New NPC format

taniwharugby

I just want a full season of NPC footy!

Crucial

@hooroo said in NPC - news, injuries etc:

@kiwiwomble said in NPC - news, injuries etc:

Kind of like it....but that could just because we've been stuck i the championship...for its entire existence

https://www.provincial.rugby/news/new-competition-format-for-the-bunnings-warehouse-npc/?fbclid=IwAR1c6o5ItnrjsUs92yIoGyCOZ-kJe6DMC860N8Axx_vnQ8BxYL2ebhcT0_E

New Zealand Rugby (NZR) has announced the new format for the Bunnings Warehouse NPC with all 14 Provincial Unions to compete for one National Provincial Championship title.
The Bunnings NPC will see Provincial Unions seeded into two conferences based on the previous season standings for round robin matches and quarterfinals. Teams placed 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 sit within the Odds conference and teams placed 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14 sit within the Evens conference for the season ahead. The round robin includes four crossover matches per team, where teams from the Odds conference will play teams from the Evens conference. 


The quarterfinals include the top four teams within each conference playing for a spot in the semi-finals. With the top two teams across the conferences playing against each other in the semi-finals, to then see the top two qualifiers play off in the NPC final. All matches will be broadcast live and exclusive on Sky.

The pools and seedings for the 2022 Bunnings Warehouse NPC are as follows: 
 

ODDS	                            EVENS
(1) Waikato 	                 (2)  Ta$man
(3) Hawke's Bay 	         (4) Canterbury
(5) Bay of Plenty 	         (6) Auckland
(7) Wellington	                 (8) Taranaki
(9) Otago	                        (10) Manawatū 
(11) Southland	        (12) North Harbour 
(13) Counties Manukau 	(14) Northland

Much prefer the odds side. That evens side looks quite tough.

In theory the evens side should be weaker conference. If things ended up the way they went in by ranking the evens conference 'quartfinals' would be Ta$man v Naki and Canterbury v Auckland!

I gather the first year will be the reshuffling one.

Dan54

Yep crucial and might make a differenc how the 4 corssover matches work too.

Bovidae

Allocate the crossover games randomly rather than teams getting to choose their opponents.

Crucial

@bovidae said in New NPC format:

Allocate the crossover games randomly rather than teams getting to choose their opponents.

I hadn't read that part.
Surely there is a fair way of allocating crossovers when teams are ranked?

The 'choosing' thing is a sop to teams that want to ensure traditionals and/or derbies, which makes sense for crowds I guess.

mariner4life

@crucial said in New NPC format:

crowds

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Kiwiwomble

@crucial said in New NPC format:

@bovidae said in New NPC format:

Allocate the crossover games randomly rather than teams getting to choose their opponents.

I hadn't read that part.
Surely there is a fair way of allocating crossovers when teams are ranked?

The 'choosing' thing is a sop to teams that want to ensure traditionals and/or derbies, which makes sense for crowds I guess.

other sports (im thinking AFL) would make that an event, like a draft night, where teams have to stand up and accept/veto/trade away game, the kind of thing to build some excitement preseason

Crucial

@mariner4life OK. easier travel for mums and dads then

mariner4life

being able to choose who you play where everyone is in the same comp, and not everyone plays everyone, is one of the stupider ideas for a sporting competition i have ever heard.

Bovidae

@mariner4life said in New NPC format:

being able to choose who you play where everyone is in the same comp, and not everyone plays everyone, is one of the stupider ideas for a sporting competition i have ever heard.

That applied to the previous format and was based on the seedings. The earlier you could choose the more options you had. My point was that I hope they do something different in this "new" NPC to make it fairer (given the format).

Kirwan

I like it, much better. It's a shame that final 5 system isn't being used as I always liked that - good incentive to finish at the top. QFs is too many finals, if I had to pick I would just go with Semi/Final and be done with it.

Be a shitfight at the end of the tournament to get in and then a short sharp finals series.

Machpants

The only thing that is a real positive for such a high percentage of teams in finals of NPC (and SR) is that more teams have something to fight for. The less in the finals, the early teams get knocked out and that changes the stakes of their games

dogmeat

It is a vast improvement, but given Finals series were introduced to get spectators to the grounds and no one goes that much any more I think I'd prefer a full round robin with no finals series.

It would take the same number of weeks to complete, would be a far fairer system, you would get a true season champion and Sky would get 14 more games.

Travel costs might be an issue and I'm guessing this notion will go down with the majority like a shit sandwich, but hey I'm a traditionalist.

booboo

@kiwiwomble said in New NPC format:

two conferences based on the previous season standings for round robin matches and quarterfinals. Teams placed 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 sit within the Odds conference and teams placed 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14

Who could possibly have conceived of such a notion all those years ago ...

Crucial

Little bump here with an added pic of how the playoffs work as the rest of this thread has probably been long forgotten

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Winger

@dogmeat said in New NPC format:

It is a vast improvement,

I liked the previous 2 division format. At least Wellington was able to win one competition after they went down and won the B division to come back up

But it was killed last year when Taranaki wasn't promoted

Crucial

@Winger said in New NPC format:

@dogmeat said in New NPC format:

It is a vast improvement,

I liked the previous 2 division format. At least Wellington was able to win one competition after they went down and won the B division to come back up

The only thing I didn't like about that format is that there was usually a team that bounced between the two divisions. A bit like Otago will do in FPC. Not strong enough for the big girls and too strong for the lower division.

mariner4life

the old format was shit. Playing teams in another comp for points in your comp? ridiculous

And the 2nd div was a farce. At least one semi finalist would have a losing record. Another would be lucky to finish 5 and 5. Both would have a negative points difference.

It was a pointless exercise in appeasement

Higgins

@Winger said in New NPC format:

@dogmeat said in New NPC format:

It is a vast improvement,

I liked the previous 2 division format. At least Wellington was able to win one competition after they went down and won the B division to come back up

But it was killed last year when Taranaki wasn't promoted

Took them a couple of years to do it though. At their first attempt they got pumped 26 - 25 after that 78th minute try to Mason Emerson converted by Ihaia West saw them deservedly lose. That after BoP got sent packing by The Bay in the semi-final 33 - 26 with only a late try to the losing team giving a false impression to the actual play. Oh, that's right Mr. Pickerill had the whistle in this match so that probably explains it.

The Silver Fern

New NPC format