The Mitre 10 Cup competition for the year 2016 has been launched on this weekend while Rugby Championship was also coming back on the Test level at the same time. Previously known as ITM Cup, the Mitre 10 Cup is a provincial competition, split in two conferences.
According to the format of the competition, there is the Premiership Division and the Championship Division with 7 provinces in each of these conferences. Playing in the Premiership Division allows all the provinces to compete for the big Mitre 10 Cup Trophy.
In the Championship Division, there is also a Trophy which will reward the winning province in the play-offs. That province will earn promotion in the Premiership Division for the next season while the last province in the Premiership Division will be relegated.
Through the years, the Mitre 10 Cup has been a wonderful opportunity and a great platform for all the youngsters. The Mitre 10 Cup is regarded as the last step before finding a Super Rugby franchise and then putting yourself in contention for the All Blacks call.
Obviously, a so competitive league at provincial level is one of the explanations which are making New Zealand so strong. There is a great poll of players waiting for the international call. South Africa and Australia have some similar provincial competitions.
More information on the Mitre 10 Cup can be found here : The Mitre 10 Cup : The future legends of the game
Informations about the Mitre 10 Cup format :
Following the 2015 ITM Cup season, Manawatu was relegated from the Premiership Division and will play in the Championship Division in 2016. Hawke’s Bay earned promotion in Premiership after a hard-fought win against Wellington Lions in the final.
It means that the 7 provinces which will play in the Premiership Division will be : Auckland, Canterbury, Counties Manukau, Hawke’s Bay, Taranaki, Tasman and Waikato. Only the Highlanders franchise is not represented in this Premiership Division for 2016.
For the Championship Division, the 7 provinces fighting for promotion will be : Bay Of Plenty, Manawatu, North Harbour, Northland, Otago, Southland and also Wellington. The Hurricanes,the Highlanders and the Blues are represented by two provinces each, then.
Starting the 2016 Mitre 10 Cup season, the Ranfurly Shield holders are Waikato. They will fight to keep the Trophy during their home games but it will not be contested during the play-offs and away games. All the provinces compete and no matter their current division.
Finally, that provincial competition has got 9 Rounds and provinces across the two conferences will face each other. Unfortunately, like in Super Rugby, all the provinces are not meeting each other and fans could argue that some provinces have easier schedules.
The 2016 Mitre 10 Cup – Round 1 – Review
Game 1 : North Harbour vs. Counties Manukau (QBE Stadium, Albany, New Zealand)
The 2016 Mitre 10 Cup started with a Northern Island derby with North Harbour hosting the Counties Manukau. Many players from the Auckland Blues in Super Rugby were on the field : Matt Vaega (North Harbour) and the playmaker Piers Francis (Counties Manukau).
North Harbour managed to get the win in a tough contest. The Counties Manukau tried their best and almost came back into this game thanks to a powerful try from the Crusaders flanker Jordan Taufua. The province pushed hard until the very end of that good contest.
However, the Counties Manukau were penalised for going off feet in the last stages of the game. The province, which was coached by Tana Umaga in 2015, will be contenders for the title but North Harbour showed that they were competitive and built the win on defence (FT : 20-17).
Game 2 : Northland vs. Manawatu (Toll Stadium, Whangarei, New Zealand)
It was an exciting game between the Northern province Northland and Manawatu, one of the two franchises representing the Hurricanes with Wellington. That was a high-scoring game with a lack of discipline. Manawatu got a yellow card at the end of the first-half.
Plenty of stars highlighted the game like the Northland flanker Dan Pryor playing with the Highlanders in Super Rugby. Manawatu scored 4 tries in this game with the Hurricanes centre Ngani Laumape scoring the first try and Otere Black kicking several conversions.
Northland missed some opportunities in that game and were unable to find answers to Manawatu’s quick phases of play. The Hurricanes province played with a high tempo and they made the difference in the last quarter of the game when they scored two tries (FT : 27-34).
Game 3 : Bay Of Plenty vs. Taranaki (Tauranga Domain, Tauranga, New Zealand)
Taranaki switched allegiances from the Hurricanes to the Chiefs a few seasons ago. They started that game really well and had a big lead quickly thanks to a try from the exciting prospect playing scrum-half : Te Toira Tahuriorangi, who has 1 cap for the Hurricanes.
Nevertheless, Bay Of Plenty showed character to come back in the game. The Italy fly-half Kelly Haimona, who was born in New Zealand, leaded his team in attack and they came back into this game with a quarter to be played there in the Tauranga Domain, Tauranga.
Finally, the goalkicking accuracy of the Crusaders playmaker Marty McKenzie, Damian McKenzie’s brother, gave Taranaki the win. Taranaki kept the control in this game but they will have to target consistency if they want to win a second Mitre 10 Cup (FT : 22-30).
Game 4 : Hawke’s Bay vs. Wellington (McLean Park, Napier, New Zealand)
Remake of the last year’s Championship Division final, Hawke’s Bay and Wellington were up for the bragging rights once again. In 2015 ITM Cup, Hawke’s Bay had won against the Hurricanes province and earned the promotion in the Premiership Division for 2016 year.
Wellington Lions made a big statement away as Hawke’s Bay started the game really well thanks to good skills from their playmakers Brad Weber and Ihaia West. Played with a lot of intensity, Wellington managed to come back into this game following great build-up.
First-five eighth Jackson Garden-Bashop was world-class and at the top of his game . Late in the game, Jason Woodward was brought to the party and the Hurricanes centre Matt Proctor set up a lovely try on the right wing for a defining win in McLean Park, Napier (FT : 26-36).
Game 5 : Canterbury vs. Auckland (AMI Stadium, Christchurch, New Zealand)
Another remake of the last year’s Premiership Division final, Canterbury were hosting Auckland at the same venue : AMI Stadium in Christchurch, home of the Crusaders in Super Rugby. In 2015, Canterbury won the ITM Cup but Auckland remained in the contest.
For the first game of the season, Auckland was outplayed by the Canterbury province. The Auckland province did not play to their usual standards and never managed to play their game as Canterbury was too strong in defence an took all their opportunities in the attack.
Winning with a big margin at the end, Canterbury is a barometer for the Crusaders. All their players performed : Richie Mo’unga drove very well the backline, Ben Funnell was the leader at scrum and lineout with Johnny McNicholl scoring two tries (FT : 43-3).
Game 6 : Southland vs. Otago (Rugby Park Stadium, Invercargill, New Zealand)
Following the Northern Island derby between North Harbour and Counties Manukau, there was another big derby. This time, the derby was located in the Southern Island with Otago coming to Southland. The big game was staged in Invercagill, at the Rugby Park Stadium.
Southland did not start the game badly but Otago began to find breaches in the defence just after the beginning of the second-half. That game was a bit like a Highlanders trial for the players trying to get a place in the Super Rugby franchise training squad for 2017 year.
In the end, the Otago province prevailed with a treble from the Highlanders centre Teihorangi Walden. The promising player scored a try in the opening 2016 Super Rugby game against the Blues but was unable to play more game with the Highlanders in 2016 (FT : 17-40).
Game 7 : Tasman vs. Waikato (Lansdowne Park, Blenheim, New Zealand)
The final game of the 2016 Mitre 10 Cup Round 1 was played between Tasman and Waikato at Blenheim. It was an exciting contest between two provinces in the Premiership Division fighting for the Trophy. Tasman, another Crusaders province, was hosting the contest.
Few tries were scored in this game with Alex Ainley, the Highlanders prop, contributing to the Tasman performance with one try. Waikato, the Ranfurly Shield holders, tried to find the balance between their attacking combinations and their composed defence.
Damian McKenzie, left out of the All Blacks squad for the Rugby Championship despite a call for the June Tests, had an encouraging game. He scored 14 points (4 penalties and 1 conversion) but could not prevent his team from losing a very close contest (FT : 24-19).
The Talking Points :
Premiership Division : Canterbury, Taranaki and Tasman take the early lead in the Premiership Division standings. Counties Manukau, Auckland, Hawke’s Bay and Waikato had a tough start of the season but they should all bounce back very quickly in Round 2.
Championship Division : Championship provinces set high standards with Wellington and North Harbour beating the Premiership provinces. Early indications say that Wellington, Manawatu and Otago will compete for that promotion in Premiership Division in 2017.
Ranfurly Shield : Waikato lost to Tasman in this Round 1 but they keep the Ranfurly Shield because the game was not played in Waikato. However, it shows that all the provinces involved can win it. North Harbour will try to take the win and the Trophy next weekend.
Conclusion :
The 2016 Mitre 10 Cup season has started very well with the same passion and the same desire to play running rugby. Canterbury will target consistency to win back-to-back Titles in Premiership. They started their season in fashion but all the opponents are just quality.
In the Championship, the Wellington Lions seem to be highly motivated by the loss in the final to Hawke’s Bay which prevented them to play in Premiership this season. Otago have been impressive along with Manawatu and North Harbour so it is going to be very exciting.
For the Round 2, North Harbour will play Waikato at home and winning the Ranfurly Shield in Hamilton would be a statement. Big games are expected with bragging rights in Premiership (Canterbury vs. Tasman) and in the Championship (Otago vs. Wellington).
That was a great weekend ! Keep this level !
Max.
Rugby, Only Rugby ! 