NPC 2023
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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.
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What a c#ck up by Sky Stadium, cited in the following article: https://clubrugby.nz/wp/2023/09/18/sideline-conversions-18-september-some-rugby-news-and-information-to-start-the-week/
If the Wellington Lions host the NPC final, Sky Stadium could be out of action for them owing to the Black Ferns playing there that weekend. It looks like the Hutt Rec could be out of action as the turf in front of the grandstand has been removed, so the final could be played at Porirua Park.
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@Canes4life said in NPC 2023:
What a c#ck up by Sky Stadium, cited in the following article: https://clubrugby.nz/wp/2023/09/18/sideline-conversions-18-september-some-rugby-news-and-information-to-start-the-week/
If the Wellington Lions host the NPC final, Sky Stadium could be out of action for them owing to the Black Ferns playing there that weekend. It looks like the Hutt Rec could be out of action as the turf in front of the grandstand has been removed, so the final could be played at Porirua Park.
Tbf, the Black Ferns have to play somewhere...
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@Canes4life I like Jerry Collins Stadium more than Sky Stadium for the NPC. Just a pity it's in Porirua.
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@Stargazer I’d prefer Hutt Rec tbh, especially if they can erect a couple stands like they did a few years back.
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@Canes4life said in NPC 2023:
@Stargazer I’d prefer Hutt Rec tbh, especially if they can extract a couple stands like they did a few years back.
Gimmie Hutt Rec. I want to walk to an NPC final and have a beer after at one of the most grim pubs I have been to.
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@Duluth nah certainly not a done deal, and Wellington will know that. Just thought it was a strange oversight from Sky Stadium to double schedule the stadium if we were to make it through. Obviously with that date range, there is flexibility.
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@SouthernMann the Bellevue or the Angus?
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The Bellevue is on my route. Have popped in to chuck a bet on from time to time. Just get starred at by frequent flyers.
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Hearing that up to 6 teams could be culled from the Bunnings NPC from possibly 2025/2026 onwards , apparently this is what NZ Rugby has in mind.
No possibility of Promotion/Relegation which basically means any unions outside the 8 will become heartland Unions or feeders .
I know the majority of unions are dead against it , but some of the bigger unions are in favour of it , don’t have to be Einstein to figure who those unions are.
There are some announcements set on the future of the NPC set down for mid to late October
Much of this around expenditure , it’s fair to say some unions have gone way over budget and that has not helped ..
Gotta say though , there might be a revolution if NZ Rugby decided to tread this path -
@Steven-Harris I feel like NZR is only thinking of the business side of rugby, but have forgotten about the rugby itself. NPC is the heart and soul of rugby (to use Ken Laban's words) in most provinces, or at least those outside the main centres.
It will be interesting to see which provinces they want to cull and their justification(s) for that choice. IMO, they should pull the worst financial performers first (say goodbye to Auckland and Wellington) and only then the worst performers on the field. Or just pull all the provinces that are in favour of culling provinces.
It will be hard to justify culling provinces that are performing well on the field as well as financially.
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@Stargazer that's the thing, nzr has continues to bail provinces out, so has been no incentive to be fiscally responsible knowing daddy will dig into his pocket.
NZR needed to be harder on poor financial performance after they tried to cull Northland and Ta$man, but weren't and here we are again.
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@Steven-Harris said in NPC 2023:
Hearing that up to 6 teams could be culled from the Bunnings NPC from possibly 2025/2026 onwards , apparently this is what NZ Rugby has in mind.
I doubt if they will have any hope of pushing this one through. The best they can hope for is for some teams to pull the plug themselves. And NZ rugby should focus on trying to sort our super rugby first. Like making sure there are more even team in NZ. And learn how to promote rugby at both super rugby and NPC level much better
