NPC 2023
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@Bovidae It's based on rules laid down in the NZR Competitions Regulations Handbook. If they would deviate from that, it would be random and open to criticism of bias. It's not ideal, but at least no one can claim that one team is favoured by NZR over another.
The rules say that you play all the provinces in your own conference and 4 cross-over games.
Who is in your conference, is based on the seeding at the end of the previous season. How that seeding works is also laid down in the Handbook. For the provinces playing finals it is based on finals ranking; for all other teams it's based on conference ranking.
If I'm correct, this is the seeding at the end of the 2022 season:
1 Wellington
2 Canterbury
3 Bay of Plenty
4 Auckland
5 North Harbour
6 Waikato
7 Hawke's Bay
8 Northland
9 Otago
10 Ta$man
11 Counties Manukau
12 Taranaki
13 Southland
14 ManawatūSo, that means the 6 opponents of the own conference are known (odds and evens conferences).
The cross-over games are also based on rules in the Handbook, and have been the same for years, and ultimately come down to provinces picking an opponent for one home game and for one away game, in a pre-set order (which may mean they have no choice at all, if they are the last to pick).
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@Stargazer I was looking at the Waikato schedule and we don't play Ta$man next year, and didn't this year. Waikato would be seeded 5th, ahead of NH, so likely the explanation.
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Points after the round robin must be the first criteria.
Waikato 36
NH 32It's weird, because the Handbook says that when two Unions are tied and haven't played each other in the Round Robin the tiebreaker is:
- a. ii. The Premier Competition Union which has the higher points difference in the Round Robin will have the higher position (or seeding).
So higher points difference, not "most competition points" (words used in another tiebreaker).
North Harbour had a much better points difference than Waikato.
Edit: the consequence of them swapping (in my opinion) North Harbour and Waikato is that the conferences are exactly the same as at the beginning of the 2022 season. Only the cross-over games are different.
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Wellington also fail to play Auckland in a round robin game two years in a row. I get the concept, but I guess a downside for NZRU is that traditional clashes like this won't happen as often.
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https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/provincial/300763956/manawat-turbos-coach-appointment-imminent
Manawatū advertised for a new coach at the end of the season, receiving 26 applicants, which was cut to five people who were interviewed, and then a final three candidates.
The last three were going to be interviewed again at Hurricanes headquarters in Wellington on Wednesday. He would not say whether incumbent coach Peter Russell was among the final candidates or who the others were.
The union has in recent weeks announced the signings of some of its best young talent in prop Feleti Sae-Ta'ufo'ou, utility back Waqa Nalaga, flanker Elyjah Crosswell, hooker Raymond Tuputupu, first-five Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula, halfback Jordi Viljoen, centre Kyle Brown and prop Darius Mafile'o.
All are young but have potential and it keeps them in Manawatū.
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Former Bay of Plenty assistant Mike Rogers has been appointed as the new coach of the Manawatū Turbos.
Rogers, 43, will take over from Peter Russell, who had the job for four years, but his contract finished at the end of last season.
Rogers will not arrive in the region until July after the Major League Rugby season in the United States, where he has to complete his contract as an assistant coach of the New England Free Jacks.
Former All Black and Manawatū outside back Nehe Milner-Skudder has been appointed as an interim coach to provide local coaching for the union’s high-performance players until Rogers arrives.
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Rugby Southland Appoints Director Of Rugby
Rugby Southland is pleased to announce the appointment of Matt Saunders as Director of Rugby, a new role for the union. ...
