NZRL National Competition

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.

NZRL Men's National Competition
Current season or competition:
2022 New Zealand rugby league season
SportRugby league
Formerly known asBartercard Premiership
Instituted2010
Inaugural season2010
Number of teams12
Country New Zealand
Holders Akarana Falcons (2022)
Most titles Akarana Falcons (9 titles)
Websitewww.NZRL.co.nz/
Broadcast partnerSky Sport

Trophies and awards

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

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
Team City/Region Current Coach Home Grounds
Akarana Falcons Auckland Steve Buckingham Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland
Canterbury Bulls Christchurch Andrew Auimatagi[2] Nga Puna Wai, Christchurch
Counties Manukau Stingrays South Auckland Rod Ratu Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland
Waikato Mana Hamilton FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton

NZRL Championship Teams
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 Nga Puna Wai, 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
Year Premiership Championship Juniors
Albert Baskerville Trophy Score Runner up Minor Premiers Wooden Spoon Championship winner Score Championship Runner-Up Mark Graham Cup (U-17) Nathan Cayless Cup (U-15)
2010 Auckland14-6 Counties Manukau Auckland Northern Swords N/A N/A N/A Counties Manukau Counties Manukau
2011 Auckland Pride44-34 South Island Auckland Pride Northern Swords Auckland Pride Auckland Pride
2012 Akarana Falcons38-20 Counties Manukau Counties Manukau Northern Swords Akarana Falcons Counties Manukau
2013 Akarana Falcons22-12 Counties Manukau Counties Manukau Central Vipers Counties Manukau Akarana Falcons
2014 Canterbury Bulls40-8 Waicoa Bay Stallions Counties Manukau* Northern Swords Akarana Falcons Akarana Falcons
2015 Counties Manukau[3]41-10 Canterbury Bulls Counties Manukau Northern Swords Akarana Falcons Akarana Falcons
2016 Akarana Falcons[4]32-12 Counties Manukau Counties Manukau Wellington Orcas Waikato Akarana Falcons Counties Manukau
2017 Akarana Falcons30-4 Waikato Akarana Falcons Wellington Orcas Bay of Plenty Lakers
2018 Akarana Falcons51-20 Counties Manukau Akarana Falcons Wellington Orcas
2019 Akarana Falcons 28-10 Canterbury Bulls Akarana Falcons Waikato
2020 Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand
2021
2022 Akarana Falcons 46-4 Canterbury Bulls Akarana Falcons Waikato Auckland Vulcans 48-12 Otago Counties Manukau Counties Manukau

Note: *In 2014 Counties Manukau were disqualified from the final for fielding an ineligible player.

See also
  • NZRL National Youth Tournament
  • NZRL National Secondary Schools Tournament
  • NZRL Women's National Competition

References
  1. "NZRL re-launch national competition for 2016". APRL. 23 February 2016. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  2. "Auimatagi new Canterbury Bulls coach". 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  3. Stingrays romp home in premiership final nzrl.co.nz, 17 October 2015
  4. "Falcons fly high for premiership crown".
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