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2024 Bunnings NPC (draft)

2024 Bunnings NPC season
2024 Bunnings NPC season
Countries	New Zealand
Date	9 August – 26 October 2024
Official website
	www.provincial.rugby
	← 2023 2025 →

The 2024 Bunnings NPC season is the nineteenth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition, the National Provincial Championship, since it turned professional in 2006. It involves the top fourteen provincial rugby unions of New Zealand. For sponsorship reasons, the competition is known as the Bunnings NPC. The regular season begins on Friday 9 August 2024, when 2023 Champions Taranaki host Counties Manukau. The Final is scheduled for Saturday 26 October 2024.

Format

Under the current competition format, which is a continuation of that of 2023, the 14 provincial unions participating in the Bunnings NPC are grouped in one single division, ranked on one single competition table and play for one NPC title.^[1]^[2]

All provincial teams play ten games during the regular season (round robin): five games are played at the provincial union's home ground and five games are away games. The seven teams that finished the previous season in 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th place will play each other as well as four cross-over matches against the teams that finished 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th and 14th. Likewise, the teams that finished 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th and 14th will also play each other as well as four cross-over games against the provinces that were ranked 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th or 13th at the end of the previous season.^[1]^[2] The ten round robin games in 2024 are played over a period of nine weeks (starting on Friday 9 August 2024) and include one mid-week game to be played on a Wednesday night.^[3]

The regular season is followed by quarter-finals to be played by the eight highest ranked teams on the competition table. The finals rankings are determined by the number of competition points earned during the regular season. Competition points can be gained in the following way: four points are awarded to the winning team, two points to each team for a draw, and no points for a loss. Teams can also receive a bonus point if they score four or more tries in a match, or lose by seven points or less.^[4]

If two or more provincial teams finish with an equal number of competition points, the following tiebreaker rules apply. If two unions are tied, the union which has defeated the other in a head-to-head is placed higher. In case of a draw between them, the side with the biggest points difference is ranked higher. If three or more unions are tied and they have all played each other, the team with most competition points in that year against the other tied unions is ranked higher; if they have not all played each other, the team with the biggest points difference in the round robin is ranked higher. In all cases, if these unions are still tied, the ranking is decided by the highest number of tries scored, the most points scored, or a coin toss.^[1]

The quarter-finals are played as follows, with the highest ranked team hosting:

QF 1: 1 v 8;

QF 2: 2 v 7;

QF 3: 3 v 6; and

QF 4: 4 v 5.

In the semi-finals, the highest-ranked quarter-final winner hosts the lowest-ranked quarter-final winner and the second highest-ranked quarter-final winner hosts the third highest-ranked quarter-final winner.

The NPC Final will be played between the two semi-final winners, again at the home venue of the team with the higher finals ranking.^[1]^[2]

The rules governing Ranfurly Shield Challenges state that every home game during the regular season played by the union that holds the Ranfurly Shield is a mandartory challenge match. No challenge matches will be played after the regular season has ended (i.e., during the finals). A holder who competes in the Bunnings NPC must also accept at least two challenges from unions competing in the Heartland Championship, including a challenge lodged by the winner of the Meads Cup at the end of the previous season. These non-mandatory challenge matches must be played before the start of the NPC season.^[1]

Standings

The current standings for the 2024 Bunnings NPC season are:

Pos	Team	Qualification
1	Auckland	Bunnings NPC quarter-finals
2	Bay of Plenty
3	Canterbury
4	Counties Manukau
5	Hawke's Bay (RS)
6	Manawatu
7	North Harbour
8	Northland
9	Otago
10	Southland
11	Taranaki
12	Tasman
13	Waikato
14	Wellington

First match(es) will be played: Friday 9 August 2024. Source: Bunnings NPC fixtures & standings 2024
RS: Ranfurly Shield holders

Standings progression

The table below shows each team's progression throughout the season. For each round of the regular season, their cumulative points total is shown with the overall log position in brackets.

Team	W1	W2	W3	W4	W5
Auckland	0 (---)
Bay of Plenty	0 (---)
Canterbury	0 (---)
Counties Manukau	0 (---)
Hawke's Bay	0 (---)
Manawatu	0 (---)
North Harbour	0 (---)
Northland	0 (---)
Otago	0 (---)
Southland	0 (---)
Taranaki	0 (---)
Tasman	0 (---)
Waikato	0 (---)
Wellington	0 (---)

Key:	win	draw	loss	no game	DNQ = did not qualify

Regular season

During the regular season of the 2024 Bunnings NPC, each team plays 10 games over a period of nine weeks, including one mid-week game. The competition starts on Friday 9 August 2024, when Taranaki hosts Counties Manukau in New Plymouth.^[3]

Week 1

	9 August 2024	Taranaki	v	Counties Manukau	Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth
	17:35 NZST

	9 August 2024	Auckland	v	Wellington	Eden Park, Auckland
	19:35 NZST

	10 August 2024	Canterbury	v	Northland	Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch
	14:05 NZST

	10 August 2024	Southland	v	Otago	Rugby Park, Invercargill
	14:05 NZST

	10 August 2024	Waikato	v	Bay of Plenty	FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton
	16:35 NZST

	11 August 2024	North Harbour	v	Hawke's Bay	North Harbour Stadium, Albany
	14:05 NZST

	11 August 2024	Manawatu	v	Tasman	Central Energy Trust Arena, Palmerston North
	16:35 NZST

	14 August 2024	Bay of Plenty	v	Counties Manukau	Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua
	19:05 NZST

Week 2

	16 August 2024	Otago	v	Auckland	Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
	19:05 NZST

	17 August 2024	Northland	v	Manawatu	Semenoff Stadium, Whangārei
	14:05 NZST

	17 August 2024	Tasman	v	Canterbury	Trafalgar Park, Nelson
	14:05 NZST

Ranfurly Shield game	17 August 2024	RS – Hawke's Bay	v	Southland	McLean Park, Napier
	16:35 NZST

	18 August 2024	Bay of Plenty	v	North Harbour	Tauranga Domain, Tauranga
	14:05 NZST

	18 August 2024	Wellington	v	Taranaki	Jerry Collins Stadium, Porirua
	14:05 NZST

	18 August 2024	Counties Manukau	v	Waikato	Navigation Homes Stadium, Pukekohe
	16:35 NZST

Week 3

Ranfurly Shield game	23 August 2024	RS – Hawke's Bay	v	Northland	McLean Park, Napier
	19:05 NZST

	24 August 2024	Counties Manukau	v	Tasman	Navigation Homes Stadium, Pukekohe
	14:05 NZST

	24 August 2024	Auckland	v	Canterbury	Eden Park, Auckland
	16:35 NZST

	24 August 2024	Southland	v	Taranaki	Rugby Park, Invercargill
	19:05 NZST

	25 August 2024	Otago	v	Bay of Plenty	Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
	14:05 NZST

	25 August 2024	Wellington	v	Manawatu	Jerry Collins Stadium, Porirua
	14:05 NZST

	25 August 2024	North Harbour	v	Waikato	North Harbour Stadium, Albany
	16:35 NZST

	28 August 2024	Canterbury	v	Hawke's Bay	Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch
	19:05 NZST

Week 4

	30 August 2024	Northland	v	Southland	Semenoff Stadium, Whangārei
	19:05 NZST

	31 August 2024	North Harbour	v	Counties Manukau	North Harbour Stadium, Albany
	14:05 NZST

	31 August 2024	Taranaki	v	Otago	Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth
	14:05 NZST

	31 August 2024	Waikato	v	Auckland	FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton
	16:35 NZST

	31 August 2024	Tasman	v	Bay of Plenty	Lansdowne Park, Blenheim
	19:05 NZST

	1 September 2024	Canterbury	v	Wellington	Rangiora Showground Oval, Rangiora
	14:05 NZST

	1 September 2024	Manawatu	v	Hawke's Bay	Central Energy Trust Arena, Palmerston North
	16:35 NZST

	4 September 2024	Waikato	v	Northland	FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton
	19:05 NZST

Week 5

	6 September 2024	Bay of Plenty	v	Manawatu	Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua
	19:05 NZST

	7 September 2024	Auckland	v	North Harbour
	14:05 NZST

	7 September 2024	Wellington	v	Southland	Jerry Collins Stadium, Porirua
	14:05 NZST

	7 September 2024	Otago	v	Canterbury	Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
	16:35 NZST

Ranfurly Shield game	7 September 2024	RS – Hawke's Bay	v	Tasman	McLean Park, Napier
	19:05 NZST

	8 September 2024	Taranaki	v	Waikato	Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth
	14:05 NZST

	8 September 2024	Counties Manukau	v	Northland	Navigation Homes Stadium, Pukekohe
	16:35 NZST

	11 September 2024	Otago	v	Wellington	Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
	19:05 NZST

Week 6

	13 September 2024	Southland	v	Canterbury	Rugby Park, Invercargill
	19:05 NZST

	14 September 2024	Bay of Plenty	v	Taranaki	Tauranga Domain, Tauranga
	14:05 NZST

	14 September 2024	North Harbour	v	Manawatu	North Harbour Stadium, Albany
	16:35 NZST

	14 September 2024	Waikato	v	Hawke's Bay	FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton
	19:05 NZST

	15 September 2024	Counties Manukau	v	Otago	Navigation Homes Stadium, Pukekohe
	14:05 NZST

	15 September 2024	Tasman	v	Wellington	Lansdowne Park, Blenheim
	14:05 NZST

	15 September 2024	Northland	v	Auckland	Semenoff Stadium, Whangārei
	16:35 NZST

	18 September 2024	Manawatu	v	Southland	Central Energy Trust Arena, Palmerston North
	19:05 NZST

Week 7

Ranfurly Shield game	20 September 2024	RS – Hawke's Bay	v	Taranaki	McLean Park, Napier
	19:05 NZST

	21 September 2024	Northland	v	North Harbour	Semenoff Stadium, Whangārei
	14:05 NZST

	21 September 2024	Wellington	v	Bay of Plenty	Sky Stadium, Wellington
	14:05 NZST

	21 September 2024	Waikato	v	Tasman	FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton
	16:35 NZST

	21 September 2024	Canterbury	v	Counties Manukau	Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch
	19:05 NZST

	22 September 2024	Auckland	v	Southland	Eden Park, Auckland
	14:05 NZST

	22 September 2024	Manawatu	v	Otago	Central Energy Trust Arena, Palmerston North
	16:35 NZST

	25 September 2024	Taranaki	v	North Harbour	Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth
	19:05 NZST

Week 8

	27 September 2024	Counties Manukau	v	Wellington	Navigation Homes Stadium, Pukekohe
	19:05 NZST

	28 September 2024	Bay of Plenty	v	Northland	Tauranga Domain, Tauranga
	14:05 NZST

Ranfurly Shield game	28 September 2024	RS – Hawke's Bay	v	Auckland	McLean Park, Napier
	14:05 NZST

	28 September 2024	Otago	v	Tasman	Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
	16:35 NZST

	29 September 2024	North Harbour	v	Canterbury	North Harbour Stadium, Albany
	14:05 NZST

	29 September 2024	Southland	v	Waikato	Rugby Park, Invercargill
	14:05 NZST

	29 September 2024	Taranaki	v	Manawatu	Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth
	16:35 NZST

	2 October 2024	Tasman	v	Auckland	Trafalgar Park, Nelson
	19:05 NZST

Week 9

	4 October 2024	Northland	v	Otago	Semenoff Stadium, Whangārei
	19:05 NZST

	5 October 2024	Manawatu	v	Counties Manukau	Central Energy Trust Arena, Palmerston North
	14:05 NZST

	5 October 2024	Southland	v	North Harbour	Rugby Park, Invercargill
	16:35 NZST

	5 October 2024	Wellington	v	Hawke's Bay	Sky Stadium, Wellington
	16:35 NZST

	5 October 2024	Canterbury	v	Waikato	Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch
	19:05 NZST

	6 October 2024	Tasman	v	Taranaki	Trafalgar Park, Nelson
	14:05 NZST

	6 October 2024	Auckland	v	Bay of Plenty	Eden Park, Auckland
	16:35 NZST

Play-offs

The play-off fixtures are as follows: TBD

Quarter-finals	Semi-finals	Final

1

8



4

5



2

7



3

6

Quarter-finals

	11 October 2024	TBD	v	TBD
	19:05 NZST

	12 October 2024	TBD	v	TBD
	16:35 NZST

	12 October 2024	TBD	v	TBD
	19:05 NZST

	13 October 2024	TBD	v	TBD
	14:05 NZST

Semi-finals

	18 October 2024	TBD	v	TBD
	19:05 NZST

	19 October 2024	TBD	v	TBD
	19:05 NZST

Final

	26 October 2024	TBD	v	TBD
	NZST

Statistics

Leading point scorers

No.	Player	Team	Points	Average	Details
1			0	0	0 T, 0 C, 0 P, 0 D
2			0	0	0 T, 0 C, 0 P, 0 D
3			0	0	0 T, 0 C, 0 P, 0 D
4			0	0	0 T, 0 C, 0 P, 0 D
5			0	0	0 T, 0 C, 0 P, 0 D
6			0	0	0 T, 0 C, 0 P, 0 D
7			0	0	0 T, 0 C, 0 P, 0 D
8			0	0	0 T, 0 C, 0 P, 0 D
9			0	0	0 T, 0 C, 0 P, 0 D
10			0	0	0 T, 0 C, 0 P, 0 D

Source: The weekly reviews of the matches published on provincial.rugby (see "Report" in the individual match scoring stats).

Leading try scorers

No.	Player	Team	Tries	Average
1			0	0
2			0	0
3			0	0
4			0	0
5			0	0
6			0	0
7			0	0
8			0	0
9			0	0
10			0	0

Source: The weekly reviews of the matches published on provincial.rugby (see "Report" in the individual match scoring stats).

Points by game

Team	1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total		Average
Auckland																					0	0	0	0
Bay of Plenty																					0	0	0	0
Canterbury																					0	0	0	0
Counties Manukau																					0	0	0	0
Hawke's Bay																					0	0	0	0
Manawatu																					0	0	0	0
North Harbour																					0	0	0	0
Northland																					0	0	0	0
Otago																					0	0	0	0
Southland																					0	0	0	0
Taranaki																					0	0	0	0
Tasman																					0	0	0	0
Waikato																					0	0	0	0
Wellington																					0	0	0	0

Source: Bunnings NPC Fixtures and Results 2024^[3]

Tries by game

Team	1		2		3		4		5		6		7		8		9		10		Total		Average
Auckland																					0	0	0	0
Bay of Plenty																					0	0	0	0
Canterbury																					0	0	0	0
Counties Manukau																					0	0	0	0
Hawke's Bay																					0	0	0	0
Manawatu																					0	0	0	0
North Harbour																					0	0	0	0
Northland																					0	0	0	0
Otago																					0	0	0	0
Southland																					0	0	0	0
Taranaki																					0	0	0	0
Tasman																					0	0	0	0
Waikato																					0	0	0	0
Wellington																					0	0	0	0

For	Against

Source: The weekly reviews of the matches published on provincial.rugby (see "Report" in the individual match scoring stats).

Sanctions

Player	Team	Red	Yellow	Sent off match(es):
		0	0

Ranfurly Shield

Pre-season challenges

On 29 February 2024, the Hawke's Bay Rugby Union confirmed that 2023 Meads Cup winners South Canterbury and King Country were the Heartland Championship teams to challenge Hawke's Bay for the Ranfurly Shield in 2024.^[5] However, on 22 May 2024, it was announced that South Canterbury had withdrawn from its challenge for financial reasons and that Whanganui – the 2023 Heartland Championship runners-up – would take its place.^[6]

26 June 2024
15:00 NZST

Hawke's Bay	v	King Country

Hawke’s Bay Regional Sports Park, Hastings^[7]

27 July 2024
15:00 NZST

Hawke's Bay	v	Whanganui

McLean Park, Napier

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "2024 NZR Competitions Regulations Handbook" (PDF). New Zealand Rugby Union. 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Bunnings Warehouse NPC – Key Information". provincial.rugby. 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Bunnings Warehouse NPC Fixtures & Results". provincial.rugby. 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
^ "Adjustment to Mitre 10 Heartland Championship bonus points system". RugbyHeartland.co.nz. 2 September 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
^ "2024 Ranfurly Shield Heartland fixtures announcement". Hawke's Bay Rugby Union (Press release). 29 February 2024. Retrieved 6 March 2024.
^ "Change in Ranfurly Shield game confirmed". Hawke's Bay Rugby Union (Press release). 22 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
^ "Venue confirmed for the first Ranfurly Shield defence of 2024". Hawke's Bay Rugby Union (Press release). 19 April 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.

External links

Official website

[2024_NZR_Competitions_Regulations_Handbook-1] "2024 NZR Competitions Regulations Handbook" (PDF). New Zealand Rugby Union. 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.

[Bunnings_Warehouse_NPC_–_Key_Information-2] "Bunnings Warehouse NPC – Key Information". provincial.rugby. 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.

[Bunnings_Warehouse_NPC_Fixtures_&_Results-3] "Bunnings Warehouse NPC Fixtures & Results". provincial.rugby. 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.

[Adjustment_to_Mitre_10_Heartland_Championship_bonus_points_system-4] "Adjustment to Mitre 10 Heartland Championship bonus points system". RugbyHeartland.co.nz. 2 September 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2023.

[2024_Ranfurly_Shield_Heartland_fixtures_announcement-5] "2024 Ranfurly Shield Heartland fixtures announcement". Hawke's Bay Rugby Union (Press release). 29 February 2024. Retrieved 6 March 2024.

[Change_in_Ranfurly_Shield_game_confirmed-6] "Change in Ranfurly Shield game confirmed". Hawke's Bay Rugby Union (Press release). 22 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.

[Venue_confirmed_for_the_first_Ranfurly_Shield_defence_of_2024-7] "Venue confirmed for the first Ranfurly Shield defence of 2024". Hawke's Bay Rugby Union (Press release). 19 April 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.

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