NPC 2024

Bovidae

STATS WRAP: Bunnings NPC

A rash of last-round scoring resulted in the number of points centurions reaching four at the end of regular season play in New Zealand's Bunnings National Provincial Championship at the weekend.

NH lead a lot of the stats despite their W-L record.

Duluth

@Bovidae

They have the best try scoring highlights too. Some great long range efforts

They had a schizo season

Chris B.

@pakman said in NPC 2024:

Will be interesting to see whom TWM release.

TBH - even though we have a decent chance to be beneficiaries, I'd rather they didn't release anyone.

Also hope that all the AB XV players are left to play throughout the play-offs.

Seriously devalues the NPC if they remove the best players from the final(s).

taniwharugby

Good listen from Neil Barnes talking briefly on the Shield, NPC, Storm week and top heavy rugby in NZ.

NEIL BARNES | Is Rugby in New Zealand too top heavy? by Scotty & Izzy

Canes4life

Razor has mentioned about 15 ABs will be released this week for the quarter finals.

Two players carrying injuries atm will return. Love will play for Wellington, Newell for Canterbury.

Bovidae

This will have a bearing on the availability of players for the latter stages of the playoffs.

The All Blacks squad will depart for Japan on 17 October.
The All Blacks XV squad will depart for Ireland on 26 (non-NPC finalists) and 27 October (NPC finalists).

Mr Fish

@Bovidae said in NPC 2024:

This will have a bearing on the availability of players for the latter stages of the playoffs.

The All Blacks squad will depart for Japan on 17 October.
The All Blacks XV squad will depart for Ireland on 26 (non-NPC finalists) and 27 October (NPC finalists).

Nice to see it won't be very disruptive. The players that have largely been available throughout the regular season will all still be available for the finals.

KiwiMurph

Not sure if this has been posted.

JRK out of the rest of the NPC

This is almost certainly the result of the Ta$man lock Shalfoon shouldering JRK to the back of the neck and head after he landed taking a high ball in what was a moronic avoidable play. Shalfoon should have faced more punishment.

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antipodean

With his form in the NPC I expected him to be named in the AB XV. That must be bitterly disappointing for the young lad.

Duluth

@KiwiMurph

Yeah it was discussed in a thread somewhere (Highlanders maybe?)

I’m surprised that Shalfoon hasn’t been cited. It seemed like a cheap shot.

Bovidae

The list of All Blacks available for their provincial teams is as follows:

Friday 11 October
Wellington v Counties Manukau – Sky Stadium, Wellington, 7.05pm
Wellington: Billy Proctor, Ruben Love, TJ Perenara, Asafo Aumua
Counties Manukau: Cam Roigard

Saturday 12 October
Bay of Plenty v Hawkes Bay – Tauranga Domain, 2.05pm
Bay of Plenty: Pasilio Tosi

Taranaki v Waikato – Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth, 7.05pm
Taranaki: Stephen Perofeta
Waikato: Luke Jacobson, Samipeni Finau

Sunday 13 October
Ta$man v Canterbury – Lansdowne Park, Blenheim, 2.05pm
Ta$man: Ethan Blackadder, David Havili
Canterbury: George Bell, Fletcher Newell, Sam Darry

No Papalii.

Canes4life

Wellington are now playing Waikato on Saturday night, not Friday. That could be a massive advantage having an extra day rest and 8 days between games.

Bovidae

Canterbury have the shortest turn-around with the travel.

Wurzel

Heads-up for all the Steamers fans on here, and provincial rugby fans more generally, there is a doco on Sky Sport this week looking back at the 2004 Bay Of Plenty side that won the Shield off Auckland... and the three weeks of celebrations that followed.

Some awesome anecdotes from Vern, Schmidt and Jacko amongst many others.

First airs Thursday night 9pm and there's a replay playing between the two NPC semis on Saturday.

Canes4life

Noted by ClubRugby.co.nz yesterday - A bit of a stinker that eligible All Blacks and All Blacks XVs players will all be potentially taken out of the NPC for the business end of the competition. Over 65 players gone, just as the semi-finals and finals are reached. It’s normal now not to have All Blacks involved but New Zealand XV players as well is a blow for fans.

If all the AB XV players are taken out, what the fuck is the point in even having an NPC if you completely disregard the business end.

Yeetyaah

@Canes4life then NZR bitch and moan about viewership figures and the comp not being up to standard. Be very silly if the ABs XV players aren't there in the SF/F.