2007 Air New Zealand Cup
2007 rugby union competition in New Zealand
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The 2007 National Provincial Championship was the second season of the National Provincial Championship (known as the Air New Zealand Cup for sponsorship reasons), a provincial rugby union competition involving 14 teams from New Zealand. Matches started on 26 July 2007, and the Final, in which Auckland defeated Wellington, was held on 20 October.
| 2007 Air New Zealand Cup | |
|---|---|
| Countries |  New Zealand |
| Date | 26 July – 20 October |
| Champions | Auckland |
| Runners-up | Wellington |
| Matches played | 77 |
| Top point scorer | Jimmy Gopperth (155) |
| Top try scorer | Brent Ward (8) |
This season was the second of the expanded competition, which succeeded the First Division of the National Provincial Championship. There were some major changes to the competition from that of the 2006 season. The original Rounds One (initial pool play) and Two (Top Six and Repechage phases) were scrapped. Instead, there was a 10-week round robin in which every team will miss out on playing 3 teams in the competition. This was followed by the quarterfinals, semifinal and the final as in 2006.
Unless otherwise noted the information is sourced from here:[1]
Standings
The top eight teams in pool play advanced to the quarterfinals.
| Pos | Name | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | +/− | TB | LB | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Auckland | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 371 | 145 | +226 | 8 | 0 | 48 |
| 2 | Canterbury | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 351 | 135 | +216 | 6 | 0 | 42 |
| 3 | Wellington | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 354 | 172 | +182 | 6 | 1 | 39 |
| 4 | Hawke's Bay | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 254 | 221 | +33 | 5 | 1 | 34 |
| 5 | Waikato | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 289 | 231 | +58 | 3 | 1 | 28 |
| 6 | Southland | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 231 | 203 | +28 | 1 | 1 | 26 |
| 7 | Otago | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 213 | 275 | −81 | 1 | 1 | 24 |
| 8 | Taranaki | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 218 | 234 | −16 | 3 | 4 | 23 |
| 9 | North Harbour | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 222 | 267 | −45 | 2 | 0 | 22 |
| 10 | Northland | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 206 | 214 | −8 | 1 | 4 | 19 |
| 11 | Tasman | 10 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 184 | 262 | −59 | 0 | 4 | 12 |
| 12 | Manawatu | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 158 | 331 | −173 | 1 | 0 | 11 |
| 13 | Bay of Plenty | 10 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 154 | 297 | −143 | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| 14 | Counties Manukau | 10 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 130 | 348 | −218 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Table notes:
Secured home quarterfinal berth
Secured away quarterfinal berth
- Abbreviations:
- Pld = games played
- W = games won
- D = games drawn
- L = games lost
- F = points for
- A = points against
- +/− = points difference
- TB = try bonus points (1 bonus point is awarded to any team that scores 4 tries or more regardless of win/loss/draw)
- LB = losing bonus points (1 bonus point is awarded to the losing side if the loss is by 7 points or under)
- Pts = tournament points.
- It is possible to receive 2 bonus points in a loss.
- In the event of a tie on points, the higher ranked team is decided on the basis of who won when they met in pool play. If they remain tied, then it is decided by points differential.
Fixtures and results
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
| 9 August 2007 7:05 NZST |
| Bay of Plenty | 17–24 | Northland |
| Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua Attendance: 3,500 |
| 10 August 2007 7:35 NZST |
| Counties Manukau | 13–13 | North Harbour |
| Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland Attendance: 2,640 |
| 11 August 2007 2:35 NZST |
| Wellington | 37–7 | Manawatu |
| Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington Attendance: 14,081 |
Week 4
Week 5
| 25 August 2007 5:30 NZST |
| Wellington | 38–25 | Tasman |
| Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington Attendance: 11,000 |
Week 6
Week 7
| 8 September 2007 7:35 NZST |
| Wellington | 39–14 | North Harbour |
| Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington Attendance: 8,300 |
Week 8
| 15 September 2007 2:30 NZST |
| Manawatu | 31–18 | Counties Manukau |
| Manawatu Sports Stadium, Palmerston North Attendance: 7,000 |
| 16 September 2007 2:35 NZST |
| Bay of Plenty | 0-19 | Southland |
| Blue Chip Stadium, Mount Maunganui Attendance: 2,000 |
Week 9
| 20 September 2007 7:05 NZST |
| Wellington | 53–12 | Taranaki |
| Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington Attendance: 9,025 |
| 22 September 2007 7:35 NZST |
| North Harbour | 42–24 | Bay of Plenty |
| North Harbour Stadium, Albany Attendance: 2,500 |
Week 10
Knockout stage
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| October 5 – Wellington | ||||||||||
| Wellington | 45 | |||||||||
| October 13 – Christchurch | ||||||||||
| Southland | 3 | |||||||||
| Canterbury | 21 | |||||||||
| October 6 – Christchurch | ||||||||||
| Wellington | 26 | |||||||||
| Canterbury | 44 | |||||||||
| October 20 – Auckland | ||||||||||
| Otago | 6 | |||||||||
| Auckland | 23 | |||||||||
| October 6 – Auckland | ||||||||||
| Wellington | 14 | |||||||||
| Auckland | 30 | |||||||||
| October 14 – Auckland | ||||||||||
| Taranaki | 10 | |||||||||
| Auckland | 38 | |||||||||
| October 7 – Napier | ||||||||||
| Hawke's Bay | 3 | |||||||||
| Hawke's Bay | 38 | |||||||||
| Waikato | 35 | |||||||||
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
Final
| 20 October 2007 7:35 NZST |
| Auckland | 23–14 | Wellington |
| Try: Isa Nacewa Jay Williams Con: Isa Nacewa (2) Pen: Isa Nacewa (3) | [3] | Try: Jeremy Thrush Pen: Jimmy Gopperth (3) |
| Eden Park, Auckland Attendance: 16,000 |
Statistics
Point scorers
| Points | Player | Province |
|---|---|---|
| 155 | James Gopperth | Wellington |
| 149 | Stephen Brett | Canterbury |
| 122 | Matt Berquist | Hawke's Bay |
| 120 | Stephen Donald | Waikato |
| 115 | Jack McPhee | North Harbour |
| 110 | Isa Nacewa | Auckland |
| 101 | Brent Ward | Auckland |
Try scorers
| Tries | Player | Province |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Brent Ward | Auckland |
| 7 | Shannon Paku | Wellington |
| 6 | Jason Shoemark | Hawke's Bay |
| 6 | Zac Guildford | Hawke's Bay |
| 6 | Shayne Austin | Taranaki |
| 6 | Lachie Munro | Auckland |
| 6 | Scott Hamilton | Canterbury |