Air New Zealand Cup
 |
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| Formerly | Air New Zealand Cup (2006–09) ITM Cup (2010–15) |
|---|---|
| Sport | Rugby union |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Inaugural season | 2006 |
| CEO | Steve Tew |
| No. of teams | 14 |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Headquarters | Wellington, Wellington |
| Most recent champion(s) |
Canterbury (8th title) |
| Most titles |
Canterbury (8 titles) |
| TV partner(s) | Sky Sport |
| Sponsor(s) | Mitre 10 |
| Official website | Mitre10Cup.co.nz |
The Mitre 10 Cup is a professional Rugby union league consisting of 14 teams, divided equally between the Premiership Division and the Championship Division. The Mitre 10 Cup is one of the major professional rugby leagues in the world, and the second highest professional level of Rugby union in New Zealand. The Mitre 10 Cup's 11-week regular season runs two weeks after Super Rugby to the third week after Labour Day, with each team playing 10 games and having one week playing twice. Following the conclusion of the regular season, four teams from each division advance to their respective playoffs, a single-elimination tournament culminating in the final, played between the champions of the divisions semi-finalists.
The Mitre 10 Cup was formed in 1976 as the National Provincial Championship (NPC) before renaming itself the Air New Zealand Cup for the 2006 season. The NZRU introduced the beginning of a professional era, announcing New Zealand's first ever professional rugby competition following the 2005 season. Today, the Mitre 10 Cup is one of the most popular sports league in New Zealand. The team with the most NPC championships is Auckland with fifteen (one title after the National Provincial Championship era); the team with the most Mitre 10 Cup championships is Canterbury with eight. The current champions are Canterbury, who defeated Tasman 43–27 in Christchurch.
The Mitre 10 Cup competition has changed a number of times. There have been up to three Divisions, with promotion/relegation between the two bottom divisions. Since 2006 there have been semi-finals and a final in each Division. Winners receive four competition points; if the game was a draw two points are awarded to each team. The Rugby union bonus points system is also used, where any team scoring four or more tries or losing by less than seven points receives an extra competition point. The top four teams at the end of the round-robin phase then played semifinals – the first placed team hosting the fourth team, and the second team hosting the third team. The two winners played the final at the home ground of the top surviving seed.
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