Here’s a NPC hot take ahead of the start of the season on Friday. We as a rugby union nation should bring back the pre 2005 format for the NPC. Well you may ask, isn’t that a stupid idea? I think not, the promotion / relegation format I feel would bring a new element of depth to New Zealand rugby as a whole. It would certainly benefit super rugby and the All Blacks to find talent that may not necessarily be seen by current NPC teams. I bet if you put the current South Canterbury team in the mix they would do decently well. How would you start the format? There are in theory 26 teams from the pre 2005 format that could be split into 9 team conferences / tiers for tier 1 + 2, and 8 in tier 3. You could split it up so top 9 from NPC in Tier 1, Bottom 5 NPC and Top 4 Heartland Championship for Tier 2. Remaining teams play in Tier 3. In terms of promotion / relegation top teams from tier 2 + 3 would be automatically promoted. Bottom teams from tier 1 + 2 would be relegated. You could do two teams to spice up the competition. I’m interested to see what people think. But I think it’s the next step the NPC needs to take.   submitted by   /u/northernirish_kiwi [link]   [comments]