Structure of rugby union in New Zealand

Below this level is provincial rugby, the third tier – each province has a representative side that plays in either the semi-professional Bunnings NPC, or amateur Heartland Championship.

[3] The Bunnings Warehouse NPC, previously known as the Mitre 10 Cup, which was renamed from the ITM Cup after a 2016 sponsorship change, is fully professional and the competition usually runs from late July or early August to late October.

From 2006, when the then Air New Zealand Cup replaced NPC division one, through to 2010, the competition contained 14 teams in a nationwide tournament.

Starting with the 2011 season, the ITM Cup was split into two divisions,[4][5] each with seven teams—the top-level Premiership and second-level Championship.

They restructured the NPC with all 14 teams now united in the same division but now with two conferences called 'Evens' and 'Odds' which was derived from their previous final placing.

The previous season's playing schedule would remain of ten regular season games, with five each both home and away and four crossover matches involving randomly drawn opponents from the other conference alongside the other six teams in each team's own conference.

The current Bunnings Warehouse NPC teams, as of the 2022 season, are: The Heartland Championship is not fully professional.