2008 Air New Zealand Cup


The 2008 Air New Zealand Cup was a provincial rugby union competition involving 14 teams from New Zealand. Matches started on Thursday 31 July 2008, and continued until the final on 25 October 2008.
This season was the third of the expanded competition, which succeeded the First Division of the National Provincial Championship. It started with a 10-week round robin in which every team missed out on playing 3 teams in the competition. This was followed by a knockout playoff involving 8 teams, made up of quarterfinals, semifinals and the final.
On 11 August 2008 the New Zealand Rugby Union initially announced that Tasman and Northland would both be relegated from the Air New Zealand Cup after the completion of the 2008 season. Both teams failed to meet criteria which included financial stability, population, player training and development, playing history, and administration. This decision was reversed towards the end of the 2008 season, with Tasman and Northland remaining in the competition for two more years.
Canterbury won their sixth national provincial title by defeating Wellington 7-6 at Westpac Stadium, Wellington. It was the third consecutive season that Wellington have finished runners-up.

Standings

The top eight teams in pool play advanced to the Quarter Finals.
TeamPldWDLPFPAPDBP1BP2Pts
1 Wellington10901353161+1928044
2 Canterbury10901270101+1695142
3 Hawke's Bay10703265183+825134
4 Bay of Plenty10604185152+332328
5 Southland10604225249−243125
6 Waikato10415258235+235225
7 Tasman10415188200−122323
8 Taranaki10415201209−83223
9 Northland10406212227−153322
10 Otago10415207231−242222
11 Auckland10505149193−442022
12 North Harbour10307225285−613419
13 Counties-Manukau10217140317−1771213
14 Manawatu10118149283−134219

Table notes

'''NB:
  1. The winner of the last match between the two provinces if played this season then,
  2. Highest points differential then,
  3. Most tries scored then,
  4. A coin toss.

    Points Scorers

Try Scorers

Attendances

TeamPlayedHighestLowestTotalAverage
1 Wellington715,2426,26080,54611,507
2 Canterbury710,0657,00058,5658,366
3 Bay of Plenty613,5006,30051,9008,650
4 Auckland516,0006,54047,0409,408
5 Waikato512,0007,10045,6009,120
6 Hawke's Bay610,8664,00041,8936,982
7 Southland59,0007,00037,4827,496
8 Manawatu58,0004,00031,0006,200
9 Northland514,2003,00031,6006,320
10 Taranaki56,5004,00028,0005,600
11 Tasman56,7002,50022,8004,560
12 North Harbour55,7002,50019,4003,880
13 Otago55,0002,00018,5003,700
14 Counties-Manukau56,50080016,8503,370
Total7616,000800530,2266,977

Fixtures and results

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Round 8

Round 9

Round 10

Knockout stage

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final