron Bell - Chief Executive Officer
Ajit Balasingham - Chairman -
@taniwharugby the most disappointing aspect was, many of the players ended up ringing the union to see if they were still on the books as it was news to them.
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This may be an issue for more NPC teams (and SR teams), who're thinking of signing players who are still contracted to clubs overseas.
The cost of insuring Liam Squire has erased Ta$man's hopes of signing the ex-All Black for its Mitre 10 premiership title defence later this year. Although contracted to Japanese club NTT Docomo Hurricanes for two seasons, Squire has returned to New Zealand due to the Top League competition being cancelled because of Covid-19. Recruiting the 23-test loose forward, who has played 47 games for Ta$man, would undoubtedly be welcomed by rugby followers at the top of the South Island but Ta$man CEO Tony Lewis said he won’t take the field for the Mako because of financial reasons. “The one thing I do know, as much as the media and public speculates, is that the sheer cost of insuring Liam’s participation in the Mitre 10 Cup in case of injury would make it absolutely impossible for Ta$man to afford,’’ Lewis said. (...) While Lewis wouldn’t divulge the price for insuring Squire he acknowledged it would be “more than $10,000 - more like tens of thousands’’.Former All Blacks captain Kieran Read, who is contracted to Japanese club Toyota Verblitz, recently signalled he was keen to play in the Mitre 10 Cup but in these straitened times it may be difficult for a union to cover his insurance fees. Read was contracted to Counties-Manukau before he relocated to Japan after the World Cup, but played the majority of his provincial career with Canterbury. -
A full 13-team Farah Palmer Cup has today been confirmed by New Zealand Rugby (NZR), with the season to kick off in August. In a move to further delight rugby fans, the country’s best women players will be on show across a nine-week season, set to feature Black Ferns and Black Ferns Sevens stars.https://www.allblacks.com/news/farah-palmer-cup-to-kick-off-in-2020-as-season-confirmed/
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@KiwiMurph So no Thursday night games - good.
An extra game on Sunday probably means a 7:30 pm kickoff like Saturday.
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A revised format will see teams compete in North and South pools, with seven weeks of round robin, before two weeks of play off matches.As the South Island has only three women's teams, I assume the teams from the Hurricanes region will join the South pool to make it 6. Canterbury can already book a spot in the semis before playing a game.
I wonder whether they're going to use the same format in the Mitre 10 Cup, too?
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@Stargazer said in Mitre 10 Cup - news, injuries etc:
As the South Island has only three women's teams, I assume the teams from the Hurricanes region will join the South pool to make it 6. Canterbury can already book a spot in the semis before playing a game.
That would make sense. BOP could be strong if they keep some of the sevens girls who moved to Mt Maunganui.
I wonder whether they're going to use the same format in the Mitre 10 Cup, too?
7 round robin games means you have to play a team from your pool twice or have some cross-over games.
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@Stargazer said in Mitre 10 Cup - news, injuries etc:
I really hope that "two games at the same time" doesn't mean that one of these games won't be televised.
There would be an uproar if Sky did that. They can use a pop-up channel or another sports channel to broadcast the other game.
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Sky have long been the ones championing a reduction to a 10-team NPC. They only want to broadcast five matches a week. More than that and they are throwing money away on outside broadcasts.
I'd imagine they have been instrumental in this latest schedule. Be interesting what level of coverage the concurrent matches receive.
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@Wurzel Well if there's any suggestion they won't cover each of the concurrent games live, it's nuts. The only possible way to do that without losing substantial subscription support would be to ensure the game that wasn't covered live was between two small market teams and they'd probably both need to not be a top side. This rules out Ta$man for example. Southland vs Northland is absolute fodder for this cause though, as are games between those sides and anyone other than Auckland, BOP, Waikato, Wellington and Canterbury as the largest population bases.
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Report: Former All Blacks prop Jamie Mackintosh in line for Kiwi rugby return with new team
Former All Blacks prop Jamie Mackintosh could be set for a return to first-class rugby in New Zealand after five years abroad.
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@Stargazer said in Mitre 10 Cup - news, injuries etc:
Southland signing
Probably no surprise something had to give with Canterbury having MICHAEL ALAALATOA,Olli Jager and young Fletcher Newell as TH options
Along with Joe Moodey,Isa Tunigafasi,Harry Allen, Daniel Lieenart Brown and Tamati Williams as LH options. -
@Chris Is Isi Tu'ungafasi playing for Canterbury this year?
