New Zealand’s homegrown rugby has a comeback history

New Zealand Rugby (NZR) has confirmed that the Bunnings Warehouse NPC, Farrah Palmer Cup (FPC) and Heartland Championships will take place outside Auckland, starting on Friday 17th September.

Confirmation of the reset date for New Zealand’s three national rugby competitions came after the government announced on Monday that all of New Zealand except Auckland will move to the COVID alert level 2 starting on Wednesday, September 8.

In Alert Level 2, teams of all levels of rugby can safely return to training, but the NZR has stipulated that matches will not resume until Friday, September 17, to ensure players have enough time to prepare to play safely again.

The NZR is making plans for the Oakland, North Harbor and Manukau County NPCs to play recovery matches later in the season, according to their progression to Alert Level 2. The Oakland area remains on COVID Alert Level 4 until at least 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, September 14.

NZR will release a revised scholarship for the Bunnings Warehouse NPC, FPC, and Heartland Championship in due course.

It’s great to be able to provide some certainty to players, fans and stakeholders,” said Steve Lancaster, general manager of NZR Community Rugby.

“It is great to be in a position where our teams and fans can play rugby again. While we would like everyone back this weekend, player safety should be our number one priority, which is why we built our squad in a week to prepare before returning. Most importantly, with play resuming next weekend, we plan to play the full schedule of matches in all three competitions, with subsequent completion dates for each.”

Steve Lancaster
“We know it’s a difficult situation for everyone in Auckland, but we have a positive opinion that alert levels will decrease, and we are making contingency plans for Auckland, North Harbor and Manukau counties to join the competitions with as little disruption as possible. We thank the three Auckland-based unions for their understanding and support for the resumption of these competitions while remaining at Alert Level 4″.

If the normal calendar continues before the suspension of various activities, it must be resumed with date #3:
North Harbor vs Southland
Canterbury – Hawkes Bay
Waikato vs Taranaki
Auckland vs Bay of Plenty
Tasman vs. boycotts
Northland vs Otago
Manawatu vs Wellington

Ranking – Premier League
1 Waikato 8 piasters
2 Tasman 8
3 Wellington 6
4 RS – Hawk Bay 5
5 Auckland 5
6 Bay of Plenty 4
7 Canterbury 4

Posiciones – Division Championship
1 Taranaki 9 piasters
2 Manawatu 5
3 North Harbor 4
4 Otago 4
5 Southland 1
6 Districts of Manukau 0
7 Northland 0

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