ITM Cup Ready to Get Underway
It is late July and that means it is time to decide the best rugby team in New Zealand. Formerly the Air New Zealand Cup, it has now been renamed the ITM Cup. The competition runs from 29 July to 5 November when the final two teams participate in the Grand Final.
Tournament Set-up
The 26 teams in New Zealand were split into two separate divisions, as the top 14 play for the ITM Cup, and the bottom 12 compete in the Heartland Championships, which has since become an amateur league.
The top 14 teams are then split into two pools, each one containing seven teams. The teams play one another once, over a seven week period, with each team getting one week for a rest.
The top three teams in each pool then move on to the second round, which takes place over three weeks. The top six make one pool in which each team play the three others they did not meet in round one. The bottom eight teams from the first round are then divided into two pools, where they gain another chance to fight each other for a wild-card spot.
The top six all make it through to the quarter-finals, and any points earned in the second round are tacked onto their first round totals. The seeds are then determined by overall points, as the top six are placed one to six.
The two teams that won their pools in the bottom eight wild card then move on to fill the bottom two places in the quarter finals.
The quarter and semi-finals are single elimination matches, meaning that whichever team wins moves on, while the loser is bumped from the competition.
The teams continue to play out the elimination rounds until there are only two teams remaining. Those two sides move on to the Grand Final, which is also a single elimination affair.
Changes for 2011
The New Zealand Rugby Union has once again decided to change the competition by lowering the number of teams in the premier division, eligible for the ITM Cup.
Next year the teams will be broken up into two divisions. The top seven will compete in the premiership while the bottom seven will compete in another championship division. Like English Football teams will be promoted that finish top of the championship division, replacing the teams that finish at the bottom of the premiership division, who are demoted to the championship competition.
The 2010 season will act as a way of determining the top-seven and bottom-seven for next season, adding at little bit more drama to the fierce competition.
Sponsorship Change
In March the NZRU announced they would be changing the sponsorship deal for the premiership cup to Independent Timber Merchants, therefore making the competition the ITM Cup. ITM replaces Air New Zealand, who had sponsored the competition since its inception in 2006.
Air New Zealand pulled their sponsorship so they would focus on the countries international squad the New Zealand All Blacks. ITM was able to insert themselves after the Air New Zealand departure.
Competition History
In the four years that the competition has taken place Wellington and Canterbury have been, and continue to be the most dominant sides.
Although Wellington has never won a Grand Final they have been to the big dance every single year, making their record in the cup final 0-4.
The first competition was won by Waikato over Wellington in Waikato Stadium. In 2007 Auckland were crowned champions, once again over Wellington.
However, over the past two years Canterbury has emerged as the tournament favorites, winning the championship the last two times.
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