Structure of rugby union in New Zealand information
Map of all provincial unions within New Zealand.
Rugby union in New Zealand is structured into four tiers. The top tier is composed of the national representative teams, with the men's team – known as the All Blacks – and the women's team - known as the Black Ferns, at the top, followed by other representative sides such as the Junior All Blacks and Māori All Blacks. These national sides are administered by the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU). Below this level is Super Rugby, where there are five New Zealand sides, each representing a different region of the country. Below this level is provincial rugby, the third tier – each province has a representative side that plays in either the semi-professional Bunnings Warehouse NPC, or amateur Heartland Championship. These provincial sides are selected of Super Rugby players, and club players from within the province. Club rugby is the fourth and lowest tier, and consists of clubs competing in local leagues organised by a provincial union.
There are 26 provincial unions[1] and each administers their own club competitions. Within these provinces there are over 520 clubs[2] who are affiliated both to their province and the NZRU. The number of clubs in each province varies from six for the smallest unions such as West Coast to more than 30 for bigger unions such as Canterbury and Auckland. Many clubs pre-date the existence of the provincial or national unions.[3]
^Palenski, Ron (5 September 2013). "Page 6. Provincial and regional rugby since 1976". Te Ara: 6.
^"Grassroots sport: Is club rugby on the rocks?". Howick and Pakuranga Times. 27 May 2020.
^Palenski, Ron (5 September 2013). "Page 5. Club and provincial rugby". Te Ara: 5.
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