NZR endorses Super Rugby Pacific and NPC as right path for men’s competitions
New Zealand Rugby (NZR) has today confirmed the direction of the country’s elite men’s rugby competition and streamlined player pathways that underpin it.
Currently, Super Rugby Pacific and the NPC operate as New Zealand’s two men’s competitions, supported by 19 professional rugby environments across five Super Rugby clubs and 14 Provincial Unions.
The changes confirm Super Rugby Pacific and the NPC as the right competitions to support the continued success of the All Blacks, develop players and excite fans.
NZR and Rugby Australia will work together alongside Super Rugby clubs and the respective players associations to transform how Super Rugby Pacific engages fans, attracts investors and generates revenue.
The NPC will remain a strong 14-team provincial competition that is critical to building depth, connecting rugby to the regions and providing pathways for players across the country.
The Super Rugby and Provincial Union operations in the same five cities will be consolidated to drive better community rugby, high performance and financial outcomes.
The nine regional NPC Provincial Unions will have stronger relationships with their Super Rugby clubs, supported by strengthened pathway protections to ensure talented players can develop in their home regions and stay connected with their communities.
With the direction approved by the Board, NZR will now begin working with its key rugby stakeholders to develop the changes ahead of a final NZR Board decision. Implementation is expected from 2028.
NZR CEO Steve Lancaster said:
“New Zealanders should be proud of what sets us apart as a rugby nation, being the layers in our game from club and school to the NPC, Super Rugby and the All Blacks.
“We are making changes to our game from a position of strength, and we have two men’s competitions that support the All Blacks to win, excite fans and players and, with these changes, can be financially successful.
“Together with our stakeholders, we’re now focused on improving the way Super Rugby Pacific engages fans, continuing to strengthen the NPC and ensuring talented players can develop in a clear, aligned pathway.”
Lancaster added that Super Rugby Pacific needed more ambition and bold thinking to transform the competition.
“We’re aligned with Rugby Australia and the Super Rugby clubs that we need people who wake up every day focused on engaging fans, growing revenue and working with broadcasters and the media. We’re open to working on things like player movement, a competition-wide salary cap and centralising commercial assets across the key markets. Those are conversations we will now have with Rugby Australia, the Rugby Players Association and the Super Rugby clubs. We know it’s a great product on the field and it now needs to generate the level of attendance and revenue that it warrants.”
NZR High Performance Director Don Tricker said:
“One of the most important factors in developing players the All Blacks want to select is having competitions that excite players and energise our fans.
“For 30 years, Super Rugby has proven to a great competition that meets a key high performance principle which is to ensure that our best players are playing with and against each other more often. The NPC is equally as critical to ensuring that our pipeline of talented players maintains its depth through 14 teams.”
NZR Chief Rugby Officer Mike Collins said:
“The NPC is absolutely the jewel in New Zealand rugby’s pathway and provides opportunities for players wherever they are in the country. It keeps our playing base wide and is critical to player, coach and referee development.
“While these changes will reduce duplication and cost, more importantly they simplify rugby operations and player pathways in our major cities and ensure we are operating as one team from community rugby through to the All Blacks.
“We want the community and professional game working as one, with a single, clear pathway for talented school leavers into professional and international rugby.”
Collins added that with Super Rugby Pacific set to become more independent from NZR day-to-day management, the organisation could prioritise NPC more, including promotion.
The changes form part of work NZR recently began with its stakeholders to reduce costs across the sport by 5 percent and create a $20m annual improvement from 2028.
As well as men’s and women’s competitions, NZR is also reviewing how community rugby is delivered across the country, and NZR’s own structure and operations.
The aim is to allow NZR to invest more into the community game and ensure competitions attract fans, are financially successful and keep professional players and coaches in New Zealand.
