The Farah Palmer Cup (formerly known as Women's Provincial Championship until 2016) is the highest level domestic amateur women's rugby union competition in New Zealand. It is held annually from early July to mid September and managed by the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU). The competition was first introduced in 1999, with a total of fourteen teams competing initially. The number of teams increased to eighteen in the year 2000, but later decreased to as few as six teams, with 13 currently featured.

The tournament is named after the former Black Ferns captain, Farah Palmer and since 2026, it has been known as the Farah Palmer Cup presented by Hilux after Toyota Hilux, its naming rights sponsor.

Canterbury are the current holders of the JJ Stewart Trophy, the women's equivalent of the Ranfurly Shield. The Farah Palmer Cup is an amateur competition; players are not paid salaries and hold jobs outside of rugby."Go pro? Black Ferns rugby debate – where to after fabulous World Cup triumph", The New Zealand Herald, 28 August 2017 ("Tew said the domestic nine-team Farah Palmer Cup was purely amateur"). The competition was previously played under such names as the Women's National Provincial Championship, the Lion Foundation Cup, the Women's Championship, and the Women's Competition.

Competition format

Originally, the cup was arranged in one division, with all 12 teams facing each other at least once. The top four teams then met in semi-finals. From 2011 to 2014, the semi-finals round was eliminated and the top two teams automatically qualified for the finals. In 2015, the semi-finals round was reintroduced.

In 2017, the Farah Palmer Cup was split into two divisions with promotion and relegation between the two. The top division was named the Premiership while the bottom was called the Championship. A team played every team in their division once in the regular season before a semi-final and final for each division. In 2019 Northland joined the competition, causing the Premiership to expand to seven teams and leaving the Championship with six.

In 2020 the competition was instead run in two pools split geographically between the north and south of New Zealand. The north pool contained seven teams and the south pool contained six; a single round robin was played in each pool. The top two teams from each pool took part in crossover semi-finals, with the final being held a week later.

In 2021 and 2022, the FPC reverted to its 2017 format with the 13 teams being split into Premiership and Championship. As before, a round-robin format was used in the regular season, followed by semi-finals and a grand final.

Teams

Super Rugby Aupiki Affiliation PremiershipAucklandAuckland*Eden Park50,0001883Willie WalkerBlues WomenBay of PlentyMount Maunganui, Bay of PlentyRotorua International Stadium Tauranga Domain26,0005,0001911Paul TietjensChiefs ManawaCanterburyChristchurch, CanterburyOrangetheory Stadium18,0001879Blair BaxterMatatūCounties ManukauPukekohe, AucklandNavigation Homes Stadium12,0001955Chad ShepherdBlues WomenManawatūPalmerston North, ManawatūCentral Energy Trust Arena15,0001886Fusi FeaunatiHurricanes PouaWaikatoHamilton, WaikatoFMG Stadium Waikato25,8001921James SempleChiefs Manawa ChampionshipHawke's BayNapier, Hawke's BayMcLean Park19,7001884Blair Cross, Stephen WoodsUnknownNorth HarbourAlbany, AucklandNorth Harbour Stadium25,0001985Duncan McGroryUnknownNorthlandWhangārei, NorthlandSemenoff Stadium30,0001920Cheryl SmithBlues WomenOtagoDunedin, OtagoForsyth Barr Stadium30,7481881Scott MansonMatatūTasmanNelson* Blenheim, MarlboroughTrafalgar Park Lansdowne Park18,00015,0002006Mel BosmanMatatūWellingtonWellington*Sky Stadium34,5001879Ross BondHurricanes Poua Note: Taranaki has been removed from the main Farah Palmer Cup competition as they are instead playing in a Northern Regions Development Competition. Taranaki still have ties to the Chiefs Manawa Super Rugby Aupiki team. 1. * Denotes Town/City named the same as the region.

Champions

Premiership Season Winner Score Runner-up Semi-finalist 1 Semi-finalist 2 League Leader 2006 Wellington 11–10 Auckland Otago Hawke's Bay Otago 2007 Auckland 13–12 Otago Wellington Canterbury Auckland 2008 Auckland 13–12 Canterbury Hawke's Bay Manawatu Auckland 2009 Auckland 24–20 Canterbury Hawke's Bay Wellington Canterbury 2011 Auckland 34–8 Wellington Auckland 2012 Auckland 38–12 Canterbury Auckland 2013 Auckland 20–10 Canterbury Canterbury 2014 Auckland 28–14 Waikato Auckland 2015 Auckland 39–9 Wellington Waikato Counties Manukau Auckland 2016 Counties Manukau 41–22 Auckland Wellington Canterbury Counties Manukau 2017 Canterbury 13–7 Counties Manukau Waikato Auckland Counties Manukau 2018 Canterbury 52–29 Counties Manukau Manawatu Waikato Canterbury 2019 Canterbury 30–20 Auckland Wellington Counties Manukau Canterbury 2020 Canterbury 8–7 Waikato Auckland Manawatu Waikato2021Waikato22–20CanterburyWellingtonCanterbury2022Canterbury41–14AucklandWellingtonWaikatoCanterbury2023Auckland39-27CanterburyHawkes BayWaikatoCanterbury2024Waikato27-25CanterburyCounties ManukauAucklandWaikato2025Waikato19-13CanterburyManawatūAucklandWaikato

Championship Season Winner Score Runner-up Semi-finalist 1 Semi-finalist 2 League Leader 2017 Bay of Plenty 7–5 Otago North Harbour N/A Bay of Plenty 2018 Wellington 57–5 Otago Hawke's Bay North Harbour Wellington 2019 Otago 24–20 Hawke's Bay Tasman Northland Otago 2020 –2021Manawatū55–12Hawke's BayNorthlandManawatū2022Hawke's Bay24–20OtagoNorthlandNorth HarbourOtago2023Northland32–29ManawatūTasmanOtagoManawatū2024Manawatū33–3OtagoWellingtonNorth HarbourManawatū2025Otago37–12NorthlandWellingtonNorth HarbourOtago

Past Premierships Season Winner Runner-up 1999 Auckland Wellington 2000 Auckland Otago 2001 Auckland Wellington 2002 Auckland Wellington 2003 Auckland Wellington 2004 Auckland Canterbury 2005 Auckland Canterbury

Total Wins Team Premierships Championships Runners- Up Losing Semi Finalists Auckland 16 0 4 2 Canterbury 5 0 10 2 Wellington 1 1 6 6 Counties Manukau 1 0 2 2 Bay of Plenty 0 1 0 0 Otago 0 2 6 1 Hawke's Bay 0 1 2 4 Waikato 3 0 2 3 Manawatū 0 2 1 3 North Harbour 0 0 0 3 Tasman 0 0 0 1 Northland 0 1 1 3 Taranaki 0 0 0 0

Notes and references

External links Official Facebook of the New Zealand Women's Rugby Official website of the ITM Cup