NPC 2025
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@gt12 said in Super Rugby 2026:
@Dan54 said in Super Rugby 2026:
@gt12 said in Super Rugby 2026:
@SouthernMann said in Super Rugby 2026:
Article from Irish Paul about how to potentially improve the player distribution for Super.
Peter Keane Chair of the Landers suggesting a protected group and a draft.
At the moment, from my understanding there is a very limited salary cap. While there is also the ability to leverage third-party agreements. Top ups and All Black payments. The salary cap effectively only determines how much NZR puts into Super contracts from a central perspective each year.
From a high performance perspective, you want the best 5 - 7 players in each position starting every week.
I'm against a straight draft. Teams can just top load their squads. Players also have the ability to turn down opportunities. As they should, they should always have the ability to choose.
I'd be a fan of a points system. Each squad could use 250 or 300 points a season. Maximum allocation would be 10 for an All Black and points deducted from there. For example, Beauden Barrett, an out of region player developed elsewhere would be 10 points for the Blues. Same with Ardie Savea at MP. Wallace Sititi, because he made his Super debut for the Chiefs might be eight points. Then just put the considerations in to drop or increase the points given to the players.
There will always be family, locations of choice etc. Plenty of guys choose to take up opportunities where the work is. Same with working professionals in their 20s. You go where you will be noticed.
This isn't just me being a whining Highlanders fan. I'm quite happy with how our squad is starting to look and the future shape of it, especially coming into 27/28.
.What that article really sheets home is that the season is too short, fold super into the NPC (one competition) so that we can have a core set of professional teams that are playing over the season. Want to fix engagement? Make sure that the there is content over the year. Start a bit later then have an international break, another round of Super, some more internationals, then it's summer off. This shouldn't be that hard.
Good idea mate, but NPC and Super are obviously such different comps it like saying fold super into Tests. Neither comps go along with other.
That sounds like someone who doesn’t want to lose Super players from their NPC team.
We can still have a provincial championship but we need one professional comp and one amateur.
The Club > provincial championship for the amateurs and those trying to break into pro rugby, then Super development and Super rugby for the pros.
Actually have to disagree, as we will just lose more players to a lot of players if NPC was straight out amateur, well I think. We at moment have a pro, semi pro and amateur, and like it or not there is quite a bit of semi pro rugby around world that will attract players. Also it not about losing players from Naki etc, but I honestly think Super is well and truly long enough, and think you will find many many think similar.9Including a lot in (Aus) Just leave the NPC alone, it is probably best comp, and why stuff it up for super.
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I'm an old guy (FFS that sounds weird I still think I'm a young fulla) who loves the NPC.
If the NPC goes for a long Super comp then I'm done with pay TV for the majority of the year. I'd probably only get it for the AB tests and that would be it. The amount of rugby I watch has decreased as I get older as I have more on these days, but I'm still paying my $$ each month to the broadcaster.
Watching a Magpies team of long term club players, young up and comers, and the odd import is great, a new amateur comp of those left behind is not going to be great. Also, who is going to broadcast a comp shorn of all the good players? One of the benefits of the NPC currently is that there is a mix of players, there's lots of super players, lots of long term provincial players, lots of up and comers, and then there's the odd current ABs that get a run. The new comp will be the leftovers of the leftovers. AS @Dan54 notes the best of the "amateurs" will just go overseas, and there goes our depth.
I don't think long comps are better just because the NH and NRL have them. In most years I get bored with the NRL around July, granted this might be because the Warriors are usually done by then, and I've always liked the the three tier structure in NZ pro rugby - watch Super to a conclusion, then the tests, then NPC, then the EOYT for icing on the cake.
Half of the problem can be fixed by having a non idiot create the schedule. Why was there such a stupidly long gap between the tour tests and the RC? The RC could be finishing up soon, putting way more viewer emphasis on the NPC, instead we had almost a month of nothing and then the RC and NPC running concurrently.
If rugby is in such a perilous position as the media keeps telling us, I don't think it can afford to lose the old fans like me in favour of the tik tok brigade. I'm the guy who pays the broadcasters and can more regularly afford tickets to matches.
Of course, if the Magpies become their own franchise in the new system then I'm 100% on board.
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@Nepia yep mate, and I think it would also take away NPCs usefulness of having young fellas coming through and playing a higher standard with and against good players. Also I think we would find even if Super went staright through, MP and Drua would lose to many players to test team to be involved. Also not sure that Aussies want more super.
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Perhaps I'm biased anyway because I like NPC so much, just talking to Mrs last nigh , and was throwing around about how some places different comps are on different streaming etc. I said if it came down to having access to one comp I would take NPC over Super .
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On the NPC & SR discussion I thought I'd check how active TSF threads are
TSF skews older and we have a few people who keep talking about how much they prefer the NPC. The subset here would be more positive to the NPC than the overall population
The majority of NPC threads last year generally got 20-100 posts. Somewhere just below 50 seems about the average. The final got 258 posts
Compare that to a the Highlanders. They had between 119-427 posts and they didn't have the boost of the playoff comments.
Just skimming through the numbers I would say regular season average posting would be at least 5x higher on a SR rugby match
(note I didn't look at any numbers after the url screw up, the NPC number are from last year)
That 5x difference is huge given this community will be way more positive to the NPC than the general public. We have a lot of people over 45
I was speaking to a rugby producer at Sky last week and I asked a few questions about he NPC coverage have games at the same time etc. He said it doesn't matter because the audience is essentially zero. ABs, massive gap, SR, then another massive gap, NPC according to him
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@Duluth said in Super Rugby 2026:
On the NPC & SR discussion I thought I'd check how active TSF threads are
TSF skews older and we have a few people who keep talking about how much they prefer the NPC. The subset here would be more positive to the NPC than the overall population
The majority of NPC threads last year generally got 20-100 posts. Somewhere just below 50 seems about the average. The final got 258 posts
Compare that to a the Highlanders. They had between 119-427 posts and they didn't have the boost of the playoff comments.
Just skimming through the numbers I would say regular season average posting would be at least 5x higher on a SR rugby match
(note I didn't look at any numbers after the url screw up, the NPC number are from last year)
That 5x difference is huge given this community will be way more positive to the NPC than the general public. We have a lot of people over 45
I was speaking to a rugby producer at Sky last week and I asked a few questions about he NPC coverage have games at the same time etc. He said doesn't matter because the audience is essentially zero. ABs, massive gap, SR, then another massive gap, NPC according to him
Same on social media, with people going on and on about how NPC is the superior product.
It really isn't, they're a minority, but a very noisy minority who need to be ignored.
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If Super Rugby were to a full year round competition, then I think there would be merit in adding another NZ team and another Australian side - dillute the quality of both so it remains even. Concern I think would be whether adding a central NI team may just end up killing the Highlanders and Moana.
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@Duluth said in Super Rugby 2026:
On the NPC & SR discussion I thought I'd check how active TSF threads are
TSF skews older and we have a few people who keep talking about how much they prefer the NPC. The subset here would be more positive to the NPC than the overall population
The majority of NPC threads last year generally got 20-100 posts. Somewhere just below 50 seems about the average. The final got 258 posts
Compare that to a the Highlanders. They had between 119-427 posts and they didn't have the boost of the playoff comments.
Just skimming through the numbers I would say regular season average posting would be at least 5x higher on a SR rugby match
(note I didn't look at any numbers after the url screw up, the NPC number are from last year)
That 5x difference is huge given this community will be way more positive to the NPC than the general public. We have a lot of people over 45
I was speaking to a rugby producer at Sky last week and I asked a few questions about he NPC coverage have games at the same time etc. He said doesn't matter because the audience is essentially zero. ABs, massive gap, SR, then another massive gap, NPC according to him
Part of that is on them and NZR. In 2018 the NPC drew more viewers than the NRL (In 13 weeks v 26 weeks) yet NZR especially and Sky let the competition wilt on the vine.
Also, on the thread count, the Super matches posters are divided between 5 teams, the NPC between 14. I'd expect the Chiefs threads to have far more posters than Waikato or BoP. Not having a go at you, but stats aren't always apples and oranges.
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Truthfully one of the reasons why I love NZ rugby is the shortened compacted windows of competition - a few months of super, a few months of the All Blacks, a few months of NPC.
You never get bored of any aspect of NZ rugby cos it's not over saturated.
In contrast despite coming from the NH I have no interest in watching the marathon that is nh club rugby. 9 months of the same comp? Thanks but no thanks.
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@Duluth said in Super Rugby 2026:
It’s half time in HB v Northland and no one has commented on the game since it started. Interest is low even in this self selected community
Seriously, most of the contributors to the Magpies threads were chased away from contributing to these threads a couple of years back. Go back a few years and the Magpies threads would be quite vibrant in comparison.
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@African-Monkey said in Super Rugby 2026:
@Duluth said in Super Rugby 2026:
On the NPC & SR discussion I thought I'd check how active TSF threads are
TSF skews older and we have a few people who keep talking about how much they prefer the NPC. The subset here would be more positive to the NPC than the overall population
The majority of NPC threads last year generally got 20-100 posts. Somewhere just below 50 seems about the average. The final got 258 posts
Compare that to a the Highlanders. They had between 119-427 posts and they didn't have the boost of the playoff comments.
Just skimming through the numbers I would say regular season average posting would be at least 5x higher on a SR rugby match
(note I didn't look at any numbers after the url screw up, the NPC number are from last year)
That 5x difference is huge given this community will be way more positive to the NPC than the general public. We have a lot of people over 45
I was speaking to a rugby producer at Sky last week and I asked a few questions about he NPC coverage have games at the same time etc. He said doesn't matter because the audience is essentially zero. ABs, massive gap, SR, then another massive gap, NPC according to him
Same on social media, with people going on and on about how NPC is the superior product.
It really isn't, they're a minority, but a very noisy minority who need to be ignored.
It's performative
Judge people by what they actually do not by what they say. Posts across the whole NPC are tiny compared to SR in this self selected, high interest in rugby, community
Every year the media covers the NPC less.
Every year the interest in these forums goes down in NPC (despite total traffic going up and posts in SR and ABs increasing)
There's always an excuse
But the reality is a mixture of these:
- People are watching NPC less
- The games aren't interesting enough to comment on
- The people watching don't care enough
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IMHO NPC has been super interesting this season
Theres been Sopoaga at Waikato - last minute wins against Auckland and Taranaki, been great to see Leicester return at Ta$man, that epic Southland comeback.... Even the teams that are getting beaten every week like counties are serving up some pretty good rugby imo.
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That's great. I'm watching most games too. However each of us is one data point. I'm not pretending there's lots of people with my rugby watching habits. The interest in the competition goes down each year and that's been happening for decades as the standard has declined
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It would be interesting to see how many on here actually go to games. Sky probably only care about subscribers irrespective of the crowd numbers. I acknowledge that thousands of empty seats is not a good look, whatever the game.
My friends and I are seriously thinking about not renewing our Chiefs season memberships. It has nothing to do with the product on the field but the BS around the whole "game experience". We've had the same seats for over 20 years. We will continue to support Waikato though.
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@Duluth said in Super Rugby 2026:
That's great. I'm watching most games too. However each of us is one data point. I'm not pretending there's lots of people with my rugby watching habits. The interest in the competition goes down each year and that's been happening for decades as the standard has declined
Fair enough.
Aside from the rugby I just love the vibe/aesthetic of the NPC - it has a real community/grassroots feel to it..... Even when they cut to people in the crowd it's workaday families having a day/evening out at the game who are relatable people.
So much of modern sport is watching millionaire divas and all the bs that comes with it. The NPC feels like a real.antidote to that and a throwback.
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@Bovidae said in Super Rugby 2026:
It would be interesting to see how many on here actually go to games
Since I came back to NZ in 2013 until I had a kid in 2022 I attended almost every game at Eden Park - NPC, SR & ABs
@Bovidae said in Super Rugby 2026:
Sky probably only care about subscribers irrespective of the crowd numbers.
I asked the producer about that and he thought that Sky management sees the NPC as a burden and they want the games over as fast as possible. Interest is so low. I presume they are delighted about the new deal
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Oh, one thing I also like about NPC is how you see Super rugby teammates going against each other - Christian Lio Willie v Havili & Blackadder now for instance.
Its just a nice little wrinkle that for some reason I find cool.
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@African-Monkey said in Super Rugby 2026:
@Duluth said in Super Rugby 2026:
On the NPC & SR discussion I thought I'd check how active TSF threads are
TSF skews older and we have a few people who keep talking about how much they prefer the NPC. The subset here would be more positive to the NPC than the overall population
The majority of NPC threads last year generally got 20-100 posts. Somewhere just below 50 seems about the average. The final got 258 posts
Compare that to a the Highlanders. They had between 119-427 posts and they didn't have the boost of the playoff comments.
Just skimming through the numbers I would say regular season average posting would be at least 5x higher on a SR rugby match
(note I didn't look at any numbers after the url screw up, the NPC number are from last year)
That 5x difference is huge given this community will be way more positive to the NPC than the general public. We have a lot of people over 45
I was speaking to a rugby producer at Sky last week and I asked a few questions about he NPC coverage have games at the same time etc. He said doesn't matter because the audience is essentially zero. ABs, massive gap, SR, then another massive gap, NPC according to him
Same on social media, with people going on and on about how NPC is the superior product.
It really isn't, they're a minority, but a very noisy minority who need to be ignored.
It's performative
Judge people by what they actually do not by what they say. Posts across the whole NPC are tiny compared to SR in this self selected, high interest in rugby, community
Every year the media covers the NPC less.
Every year the interest in these forums goes down in NPC (despite total traffic going up and posts in SR and ABs increasing)
There's always an excuse
But the reality is a mixture of these:
- People are watching NPC less
- The games aren't interesting enough to comment on
- The people watching don't care enough
I'm not gonna lie, the last time I genuinely followed the comp was 2022 with Auckland. I didn't follow it in 2021 as we got booted out of it. I think when we lost the final in 2020 to Ta$man was when I really stopped caring as I just shrugged my shoulders and moved on. I used to be filthy if Auckland lost a game before then (I still get annoyed when the Blues drop a game). Now I just see it as a chance to throw up some kids and hope we find some good ones for the Blues, and now being based in Perth, the time difference makes it even tougher.
Pre covid, I used to watch most NPC.
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