The 2022 Bunnings NPC was the 17th 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, which – under a new format introduced in 2022 – all played for the same title for the first time since the 2010 season. For sponsorship reasons, the competition was known as the Bunnings NPC. The regular season began on 5 August 2022, when Manawatu hosted Canterbury. The final took place on 22 October 2022.
Format In 2022, a new competition format was introduced. In this new format, the 14 provincial unions participating in the Bunnings NPC are no longer competing in two separate divisions – a Premiership and a Championship division – that play for their own title. Instead, the 14 teams are playing for one NPC title and are seeded in two equal conferences: an "Odds Conference" and an "Evens Conference". The seeding is determined by the ranking on the competition table of the previous season, with the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th and 13th ranked teams forming the Odds Conference and the provinces finishing 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th and 14th forming the Evens Conference.
All provincial teams played ten games during the regular season (round robin): six games against the teams in their own conference and four crossover games against teams from the other conference. Each team played five games at home and five games away. In 2022, the 10 round robin games are played over a period of nine weeks (starting on Friday 5 August 2022) and include one mid-week game to be played on a Wednesday night.
The regular season was followed by quarter-finals to be played by the four highest-ranked teams in each conference. 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.
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.
Quarter-finals are played within each conference, with the highest ranked team in each conference playing the fourth ranked team in the same conference, and the second ranked team in each conference playing the third ranked team in the same conference:
QF 1: Odds 1 v Odds 4; QF 2: Odds 2 v Odds 3; QF 3: Evens 1 v Evens 4; and QF 4: Evens 2 v Evens 3.
The two quarter-finals winners of the Odds conference will play the two quarter-finals winners of the Evens Conference (QF1 v QF4 and QF2 v QF3) at the home ground of the team with the higher finals ranking.
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.
No changes have been made to the rules governing Ranfurly Shield Challenges. Every home game during the regular season played by the union that holds the Ranfurly Shield is a mandartory 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 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.
Standings Source: Bunnings NPC standings 2022
Odds Conference Pos Team 1 RS – Wellington 10 8 0 2 299 240 +59 6 0 38 2 Waikato 10 7 1 2 301 208 +93 5 1 36 3 Bay of Plenty 10 6 0 4 325 232 +93 6 4 34 4 Hawke's Bay 10 5 1 4 294 234 +60 5 4 31 5 Otago 10 5 0 5 274 269 +5 3 4 27 6 Counties Manukau 10 3 0 7 256 335 –79 5 3 20 7 Southland 10 1 0 9 229 430 –201 2 3 9
Evens Conference Pos Team 1 Canterbury 10 9 0 1 389 208 +181 9 1 46 2 North Harbour 10 6 0 4 390 245 +145 7 1 32 3 Auckland 10 6 0 4 282 247 +35 4 2 30 4 Northland 10 6 0 4 212 265 –53 2 1 27 5 Tasman 10 4 0 6 282 282 +0 5 3 24 6 Taranaki 10 3 0 7 193 270 –77 1 2 15 7 Manawatu 10 0 0 10 212 473 –261 5 0 5
Standings progression Odds Team W1 W2 W3 W4 W5 W6 W7 W8 W9 Bay of Plenty 2(5th) 7(3rd) 11(4th) 12(4th) 17(4th) 22(4th) 27(3rd) 32(2nd) 34(3rd) Counties Manukau 4(2nd) 6(5th) 6(5th) 10(5th) 10(6th) 15(6th) 17(6th) 19(6th) 20(6th) Hawke's Bay 3(3rd) 9(2nd) 14(2nd) 18(1st) 19(2nd) 24(2nd) 25(4th) 26(5th) 31(4th) Otago 1(6th) 9(1st) 14(1st) 14(3rd) 15(5th) 17(5th) 21(5th) 26(4th) 27(5th) Southland 1(7th) 2(7th) 4(7th) 4(7th) 4(7th) 4(7th) 4(7th) 9(7th) 9(7th) Waikato 3(4th) 7(4th) 12(3rd) 17(2nd) 21(1st) 30(1st) 31(1st) 31(3rd) 36(2nd) Wellington 5(1st) 5(6th) 5(6th) 10(6th) 19(3rd) 24(3rd) 28(2nd) 33(1st) 38(1st) Evens Team W1 W2 W3 W4 W5 W6 W7 W8 W9 Auckland 10(1st) 14(1st) 15(1st) 20(2nd) 21(2nd) 21(2nd) 25(2nd) 25(3rd) 30(3rd) Canterbury 5(2nd) 10(2nd) 11(2nd) 21(1st) 26(1st) 31(1st) 36(1st) 41(1st) 46(1st) Manawatu 0(7th) 0(7th) 0(7th) 0(7th) 1(7th) 2(7th) 3(7th) 4(7th) 5(7th) North Harbour 1(6th) 6(3rd) 10(3rd) 11(4th) 16(4th) 17(4th) 22(3rd) 27(2nd) 32(2nd) Northland 4(4th) 5(5th) 9(4th) 14(3rd) 18(3rd) 18(3rd) 18(5th) 22(5th) 27(4th) Taranaki 1(5th) 1(6th) 5(6th) 6(6th) 6(6th) 6(6th) 15(6th) 15(6th) 15(6th) Tasman 4(3rd) 5(4th) 6(5th) 6(5th) 12(5th) 17(5th) 19(4th) 24(4th) 24(5th)The table above shows a team's progression throughout the season.For each week, their cumulative points total is shown with the overall conference log position in brackets. Key: Win Draw Loss Bye
Regular season The regular season of the 2022 Bunnings NPC consists of 10 games that will be played over a period of nine weeks and include one mid-week game. The competition starts on Friday 5 August 2022, when Manawatū hosts Canterbury in Palmerston North.
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Play-offs
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
Final
FB 15Chay FihakiRW 14Manasa Mataele OC 13Dallas McLeod IC 12Rameka PoihipiLW 11George BridgeFH 10Fergus BurkeSH 9 Willi Heinz N8 8 Billy Harmon (c)OF 7 Tom ChristieBF 6 Corey Kellow RL 5 Zach GallagherLL 4 Dominic Gardiner TP 3 Owen Franks HK 2 Brodie McAlister LP 1 Finlay Brewis Replacements:HK 16George Bell PR 17Daniel Lienert-Brown PR 18Tamaiti Williams LK 19Luke Romano FL 20Reed Prinsep SH 21Mitchell Drummond CE 22Isaiah Punivai WG 23Ngane Punivai FB 15Ruben LoveRW 14Julian Savea OC 13Billy ProctorIC 12Riley HigginsLW 11Pepesana Patafilo FH 10Jackson Garden-Bachop SH 9 TJ Perenara N8 8 Peter LakaiOF 7 Du'Plessis Kirifi (c)BF 6 Caleb Delany RL 5 Dominic Bird LL 4 James Blackwell TP 3 PJ Sheck HK 2 Asafo Aumua LP 1 Xavier Numia Replacements:HK 16James O'Reilly PR 17Siale Lauaki PR 18Tietie Tuimauga LK 19Taine Plumtree FL 20Keelan Whitman SH 21Richard Judd FH 22Aidan Morgan WG 23Connor Garden-Bachop
Statistics Leading point scorers No. Player Team Points Average Details 1 Fergus Burke Canterbury 147 12.25 6 , 30 , 19 , 0 2 Bryn Gatland North Harbour 139 12.64 4 , 34 , 17 , 0 3 Damian McKenzie Waikato 125 11.36 3 , 25 , 20 , 0 4 Riley Hohepa Counties Manukau 99 9.90 1 , 23 , 15 , 1 5 Lincoln McClutchie Hawke's Bay 97 10.78 3 , 26 , 10 , 0 6 Kaleb Trask Bay of Plenty 93 10.33 0 , 21 , 17 , 0 7 Jackson Garden-Bachop Wellington 92 8.36 1 , 24 , 12 , 1 8 Harry Plummer Auckland 86 7.82 1 , 21 , 13 , 0 9 Cam Millar Otago 75 8.33 0 , 21 , 11 , 0 10 Rivez Reihana Northland 72 6.55 1 , 17 , 11 , 0 Source: The weekly reviews of the matches published on provincial.rugby (see "Report" in the individual match scoring stats).
Leading try scorers No. Player Team Tries Average 1 Tevita Li North Harbour 13 1.30 2 Macca Springer Tasman 8 0.89 3 Emoni Narawa Bay of Plenty 8 0.80 4 Brodie McAlister Canterbury 7 0.88 5 Noah Hotham Tasman 7 0.70 6 Naitoa Ah Kuoi Bay of Plenty 7 0.64 7 Daniel Sinkinson Waikato 7 0.64 8 Tyrone Thompson Hawke's Bay 7 0.64 9 Asafo Aumua Wellington 7 0.54 10 Kini Naholo Taranaki 6 1.20 Source: The weekly reviews of the matches published on provincial.rugby (see "Report" in the individual match scoring stats).
Points by game Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Total Average Auckland 36 26 45 18 24 23 17 21 35 17 22 23 15 30 30 27 20 38 38 24 282 247 28.20 24.70 Bay of Plenty 35 37 46 6 21 17 13 18 33 27 48 34 54 21 20 14 21 23 34 35 325 232 32.50 23.20 Canterbury 62 15 43 10 10 16 52 20 35 22 32 28 46 17 44 39 38 20 27 21 389 208 38.90 20.80 Counties Manukau 23 22 32 33 20 34 18 13 12 37 41 33 39 44 14 25 26 30 31 64 256 335 25.60 33.50 Hawke's Bay 32 32 33 32 13 18 43 17 25 23 28 32 69 24 12 19 14 20 25 17 294 234 29.40 23.40 Manawatu 15 62 18 45 14 64 17 43 6 53 26 36 33 41 24 34 35 54 24 41 212 473 21.20 47.30 North Harbour 26 36 64 14 35 27 23 25 22 35 37 12 34 48 48 21 35 19 66 8 390 245 39.00 24.50 Northland 13 11 10 16 15 6 32 19 23 22 17 46 21 48 17 52 23 21 41 24 212 265 21.20 26.50 Otago 22 23 25 19 18 13 37 32 17 35 27 33 26 32 27 20 54 35 21 27 274 269 27.40 26.90 Southland 20 27 23 24 32 37 19 32 28 41 24 69 24 54 21 54 30 26 8 66 229 430 22.90 43.00 Taranaki 11 13 6 46 16 10 25 31 6 21 27 36 34 24 25 14 19 35 24 38 193 270 19.30 27.00 Tasman 27 20 19 25 27 35 20 52 36 26 19 25 36 27 27 30 52 17 17 25 282 282 28.20 28.20 Waikato 32 32 16 10 34 20 53 6 21 6 30 15 54 24 20 27 6 34 35 34 301 208 30.10 20.80 Wellington 37 35 10 43 6 15 31 25 41 28 25 19 32 26 19 12 34 6 64 31 299 240 29.90 24.00 Source: Bunnings NPC Fixtures and Results 2022
Tries by game Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Total Average Auckland 5 4 6 2 3 2 2 2 5 3 3 3 2 3 3 4 3 5 5 3 37 31 3.70 3.10 Bay of Plenty 4 6 6 0 2 2 2 0 4 3 6 4 8 3 3 2 2 3 5 5 42 28 4.20 2.80 Canterbury 9 2 6 1 2 1 7 3 4 3 4 3 6 2 6 5 5 3 4 3 53 26 5.30 2.60 Counties Manukau 2 3 4 5 2 4 0 2 2 5 6 5 5 6 2 3 4 4 5 10 32 47 3.20 4.70 Hawke's Bay 4 4 5 4 1 2 6 2 3 3 3 4 10 3 0 1 2 3 4 2 38 28 3.80 2.80 Manawatu 2 9 2 6 2 9 2 6 0 8 4 5 5 6 4 4 5 8 4 6 30 67 3.00 6.70 North Harbour 4 5 9 2 2 4 3 3 3 4 5 2 4 6 6 3 5 3 10 1 51 33 5.10 3.30 Northland 1 1 1 1 2 0 4 3 3 3 2 6 3 6 2 7 3 2 6 4 27 33 2.70 3.30 Otago 3 2 2 2 2 1 4 4 3 5 3 4 4 4 3 2 8 5 3 4 35 33 3.50 3.30 Southland 2 3 2 3 4 4 3 4 3 6 3 10 3 8 3 8 4 4 1 10 28 60 2.80 6.00 Taranaki 1 1 0 6 1 2 3 5 0 2 3 5 4 4 3 2 3 5 3 5 21 37 2.10 3.70 Tasman 3 2 2 2 4 2 3 7 5 4 1 3 5 3 4 3 7 2 2 4 36 32 3.60 3.20 Waikato 4 4 1 1 4 2 8 0 2 0 3 2 8 3 2 3 0 4 5 5 37 24 3.70 2.40 Wellington 6 4 1 6 0 2 5 3 6 3 3 1 4 4 1 0 4 0 10 5 40 28 4.00 2.80 For Against
Source: The weekly reviews of the matches published on provincial.rugby (see "Report" in the individual match scoring stats).
Sanctions