The 2024 Bunnings NPC season was the 19th season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition, the National Provincial Championship, since it turned professional in 2006. It involved the top 14 provincial rugby unions of New Zealand. For sponsorship reasons, the competition is known as the Bunnings NPC. The regular season began on 9 August 2024, when 2023 champions Taranaki hosted Counties Manukau. The final took place on 26 October 2024, and saw Wellington beat Bay of Plenty 23–20 after extra time. The Ranfurly Shield changed hands twice during the season: Hawke's Bay came into the season as holders and survived two challenges before relinquishing it to Tasman in week 5 in a 25–24 loss; Tasman then survived two more challenges before losing the shield to Taranaki in the final week of the regular season, losing 42–29.
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 mandatory 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]
In 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 started on 9 August 2024, when Taranaki beat Counties Manukau 31–15 in New Plymouth.[3] The first Ranfurly Shield defence of the season took place on 17 August 2024, when Hawke's Bay beat Southland 31–17 in Napier.[5]
^The week 9 match between Manawatu and Counties Manukau on 5 October 2024 was originally scheduled to be played at Central Energy Trust Arena, but was later moved to the Massey University Sport and Events Centre with free entry to give a wider range of fans the opportunity to see the Manawatu Turbos live.[6]
