The 2021 Farah Palmer Cup season was the 15th edition of the competition. It began on 17 July with the finals taking place on 9 October.

2021 Farah Palmer Cup season
CountriesNew Zealand New Zealand
Date17 July – 9 October
ChampionsWaikato
Runners-upCanterbury
Official website
www.provincial.rugby/farah-palmer-cup/
← 2020
2022 →

In September, due to the COVID-19 restrictions, Auckland, Counties Manukau, & North Harbour withdrew from the remainder of the competition leaving the remaining ten teams to complete the season. The respective finals was played on the first two weekends of October.[1][2]

Waikato and Manawatū were crowned champions in their respective Farah Palmer Cup competitions; Waikato defeated Canterbury to win the Premiership final,[3][4] and Manawatu beat Hawke's Bay to win the Championship final.[5]

Format

edit

The competition was divided into two divisions: The Premiership is the top division consisting of seven teams, the winner being crowned the champion while the lowest ranked team will be relegated to the Championship. The Championship is the second division consisting of six teams, the winner of the competition gets promoted to the Premiership for the next year.

Standings

edit

Key: JST – JJ Stewart Trophy holders

Regular season

edit

Week 1

edit
17 July
Auckland44–12Bay of Plenty
Eden Park, Auckland
17 July
JJ – Canterbury59–12Counties Manukau
Rugby Park, Christchurch
18 July
Wellington13–5Otago
Porirua Park, Wellington

Bye: Waikato

Week 2

edit
24 July
North Harbour35–32Tasman
North Harbour
24 July
Hawke's Bay31–46Northland
McLean Park, Napier
24 July
Waikato17–24Canterbury
Waikato
24 July
Counties Manukau21–13Bay of Plenty
Navigation Homes Stadium, Pukekohe
24 July
Manawatu48–5Taranaki
CET Arena, Palmerston North
25 July
Otago15–39Auckland
University of Otago Oval, Dunedin

Bye: Wellington

Week 3

edit
31 July
Taranaki34–12Tasman
TET Stadium & Events Centre, Inglewood
31 July
Hawke's Bay45–24North Harbour
Tremain Field, Napier
31 July
Bay of Plenty10–27Waikato
31 July
Northland12–39Manawatu
Semenoff Stadium, Whangārei
1 August
Counties Manukau39–7Otago
Navigation Homes Stadium, Pukekohe
1 August
JJ – Canterbury23–22Wellington
Rugby Park, Christchurch

Bye: Auckland

Week 4

edit
6 August
Manawatu67–12Hawke's Bay
CET Arena, Palmerston North
7 August
Wellington26–25Counties Manukau
Sky Stadium, Wellington
7 August
Otago22–29Waikato
Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
8 August
North Harbour24–10Taranaki
North Harbour Stadium
8 August
Tasman0–27Northland
Sports Park
8 August
Auckland7–32Canterbury
Eden Park, Auckland

Bye: Bay of Plenty

Week 5

edit
13 August
Counties Manukau10–13Auckland
Navigation Homes Stadium, Pukekohe
14 August
Manawatu34–0North Harbour
CET Arena, Palmerston North
14 August
Hawke's Bay80–5Tasman
McLean Park, Napier
14 August
JJ – Canterbury26–7Bay of Plenty
Orangetheory Stadium, Christchurch
15 August
Waikato34–27Wellington
FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton
15 August
Northland41–3Taranaki
Semenoff Stadium, Whangarei

Bye: Otago

Week 6

edit
18 September
Bay of Plenty31–3Otago
Mt Maunganui

Week 7

edit
25 September
Otago24–72Canterbury
Forsyth Barr Stadium
25 September
Bay of Plenty34–41Wellington
Blake Park
25 September
Taranaki19–35Hawke's Bay
TET Stadium & Events Centre, Inglewood
26 September
Tasman7–85Manawatu
Trafalgar Park, Nelson

Play-offs

edit

Semi-finals

edit

Championship

1 October
Northland26–27Hawke's Bay
Semenoff Stadium, Whangarei

Premiership

2 October
Waikato26–10Wellington
FMG Stadium Waikato

Finals

edit

Premiership

9 October
Canterbury20–22Waikato
Christchurch

Championship

9 October
Manawatu55–12Hawke's Bay
Palmerston North

JJ Stewart Trophy

edit

The JJ Stewart Trophy is a trophy based on a challenge system, rather than a league or knockout competition as with most football trophies. The holding union must defend the trophy in challenge matches, and if a challenger defeats them, they become the new holder of the trophy.

References

edit
  1. ^ "Auckland, Counties-Manukau and Northland pull out of Farah Palmer Cup". RNZ. 20 September 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  2. ^ "Counties Manukau, Auckland & North Harbour withdrawn from Farah Palmer Cup". Provincial Rugby. 20 September 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  3. ^ "Waikato beats Canterbury in Farah Palmer Cup final". Otago Daily Times Online News. 9 October 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  4. ^ Reive, Christopher (9 October 2021). "Streak over: Canterbury lose Farah Palmer Cup final as Waikato get revenge". NZ Herald. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  5. ^ "Waikato and Manawatū crowned respective Farah Palmer Cup champions". Provincial Rugby. 9 October 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
edit