NZRL National Competition
Current season or competition: 2022 New Zealand rugby league season | |
| Sport | Rugby league |
|---|---|
| Formerly known as | Bartercard Premiership |
| Instituted | 2010 |
| Inaugural season | 2010 |
| Number of teams | 12 |
| Country |  New Zealand |
| Holders |  Akarana Falcons (2022) |
| Most titles | Akarana Falcons (9 titles) |
| Website | www.NZRL.co.nz/ |
| Broadcast partner | Sky Sport |
The NZRL Men's National Competition (previously called the National Zonal Competition) is the top-level rugby league competition run by the New Zealand Rugby League. In 2010 the competition replaced the Bartercard Premiership following a Sparc funded review and restructure of the New Zealand Rugby League. Since 2019, the competition has consisted of a four-team national premiership and an eight-team national championship (split into North and South Island Conferences) with a promotion and relegation between the two divisions.
Trophies and awards
[edit]Senior teams compete for the Albert Baskerville Trophy, which is named after Albert Baskerville, the organiser of the 1907-1908 All Golds tour. Under-17s compete for the Mark Graham Cup, which is named after Mark Graham, the New Zealand Rugby League player of the century. Under-15s compete for the Nathan Cayless Cup, which is named after Nathan Cayless, the only captain to win the World Cup for New Zealand.
Structure
[edit]The competition was reformatted for the 2016 season, with Akarana, Counties Manukau, Canterbury and Wellington competing in a national championship. The Upper Central and Mid-Central zones reverted to district teams with these teams, alongside Northland and the South Island districts, competing in four regional championships. The four regional winners then compete in a National Premiership competition, which play a promotion-relegation match against the last placed national championship side.[1]
From 2019, this changed again, with a 4-team Premiership and 8-team, two conference (North and South Island) Championship contested.
NZRL Premiership Teams
[edit]| Team | City/Region | Current Coach | Home Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Akarana Falcons
|
Auckland | Steve Buckingham | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland |
 Canterbury Bulls
|
Christchurch | Andrew Auimatagi[2] | Ngā Puna Wai Sports Hub, Christchurch |
 Counties Manukau Stingrays
|
South Auckland | Rod Ratu | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland |
 Waikato Mana
|
Hamilton | FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton |
NZRL Championship Teams
[edit]| Team | City/Region | Current Coach | Home Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Island Conference | |||
 Auckland Vulcans
|
Auckland | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | |
 Mid-Central Vipers
|
New Plymouth | Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth | |
 Upper Central Stallions
|
Tauranga & Rotorua | Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua | |
 Wellington Orcas
|
Wellington | Mike Kuiti | Jerry Collins Stadium, Porirua |
| South Island Conference | |||
 Aoraki Eels
|
South Christchurch | Ngā Puna Wai Sports Hub, Christchurch | |
 Otago Rugby League
|
Dunedin | Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin | |
 Southland Rams
|
Invercargill | Rugby Park Stadium, Invercargill | |
 West Coast Chargers
|
Greymouth | Wingham Park, Greymouth | |
Season winners
[edit]
Note: *In 2014 Counties Manukau were disqualified from the final for fielding an ineligible player.
See also
[edit]
- NZRL National Youth Tournament
- NZRL National Secondary Schools Tournament
- NZRL Women's National Competition
References
[edit]- ^ "NZRL re-launch national competition for 2016". APRL. 23 February 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ "Auimatagi new Canterbury Bulls coach". 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
- ^ Stingrays romp home in premiership final nzrl.co.nz, 17 October 2015
- ^ "Falcons fly high for premiership crown".
External links
[edit]| Federations | |
|---|---|
| Representative teams | |
| New Zealand Kiwis | |
| Zones | |
| Districts |
|
| Australian competition teams |
|
| Competitions |
|
| New Zealand domestic seasons | |
