NPC … Back to the Future
So will the new NPC be like Back To The Future II (sucky) or BTTF III (worthy of the original). And would Michael J Fox AND the car fit under the cap?
As far as the NZRFU is concerned – it could well be the New Zealand Rugby Fuck Ups for some of their decisions in the past) – it’s not a bad start.
The draw is out and they don’t seem to have forgotten any teams. Well done Steve Tew!
The Division One which is more like the old division 2 and 3 will play for the Meads and Lochore Cups (I might have made the last one up but you wouldn’t know would you?).
The Premier Division – which is actually the first division on steroids – will play in two pools and I just hope that the players take swimming lessons.
Now, I could go on trying to make out I’m funny when you are really dying to know what I think about the new NPC.
I am sympathetic to what the NZRFU is trying to achieve. For a number of provincial teams – particularly Hawke’s Bay and Counties – it’s famine or feast. If you’re not in Division 1, there’s no point in continuing – all the best players end up in Otago or North Harbour.
SO expanding the Premier Division could potentially be a good if not great move. It will provide opportunities for some of the breeding grounds in NZ to regain their positions on the national stage.
But the cap – all $2 million – is a joke. Either have a cap which will genuinely spread talent around or don’t bother. Given the intention, they may as well have used a draft for the NPC. It doesn’t seem to hurt the NFL.
Quite frankly, the NPC is effectively a third tier competition now, behind the All Blacks programme (they no longer play games) and definitely behind the Super 14.
There will be some winners of sorts – Hawkes Bay, Counties and Tasman will all benefit.
But if the NZRFU is serious about putting the Competition back into the NPC, it will only happen when all 14 teams have the same player and financial resources.
I’m happy to state here that the new NPC in 2006 will be won by either Canterbury or Auckland which suggests that there’s a long way to go to get an even comp.
