2009 Air New Zealand Cup Round Robin

2009 Air NZ Cup Round-Robin
Duration	30 July to 25 October
Rounds	13
Matches played	91

The 2009 Air New Zealand Cup was a provincial rugby union competition in New Zealand, which was run as a round-robin tournament from 30 July to 25 October. There were 13 rounds where every team played each other once. The top four teams on the Air New Zealand Cup table advanced to the semi-finals, where they played for a chance in the Grand Final.

Most weeks, one game was played on Thursday at 7:35 pm (NZ Time), two games on Fridays both starting at 7:35 pm, three games on Saturdays at 2:35, 5:30 and 7:35 pm and one game on Sundays at 2:35 pm. Again, this is most common, there were games played at 4:30 or 6:30 pm and more or less games played on certain days, e.g. Thursdays and Saturdays.

Standings

Points Table

Pos.	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	BP1	BP2	Pts
1	14px Canterbury	13	10	0	3	369	231	138	4	3	47
2	Wellington	13	9	0	4	362	237	125	5	2	43
3	Southland (RS)	13	9	1	3	260	189	71	2	1	41
4	Hawke's Bay	13	8	1	4	372	256	116	6	1	41
5	Auckland	13	8	0	5	272	223	49	3	4	39
6	14px Waikato	13	8	0	5	285	297	-12	4	0	36
7	Bay of Plenty	13	7	0	6	268	267	1	1	3	32
8	Taranaki	13	6	1	6	252	251	1	1	1	28
9	Tasman	13	6	0	7	243	260	-17	2	2	28
10	14px Otago	13	5	0	8	260	283	-23	2	5	27
11	14px Manawatu	13	4	0	9	305	362	-57	3	5	24
12	North Harbour	13	4	0	9	244	320	-76	0	4	20
13	Northland	13	3	1	9	226	341	-115	0	2	16
14	Counties Manukau	13	2	0	11	235	436	-201	2	2	12

Ladder Progression

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13
Auckland	14	14	10	10	7	6	8	5	7	7	6	6	5
Bay of Plenty	6	1	1	1	3	1	3	3	4	6	8	7	7
10 px Canterbury	9	6	2	2	1	3	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Counties Manukau	8	13	14	13	14	14	12	14	14	14	14	14	14
Hawke's Bay	1	4	7	9	8	11	7	4	3	2	2	5	4
10 px Manawatu	2	9	6	5	4	8	9	10	11	11	12	12	11
North Harbour	7	7	12	12	13	13	14	13	12	13	10	11	12
Northland	11	5	11	7	12	12	13	11	13	12	13	13	13
10 px Otago	10	12	8	8	6	9	10	12	10	10	11	10	10
Southland	4	2	4	3	2	2	2	2	2	5	4	3	3
Taranaki	3	10	9	11	10	7	5	8	9	9	9	9	8
Tasman	13	11	3	6	9	5	4	6	5	4	7	8	9
10 px Waikato	12	8	13	14	11	10	11	9	8	8	5	4	6
Wellington	5	3	5	4	5	4	6	7	6	3	3	2	2

Win

Draw

Loss

Schedule

Round 1	Round 2	Round 3	Round 4	Round 5	Round 6	Round 7
30 Jul-02 Aug	06-09 Aug	13-16 Aug	20-23 Aug	27-30 Aug	03-06 Sept	10-13 Sept

Round 8	Round 9	Round 10	Round 11	Round 12	Round 13
17-20 Sept	24-27 Sept	01-04 Oct	08-11 Oct	15-18 Oct	22-25 Oct

Round 1

• The highlight of round one was the first up Ranfurly Shield challenge when Wellington beat Otago 23-19, Otago had the chance to own the shield for the first time in 52 years.
• On Saturday, three of the major unions went down to their lesser counterparts;
  • Hawke's Bay recorded its first win over Auckland in Air New Zealand/NPC history and their first win over Auckland since 1974.
  • North Harbour recorded a shock win over defending champions Canterbury in their first game of the season, Michael Harris lead the 22-19 victory recording 17 points.
  • Southland beat Waikato 16-6, their first win over the Mooloo men since 2003.

Date	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Time	Venue
30 Jul	Tasman	9 - 21	Taranaki	7:35 pm	Lansdowne Park
31 Jul	Bay of Plenty	19 - 14	Northland	7:35 pm	Rotorua International Stadium
31 Jul	Wellington (RS)	23 - 19	18 px Otago	7:35 pm	Westpac Stadium
01 Aug	Hawke's Bay	47 - 13	Auckland	2:35 pm	McLean Park
01 Aug	North Harbour	22 - 19	18 px Canterbury	5:30 pm	North Harbour Stadium
01 Aug	Southland	16 - 6	18 px Waikato	7:35 pm	Rugby Park Stadium
02 Aug	18 px Manawatu	36 - 31	Counties Manukau	2:35 pm	FMG Stadium
References:

Round 2

• Northland chose to switch their home game to North Harbour Stadium after determining that Okara Park would be unsuitable on account of bad field conditions.
• When Southland beat Otago 26-19 at Carisbrook, it was the 232nd time these two teams had matched up, the most played provincial rivalry in New Zealand rugby.
• Tasman's 19-15 victory over North Harbour on the 7th of August was the first time in their history that they have beaten them.

Date	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Time	Venue	Attendance
06 Aug	Northland	29 - 16	Taranaki	7:35 pm	North Harbour Stadium	3,000
07 Aug	North Harbour	15 - 19	Tasman	7:35 pm	North Harbour Stadium	6,000
07 Aug	18 px Otago	19 - 26	Southland	7:35 pm	Carisbrook	7,000
08 Aug	18 px Waikato	30 - 22	18 px Manawatu	2:35 pm	Waikato Stadium	11,500
08 Aug	Hawke's Bay	13 - 21	Wellington	5:30 pm	McLean Park	13,995
08 Aug	Auckland	16 - 22	18 px Canterbury	7:35 pm	Eden Park	10,200
09 Aug	Counties Manukau	9 - 32	Bay of Plenty	2:35 pm	Growers Stadium	5,275

Round 3

• When Northland ran out onto the field at the Kerikeri Domain it was the first time they have played in the province outside of Whangarei since 1976, and the first time Kerikeri have hosted an Air New Zealand/NPC match.
• Taranaki and Hawke's Bay played in the first drawn match of the season when they matched up 24 a piece at the full-time whistle, it was also refereed for the first time by a referee outside the country with Australian Nathan Pearce taking the officiators duty.
• On the 16th of August Tasman and Counties Manukau played against each other for the first time in their history with Tasman winning 51-15.

Date	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Time	Venue	Attendance
13 Aug	18 px Otago	29 - 9	North Harbour	7:35 pm	Carisbrook	4,000
14 Aug	Southland	23 - 25	18 px Manawatu	7:35 pm	Rugby Park Stadium	7,000
14 Aug	18 px Canterbury	46 - 13	18 px Waikato	7:35 pm	AMI Stadium	9,500
15 Aug	Northland	13 - 32	Auckland	2:35 pm	Kerikeri Domain	7,000
15 Aug	Taranaki	24 - 24	Hawke's Bay	5:30 pm	Yarrow Stadium	6,593
15 Aug	Bay of Plenty	21 - 17	Wellington	7:35 pm	Rotorua Intl Stadium	5,000
16 Aug	Tasman	51 - 15	Counties Manukau	2:35 pm	Trafalgar Park	4,300

Round 4

• Wellington won their second Ranfurly Shield challenge 16-15 against Auckland on the 22nd of August, with some significant moments,
  • it is now the longest Wellington has held onto the shield since 1953; and
  • Fa'atonu Fili landed his 3rd drop goal of the competition, the most in any Air New Zealand Cup season, it also made Wellington the holder of the most drop goals in a season by a team with 2 being the previous record.
• When Canterbury beat Tasman 25 to 21, it was the closest that Tasman had come to winning against their Crusader counterparts.
• Counties Manukau were only team left in the competition without a win but ended that when they recorded a 33-21 win over Taranaki on the 23rd of August.

Date	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Time	Venue	Attendance
20 Aug	18 px Manawatu	19 - 12	18 px Otago	7:35 pm	FMG Stadium	8,000
21 Aug	North Harbour	23 - 26	Northland	7:35 pm	North Harbour Stadium	6,500
21 Aug	Southland	18 - 9	Hawke's Bay	7:35 pm	Rugby Park Stadium	9,200
22 Aug	Bay of Plenty	32 - 16	18 px Waikato	2:35 pm	Bay Park Stadium	12,000
22 Aug	18 px Canterbury	25 - 21	Tasman	4:30 pm	AMI Stadium	9,400
22 Aug	Wellington (RS)	16 - 15	Auckland	6:35 pm	Westpac Stadium	14,335
23 Aug	Counties Manukau	33 - 21	Taranaki	2:35 pm	Growers Stadium	2,500

Round 5

• Wellington lost the Ranfurly Shield in Round 5, losing 36-14 to Canterbury on the 29th of August.
• When Southland beat North Harbour 24 to 22, it was the first time Southland had beaten North Harbour at their home stadium.
• Hawke's Bay scored the first penalty try of the season in their 28-26 victory over Tasman on August the 28th.
• Auckland and Bay of Plenty contested for the new trophy, the John Drake Boot, named after John Drake, who died December 2008, Auckland won the trophy by winning 29 points to 14. This was also Bay of Plenty's first loss of the season.

Date	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Time	Venue	Attendance
27 Aug	North Harbour	22 - 24	Southland	7:35 pm	North Harbour Stadium	3,500
28 Aug	Northland	7 - 29	18 px Otago	7:35 pm	Okara Park	4,500
28 Aug	Hawke's Bay	28 - 26	Tasman	7:35 pm	McLean Park	8,700
29 Aug	Counties Manukau	8 - 30	18 px Waikato	2:35 pm	Growers Stadium	7,000
29 Aug	18 px Manawatu	10 - 12	Taranaki	5:30 pm	FMG Stadium	11,000
29 Aug	Wellington (RS)	14 - 36	18 px Canterbury	7:35 pm	Westpac Stadium	18,511
30 Aug	Auckland	29 - 14	Bay of Plenty	2:35 pm	Eden Park	6,000

Round 6

• Southland and Northland started off round 6 with a draw when both teams locked up at 15 all, it was the second draw of the season.
• When Wellington beat Counties Manukau on the 4th of September, Hosea Gear equaled the record for most tries in one game with 4.
• The upset of the round was when Bay of Plenty beat Canterbury 19 points to 17, right after Canterbury had won the Ranfurly Shield off Wellington

Date	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Time	Venue	Attendance
03 Sept	Southland	15 - 15	Northland	7:35 pm	Rugby Park Stadium	8,500
04 Sept	Taranaki	17 - 13	North Harbour	7:35 pm	Yarrow Stadium	6,421
04 Sept	Counties Manukau	19 - 62	Wellington	7:35 pm	Growers Stadium	3,500
05 Sept	Tasman	34 - 15	18 px Manawatu	2:35 pm	Trafalgar Park	5,500
05 Sept	Bay of Plenty	19 - 17	18 px Canterbury	5:30 pm	Bay Park Stadium	10,000
05 Sept	18 px Waikato	30 - 22	Hawke's Bay	7:35 pm	Waikato Stadium	10,000
06 Sept	18 px Otago	18 - 22	Auckland	2:35 pm	Carisbrook	7,000

Round 7

• Canterbury hosted their first Ranfurly Shield challenge against Otago on the 12th of September, which they won 36-16.
• When Tasman played Waikato on the 11th of September, it was officiated by Australian Andrew Lees, who was the second Australian to referee an Air New Zealand Cup match this season.
• When Taranaki beat Wellington on the 10th of September, it was their first NPC/Air New Zealand Cup win over Wellington in 20 years.
• When Southland beat Bay of Plenty 19-12 on the 11th of September, they earned the 4 competition points to gain them the top position on the points table, the first time ever Southland have achieved this in the first division of New Zealand provincial rugby.

Date	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Time	Venue	Attendance
10 Sept	Northland	21 - 37	Counties Manukau	7:35 pm	Okara Park	3,000
10 Sept	Taranaki	29 - 16	Wellington	7:35 pm	Yarrow Stadium	7,500
11 Sept	Tasman	23 - 9	18 px Waikato	7:35 pm	Lansdowne Park	4,000
11 Sept	Southland	19 - 12	Bay of Plenty	7:35 pm	Rugby Park Stadium	10,500
12 Sept	North Harbour	17 - 34	Hawke's Bay	2:35 pm	North Harbour Stadium	3,000
12 Sept	18 px Canterbury (RS)	36 - 16	18 px Otago	4:35 pm	AMI Stadium	16,500
13 Sept	Auckland	23 - 20	18 px Manawatu	2:35 pm	Eden Park	6,200

Round 8

• Canterbury successfully hosted their second Ranfurly Shield match of the season when they beat Taranaki 29 points to 17.
• North Harbour won the 29th edition of the Battle of the bridge against Auckland, only the sixth time they've beat them and the first time since 2004.

Date	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Time	Venue	Attendance
17 Sept	Bay of Plenty	24 - 13	Tasman	7:35 pm	Bay Park Stadium	6,700
17 Sept	Counties Manukau	6 - 14	Southland	7:35 pm	Growers Stadium	2,000
18 Sept	18 px Canterbury (RS)	29 - 17	Taranaki	7:35 pm	AMI Stadium	8,800
18 Sept	18 px Waikato	23 - 18	Wellington	7:35 pm	Waikato Stadium	8,000
19 Sept	Auckland	14 - 16	North Harbour	2:35 pm	Eden Park	6,520
19 Sept	Hawke's Bay	32 - 10	18 px Otago	4:35 pm	McLean Park	8,000
20 Sept	18 px Manawatu	18 - 25	Northland	2:35 pm	FMG Stadium	8,500

Round 9

• Englishman Wayne Barnes refereed the game between Wellington and Southland, he was the third referee outside the country to referee an Air New Zealand Cup match this season.
• Canterbury successfully held their third Ranfurly Shield challenge against Northland when they beat them 31-21.
• Tasman recorded their first ever win over Auckland in their four-year history, even though it was only the second time they've played each other.

Date	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Time	Venue	Attendance
24 Sept	Wellington	32 - 13	Southland	7:35 pm	Westpac Stadium	5,301
25 Sept	Taranaki	14 - 15	18 px Waikato	7:35 pm	Yarrow Stadium	5,564
25 Sept	North Harbour	28 - 19	Counties Manukau	7:35 pm	North Harbour Stadium	unknown
26 Sept	18 px Canterbury (RS)	31 - 21	Northland	2:35 pm	AMI Stadium	unknown
26 Sept	Hawke's Bay	35 - 30	18 px Manawatu	5:30 pm	McLean Park	unknown
26 Sept	18 px Otago	26 - 17	Bay of Plenty	7:35 pm	Carisbrook	unknown
27 Sept	Tasman	12 - 8	Auckland	2:35 pm	Trafalgar Park	8,100

Round 10

• Counties Manukau were the first team in this year's competition to be eliminated from semifinal contention when they lost to Canterbury on the 2nd of October.

Date	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Time	Venue	Attendance
01 Oct	18 px Waikato	33 - 22	North Harbour	7:35 pm	Waikato Stadium	8,000
02 Oct	Bay of Plenty	19 - 22	Hawke's Bay	7:35 pm	Rotorua Intl Stadium	6,700
02 Oct	Counties Manukau	17 - 28	18 px Canterbury	7:35 pm	Growers Stadium	3,047
03 Oct	Auckland	27 - 13	Southland	2:35 pm	Eden Park	6,520
03 Oct	Wellington	43 - 15	18 px Manawatu	5:30 pm	Westpac Stadium	8,607
03 Oct	Taranaki	38 - 10	18 px Otago	7:35 pm	Yarrow Stadium	7,922
04 Oct	Northland	16 - 21	Tasman	2:35 pm	Okara Park	4,000

Round 11

• Canterbury successfully held their fourth Ranfurly Shield challenge against Manawatu on the 9th of October, winning 50-26.
• Canterbury became the first team in the competition to qualify for the semifinals with their victory over Manawatu.
• Despite sitting in 10th place immediately after their loss on the 9th of October, Manawatu was the second team to be eliminated from semifinal contention.
• When Hawke's Bay beat Counties Manukau 54-8, it was the largest winning margin between the two teams.
• Northland's David Holwell celebrated his 100th game for the province against his old union, Wellington on the 11th of October.
• Taranaki and Tasman were the first teams this season to be held scoreless, when they played Auckland and Southland on the 9th and 10th of October.
• Otago was eliminated from semifinal contention when they lost to Waikato. Waikato's victory also eliminated North Harbour and Northland bringing the total of eliminated teams to five.

Date	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Time	Venue	Attendance
08 Oct	Hawke's Bay	54 - 8	Counties Manukau	7:35 pm	McLean Park	unknown
09 Oct	18 px Canterbury (RS)	50 - 26	18 px Manawatu	7:35 pm	AMI Stadium	unknown
09 Oct	Taranaki	0 - 10	Auckland	7:35 pm	Yarrow Stadium	unknown
10 Oct	18 px Otago	29 - 35	18 px Waikato	2:35 pm	Carisbrook	unknown
10 Oct	Southland	41 - 0	Tasman	5:30 pm	Rugby Park Stadium	unknown
10 Oct	North Harbour	28 - 7	Bay of Plenty	7:35 pm	North Harbour Stadium	1,500
11 Oct	Northland	7 - 41	Wellington	2:35 pm	Okara Park	unknown

Round 12

• By defeating Hawke's Bay on the 15th of October, Canterbury ensured home field advantage in the semifinal and (should they reach it) the final.
• Taranaki became the sixth team be eliminated from playoff contention when they lost to Southland on the 16th of October.
• Bay of Plenty became the seventh team be eliminated from playoff contention when Wellington beat North Harbour on the 17th of October.
• Tasman became the eighth team to be eliminated from playoff contention when they lost to Otago on the 17th of October. They were also held scoreless for the second straight week after losing to Southland in Round 11 41-0.
• The Wellington Lions played in specially designed white jerseys in their October 17th match against North Harbour to help raise funds and awareness for the Samoa Tsunami appeal.

Date	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Time	Venue	Attendance
15 Oct	Hawke's Bay	20 - 27	18 px Canterbury	7:35 pm	McLean Park	17,000
16 Oct	18 px Manawatu	27 - 28	Bay of Plenty	7:35 pm	FMG Stadium	unknown
16 Oct	Southland	29 - 13	Taranaki	7:35 pm	Rugby Park Stadium	6,000
17 Oct	Wellington	37 - 13	North Harbour	2:35 pm	Westpac Stadium	10,160
17 Oct	18 px Otago	21 - 0	Tasman	5:30 pm	Carisbrook	unknown
17 Oct	18 px Waikato	27 - 19	Northland	7:35 pm	Waikato Stadium	unknown
18 Oct	Auckland	37 - 14	Counties Manukau	2:35 pm	Eden Park	8,400

Round 13

• Six teams remained in contention for the semi-finals at the beginning of the round (Canterbury, Wellington, Southland, Waikato, Hawke's Bay and Auckland); and of these only Canterbury was guaranteed a position.
• Southland obtained the Ranfurly Shield for the first time since 1959 when they beat Canterbury 9 points to 3 on the 22nd of October. In the process, they became the second team to book themselves a place in the semi-finals.
• Wellington clinched a home semi-final after their win against Tasman on the 23rd of October. The victory also cemented Southland as the third-place team in the Round Robin and as Wellington's semifinal opponent.
• Auckland was the ninth team to be eliminated from semifinal contention with Hawke's Bay victory over Northland on the 23rd of October.
• Manawatu beat North Harbour for the first time ever, winning 42-16 on the 24th of October. Manawatu's Andre Taylor also equaled the record for most points scored in an Air New Zealand Cup game with 27, including 2 tries, 2 penalty goals, 4 conversions and 1 drop goal.
• Hawke's Bay won the last playoff spot and Waikato was the tenth and final team eliminated from semifinal contention when Auckland beat Waikato on the 24th of October.

Date	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Time	Venue	Attendance
22 Oct	18 px Canterbury	3 - 9	Southland (RS)	7:35 pm	AMI Stadium	10,500
23 Oct	Northland	13 - 32	Hawke's Bay	7:35 pm	Okara Park	2,500
23 Oct	Tasman	14 - 22	Wellington	7:35 pm	Lansdowne Park	5,500
24 Oct	18 px Manawatu	42 - 16	North Harbour	2:35 pm	FMG Stadium	7,000
24 Oct	18 px Otago	22 - 19	Counties Manukau	5:30 pm	Carisbrook	3,000
24 Oct	18 px Waikato	18 - 26	Auckland	7:35 pm	Waikato Stadium	9,800
25 Oct	Bay of Plenty	24 - 30	Taranaki	2:35 pm	Bay Park Stadium	7,100

See also

• Air New Zealand Cup
• 2009 Air New Zealand Cup