Counties Manukau Rugby UnionThe National Provincial Championship was established in
1976. Counties won the competition in 1979 and have made the finals of the NPC a number of times. Counties Manukau
Rugby Union is made up of clubs from the South Auckland area and districts, with its main stadium at
Pukekohe. Currently Counties Manukau are playing in the second
division after being relegated from the first division at the end of the
2001 season.
| The Counties Manukau rugby jersey has
returned to its original strip - red, black and white 2 inch stripes.
It is still worn with the same
fierce pride by team members and supporters. The jersey has
undergone a number of changes over the years but the black, red and white colours of the team's rugby shirt has remained. The rugby
jersey is made of cotton polyester and comes in sizes Small to 2X Large.
Choose your size and Champions of the World will send you your
jersey immediately.
The NPC Competition is made up of three divisions with semi-finals and
a final to decide each division. Relegation of the bottom team and
promotion of the top team is determined at the end of each season. There
are ten teams in the first division, eight teams in the second division
and nine team the third division.
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Bay of Plenty won the NPC first division title in 1976, but have
enjoyed no success since then. Wellington took the title in 1978, 1981 and
2000, and Counties won for the only time in 1979. Manawatu got their only
title in 1980, Waikato theirs in 1992. Otago won twice in the nineties, in
1991 and 1998. And apart from that it has been all Auckland, winning in
1982, 1984 and 1985, four times in a row from 1987 - 1990, another four
times consecutively from 1993-1996, and again in 1999. However, Canterbury
now holds the title, adding 2001 to their victorious years of 1977, 1983,
and 1997.
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