New Zealand Rugby says NPC is finding it ‘sweet spot’ to allay fears about its future

Sunday, 20 October 2024

The All Blacks received a warm welcome upon arriving in Tokyo, marking the start of their six-week end-of-year tour. They'll play the Brave Blossoms before facing England, Ireland, France, and Italy.

Long-awaited work on competitions and player pathways has been completed.
NZ Rugby board will meet next week to discuss recommendations.
NPC is finding its ‘sweet spot’, says NZR executive.

The NPC looks set to be safeguarded well into the future after an encouraging season and praise from New Zealand Rugby general manager of community Steve Lancaster, who told the Sunday Star-Times that the competition “is starting to find its own sweet spot”.

A major piece of work on the future of the men’s game in New Zealand, titled Men’s Pathways and Competitions (MPAC), has being taking place for months and its recommendations will go to the NZ Rugby board next week.

The work has raised anxiety levels in some parts of the provincial game, but Lancaster said he could reassure NPC fans even in advance of those recommendations being made public.

“Without speaking to the specific recommendations…the NPC has never been on the chopping block,” Lancaster said.

“The review is about pathways and competitions, but the competition part of it is about ensuring that the NPC remains a critical part of our competition framework.

“And, importantly, that it’s sustainable because that's one of the things we have talked about over the years is ensuring that it actually it occupies the right spot in the framework, and that the model that underpins it is sustainable for everyone and allows everyone to compete.

The Canterbury v Wellington game in Rangiora last month, which was played in front of more than 5000, showed the value of taking games to smaller venues.

“The review has never been about whether or not the NPC should continue.”

The NPC has enjoyed a new lease of life in recent years, but particularly in 2024.

Crowd numbers are up 11% as the quality of rugby has been matched by a sharper marketing effort by the individual provincial unions and the competition as a whole.

Lancaster said that had helped the competition to find its identity in a crowded market.

“It's starting to find its own sweet spot within the matrix,” he said.

“The game has evolved a lot in the last 25 years and it will keep evolving.

“We've gone from an era where the NPC was the biggest show in town to now having a significantly enlarged test program for the All Blacks and other teams in black.

Josh Jacomb played his way into the All Blacks XV squad with a strong campaign for Taranaki.

“We've got Super Rugby in the market but the NPC seems to be the resonating with people - that provincial competition, genuinely national, and it has a real point of difference.

“You see seasoned professionals, not just Super Rugby players now also All Blacks XV players, playing with players that have been selected out of club rugby.

“That's a point of difference for this competition.”

Provincial union chief executives and chairs will be presented the MPAC findings at the end of the month, and a more streamlined player pathway model is also likely to be recommended.

Since the evolution of professionalism, schools, clubs, provincial unions and their academies, Super Rugby high-performance programs and NZ Rugby itself are all involved in player development.

But Lancaster characterised the ideal model as being one that would outline a clear pathway for any talented school leaver into the All Blacks on one sheet of paper.

“It's a system that has multiple inputs and multiple contributors,” he said.

“Our role is to play a system leadership role to ensure that the parties all understand their role within it, that everyone is on the same page and that the right resourcing is applied at the right levels and in the right places.”