NPC 2023
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@Tim tbf, Sunday arvo is a good time, but agree the scheduling is poor, IMO you have maybe 3 time slots: Friday night, Saturday 2.30 and 7 then a Sunday game, or if a Sunday game isn't ideal, do it 5.15 Saturday, all done, 2 games to games to each slot except maybe one of the Friday or Saturday which could be billed (and scheduled) for the match of the round.
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@taniwharugby The current time slot set up is literally perfect (barring the storm week) - why change it?
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@Duluth Yeah, although I think it's pretty good at the moment, it might be better if they chose to play
- 7.05pm Friday;
- 12.05pm, 2.05pm and 4.35pm Saturday, if the evening slot can't be used (for example, when there's a home test match) or 2.05pm, 4.35pm and 7.05pm Saturday if the evening slot can be used; and
- 12.05pm, 2.05pm and 4.35pm Sunday.
Keeping in mind that some slots can be difficult for some teams because of the (un)availability of flights, if they can't/don't want to stay overnight (due to costs).
They'd probably have to adjust the FPC schedule in that case as well (there are sometimes already 3 games at the same time), also taking into account that they should not schedule an NPC and FPC of the same province at the same time.
At the moment, the 12.05pm slot is only used for FPC.
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@Stargazer said in NPC 2023:
7.05pm Friday;
12.05pm, 2.05pm and 4.35pm Saturday, if the evening slot can't be used (for example, when there's a home test match) or 2.05pm, 4.35pm and 7.05pm Saturday if the evening slot can be used; and
12.05pm, 2.05pm and 4.35pm Sunday.Makes sense to me. Surely it would be better for Sky too
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As it costs a lot to open the doors at the major stadiums the PUs need to maximise the games played there. Playing the FPC game, or a Dev/U19 game as a NPC curtain-raiser makes perfect sense. You get extra people through the gate who might have to make a choice on what game to attend.
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What’s been the bigger upset ..
Northland v Ta$man or Manawatu v Auckland..?
Me thinks Manawatu v Auckland when you consider the salary cap alone .
Not to mention the bunch of no names .. -
well, i guess in the revamped NPC it is now Auckland out, Manawatu in.
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@mariner4life said in NPC 2023:
well, i guess in the revamped NPC it is now Auckland out, Manawatu in.
Top 8 teams, the rest can be in the tard division
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as long as it's on win % then i can get behind that.
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i cant argue with a "merit" based...i just ask we keep the ability to go up if a team does just click or have a generation of young stars come through school
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love it, we only had one very specific way to end up with it that needed Ta$man to win
Southland and Counties have a say
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I like the way Counties are trying to stay local.
Opinion: Why the Steelers plan is working - Counties Sports Hub
With the Counties Manukau Steelers falling to their fourth loss in five games and sitting 12th on the NPC ladder, one could question whether the Union is heading in the right direction but now is the time to have faith in the strategy. Reon Graham took over as Steelers coach in 2022 promising to...
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The NPC is certainly shaping up nicely. Obviously Wellington are going to be tough to beat, but Auckland, Canterbury and Ta$man have all shown enough to say they are going to challenge. To a lesser extent, I think the Naki, BOP and Hawke's Bay will cause issues, and I'd expect one of them at least to secure an upset in the first week of the finals.
The race for eighth is on, and in fairness Taranaki could be dragged into it if they lose to Otago tomorrow, but I think the Top 7 is the Top 7. If Otago win that, could well be a fruity battle for spots 7-10 between Otago, Harbour, Naki and Counties... with Otago playing Counties in one of the final games of the Round Robin, we could get an effective Round of 16 game.
