2011 ITM Cup explained

2011 ITM Cup season
Countries:	New Zealand
Date:	14 July – 4 September
Champions:	Canterbury
Runnersup:	Waikato
Promoted:	Hawke's Bay
Relegated:	Southland
Matches:	72
Tries:	378
Top Point Scorer:	Andrew Horrell (Hawke's Bay) 152 points
Website:	https://www.provincial.rugby/
Prevseason:	2010
Nextseason:	2012

The 2011 ITM Cup season was the sixth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on July 14, when Otago hosted North Harbour. It involved the top fourteen rugby unions of New Zealand. For sponsorship reasons, the competition was known as the ITM Cup and it was the second season under the lead sponsor. The winner of the Championship, Hawke's Bay was promoted to the Premiership, the seventh placed Premiership team, Southland was relegated to the Championship.

Format

The ITM Cup standings were sorted by a competition points system. Four points were awarded to the winning team, a draw equaled two points, whilst a loss amounted to zero points. Unions could also win their side a respectable bonus point. To receive a bonus point, they must have scored four tries or more or lose by seven or fewer points or less.^[1] Each team was placed on their total points received. If necessary of a tiebreaker, when two or more teams finish on equal points, the union who defeated the other in a head-to-head got placed higher. In case of a draw between them, the side with the biggest points differential margin got rights to be ranked above. If they were tied on points difference, it was then decided by a highest scored try count or a coin toss.^[2] This seeding format was implemented since the beginning of the 2006 competition.

The competition included a promotion-relegation process with the winner of the Championship receiving automatic promotion to the Premiership, replacing the seventh-placed team in the Premiership which was relegated to the Championship for the following year. The regular season consisted of two types of matches. The internal division matches were when each team played the other six unions in their division once, home or away. The cross-division matches were when each team played four teams from the other division, thus missing out on three teams, each from the opposite division. Each union played home or away games against teams from the other division, making a total of ten competition games for each union.^[3] The finals format allowed the top four teams from each division move on to the semi-finals. The top two division winners, based on table points, received a home semi-final. In the first round of the finals, the semi-finals, the second division winner hosted the third division winner, and the first division winner hosted the fourth division winner. The final was hosted by the top remaining seed.^[4]

Standings

Source: ITM Cup standings 2011^[5]

Premiership Division
	Team
1	Waikato	10	7	0	3	236	219	+17	4	1	33
2	Canterbury	10	6	0	4	293	230	+63	7	2	33
3	RS – Taranaki	10	7	0	3	216	194	+22	2	1	31
4	Bay of Plenty	10	6	0	4	275	212	+63	5	2	31
5	Auckland	10	5	0	5	255	261	–6	2	4	26
6	Wellington	10	5	0	5	251	260	–9	2	3	25
7	Southland	10	4	0	6	195	229	–34	2	2	20

Championship Division
	Team
1	Manawatu	10	7	0	3	281	246	+35	4	1	33
2	Hawke's Bay	10	6	0	4	298	213	+85	4	1	29
3	Otago	10	5	0	5	223	224	–1	2	2	24
4	Counties Manukau	10	4	0	6	235	262	–27	3	3	22
5	Northland	10	4	0	6	227	279	–52	1	2	19
6	North Harbour	10	2	0	8	245	319	–74	4	2	14
7	Tasman	10	2	0	8	198	280	–82	1	4	13

Standings progression

Premiership
Team	W1	W2	W3	W4	W5	W6	W7	W8
Auckland	style="background:#FFCCCC"	1 (5th)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	6 (3rd)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	6 (7th)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	16 (3rd)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	20 (5th)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	25 (2nd)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	26 (5th)	style="background:#ECECEC"	26 (5th)
Bay of Plenty	style="background:#D8FFEB"	4 (4th)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	9 (1st)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	19 (1st)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	20 (1st)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	22 (3rd)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	22 (5th)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	31 (4th)	style="background:#ECECEC"	31 (4th)
Canterbury	style="background:#D8FFEB"	5 (1st)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	6 (2nd)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	12 (3rd)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	17 (2nd)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	22 (4th)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	27 (1st)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	33 (2nd)	style="background:#ECECEC"	33 (2nd)
Southland	style="background:#FFCCCC"	0 (6th)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	4 (7th)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	8 (6th)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	13 (6th)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	17 (6th)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	19 (7th)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	20 (7th)	style="background:#ECECEC"	20 (7th)
Taranaki	style="background:#FFCCCC"	0 (7th)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	5 (5th)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	14 (2nd)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	15 (4th)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	23 (2nd)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	23 (4th)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	31 (3rd)	style="background:#ECECEC"	31 (3rd)
Waikato	style="background:#D8FFEB"	4 (3rd)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	5 (6th)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	10 (4th)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	14 (5th)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	24 (1st)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	24 (3rd)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	33 (1st)	style="background:#ECECEC"	33 (1st)
Wellington	style="background:#D8FFEB"	4 (2nd)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	5 (4th)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	10 (5th)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	10 (7th)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	16 (7th)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	20 (6th)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	25 (6th)	style="background:#ECECEC"	25 (6th)
Championship
Team	W1	W2	W3	W4	W5	W6	W7	W8
Counties Manukau	style="background:#FFCCCC"	1 (4th)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	10 (2nd)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	10 (4th)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	11 (5th)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	12 (5th)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	17 (4th)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	22 (3rd)	style="background:#ECECEC"	22 (4th)
Hawke's Bay	style="background:#FFCCCC"	0 (6th)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	8 (4th)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	13 (1st)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	19 (2nd)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	24 (2nd)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	29 (2nd)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	29 (2nd)	style="background:#ECECEC"	29 (2nd)
Manawatu	style="background:#D8FFEB"	5 (2nd)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	11 (1st)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	11 (2nd)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	20 (1st)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	24 (1st)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	29 (1st)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	33 (1st)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	33 (1st)
North Harbour	style="background:#FFCCCC"	1 (5th)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	6 (5th)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	6 (6th)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	6 (6th)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	7 (6th)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	12 (6th)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	14 (6th)	style="background:#ECECEC"	14 (6th)
Northland	style="background:#D8FFEB"	4 (3rd)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	4 (6th)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	9 (5th)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	13 (4th)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	13 (4th)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	14 (5th)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	19 (4th)	style="background:#ECECEC"	19 (5th)
Otago	style="background:#D8FFEB"	5 (1st)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	9 (3rd)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	10 (3rd)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	15 (3rd)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	15 (3rd)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	19 (3rd)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	19 (5th)	style="background:#D8FFEB"	24 (3rd)
Tasman	style="background:#FFCCCC"	0 (7th)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	0 (7th)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	0 (7th)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	6 (7th)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	7 (7th)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	12 (7th)	style="background:#FFCCCC"	13 (7th)	style="background:#ECECEC"	13 (7th)
The table above shows a team's progression throughout the season. For each week, their cumulative points total is shown with the overall division log position in brackets.
Key:	Win	Draw	Loss	Bye

Regular season

The 2011 ITM Cup was played across eight weeks with every team playing three Tuesday or Wednesday night fixtures in a double-up round where they played twice that week. The competition started on Thursday, July 14, with Otago taking on North Harbour at Carisbrook. Due to the 2011 Rugby World Cup being hosted in New Zealand, the competition finished without semi-finals so that the World Cup could be held in September and October.^[6] The Otago and Manawatu fixture was cancelled in Week 6 of the competition due to weather and airport closures.^[7]

Week 2

| pen1 = Andrew Goodman (3/4) 21|44|55}}| try2 = Ahsee Tuala (2) 2', 58'
Sherwin Stowers (2) 52', 75'| con2 = Tasesa Lavea (2/3) 3', 53'
James Semple (1/1) 75'| pen2 = Tasesa Lavea (2/2) 22', 35'| stadium = Lansdowne Park, Blenheim| referee = Nick Briant}}

Week 8

Play-offs

Premiership

FB 15 Trent Renata RW 14 Henry Speight OC 13 Jackson Willison IC 12 Sam Christie LW 11 Tim Mikkelson FH 10 Stephen Donald SH 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow N8 8 Alex Bradley OF 7 Marty Holah BF 6 Liam Messam RL 5 Romana Graham LL 4 Toby Lynn TP 3 Nathan White (c) HK 2 Marcel Cummings-Toone LP 1 Toby Smith Replacements: HK 16 Vance Elliott PR 17 Ben May LK 18 Matt Vant Leven FL 19 Zak Hohneck SH 20 Brendon Leonard WG 21 Sitiveni Sivivatu WG 22 Declan O'Donnell PR 23 Ted Tauroa

FB 15 Sean Maitland RW 14 Telusa Veainu OC 13 Robbie Fruean IC 12 Ryan Crotty LW 11 Patrick Osborne FH 10 Tyler Bleyendaal SH 9 Willi Heinz N8 8 Nasi Manu OF 7 Matt Todd BF 6 George Whitelock (c) RL 5 Ash Parker LL 4 Luke Romano TP 3 Nepo Laulala HK 2 Ben Funnell LP 1 Wyatt Crockett Replacements: HK 16 Paul Ngauamo PR 17 Joe Moody LK 18 Luke Katene FL 19 Brendon O'Connor SH 20 Takerei Norton FH 21 Tom Taylor WG 22 Johnny McNicholl PR 23 Andrew Olorenshaw

Statistics

Leading point scorers

No.	Player	Team	Points	Average	Details
1			152	15.20	4, 24, 28, 0
2			140	12.73	4, 27, 21, 1
3			125	12.50	2, 17, 27, 0
4			116	11.60	3, 13, 25, 0
5			112	11.20	2, 21, 20, 0
6			102	11.33	1, 11, 25, 0
7			98	9.80	0, 22, 18, 0
8			96	9.60	1, 20, 17, 0
9			90	11.25	0, 9, 24, 0
10			87	8.70	0, 15, 18, 1

Source: The weekly reviews of the matches published on provincial.rugby (see "Report" in the individual match scoring stats).

Leading try scorers

No.	Player	Team	Tries	Average
1			9	0.90
2			8	0.80
3			6	0.60
4			6	0.60
5			5	0.56
6			5	0.50
7			5	0.50
8			5	0.45
9			5	0.45
10			5	0.45

Source: The weekly reviews of the matches published on provincial.rugby (see "Report" in the individual match scoring stats).

Points by week

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Total	Average
Auckland	33	40	46	49	11	39	68	39	25	22	53	46	19	26	0	0	255	261	25.50	26.10
Bay of Plenty	20	13	38	17	68	8	23	30	46	71	16	25	64	48	0	0	275	212	27.50	21.20
Canterbury	40	33	19	22	70	52	36	32	41	40	27	0	60	51	0	0	293	230	29.30	23.00
Counties Manukau	13	20	64	48	14	22	29	52	22	25	54	76	39	19	0	0	235	262	23.50	26.20
Hawke's Bay	23	32	56	31	39	10	59	41	32	13	44	14	45	72	0	0	298	213	29.80	21.30
Manawatu	32	23	55	54	15	42	47	31	31	25	54	20	27	23	20	28	281	246	28.10	24.60
North Harbour	29	46	56	53	10	39	34	61	23	25	65	66	28	29	0	0	245	319	24.50	31.90
Northland	19	9	22	30	36	40	30	23	32	71	26	33	62	73	0	0	227	279	22.70	27.90
Otago	46	29	45	52	17	20	42	33	10	25	19	16	16	29	28	20	223	224	22.30	22.40
Southland	9	19	40	48	22	14	45	51	25	23	25	30	29	44	0	0	195	229	19.50	22.90
Taranaki	5	23	30	23	62	27	10	15	65	56	0	27	44	23	0	0	216	194	21.60	19.40
Tasman	9	19	38	71	6	35	53	55	23	26	46	47	23	27	0	0	198	280	19.80	28.00
Waikato	19	9	23	30	43	42	22	15	52	23	20	54	57	46	0	0	236	219	23.60	21.90
Wellington	23	5	17	21	37	60	20	40	68	50	30	25	56	59	0	0	251	260	25.10	26.00

Source: ITM Cup Fixtures and Results 2011^[8]

Tries by week

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Total	Average
Auckland	3	4	5	5	1	5	9	5	1	1	6	4	1	4	0	0	26	28	2.60	2.80
Bay of Plenty	2	1	4	2	8	1	3	3	5	6	1	3	6	7	0	0	29	23	2.90	2.30
Canterbury	4	3	2	1	10	6	5	5	5	5	4	0	7	3	0	0	37	23	3.70	2.30
Counties Manukau	1	2	6	5	1	1	1	3	1	1	7	10	6	3	0	0	23	25	2.30	2.50
Hawke's Bay	2	4	5	3	5	1	8	4	4	1	6	2	4	9	0	0	34	24	3.40	2.40
Manawatu	4	2	7	5	2	6	6	3	3	3	6	2	3	2	2	4	33	27	3.30	2.70
North Harbour	4	6	7	6	1	5	3	8	2	3	7	7	4	2	0	0	28	37	2.80	3.70
Northland	3	0	3	4	3	5	3	3	2	10	2	3	9	9	0	0	25	34	2.50	3.40
Otago	6	4	4	6	2	2	2	4	1	4	1	1	1	3	4	2	21	26	2.10	2.60
Southland	0	1	3	4	1	1	7	5	3	2	4	3	3	4	0	0	21	20	2.10	2.00
Taranaki	1	3	4	2	8	2	1	2	4	6	0	4	3	1	0	0	21	20	2.10	2.00
Tasman	0	3	4	9	0	4	7	7	2	2	4	4	2	3	0	0	19	32	1.90	3.20
Waikato	1	0	2	4	5	4	1	0	8	2	2	6	7	4	0	0	26	20	2.60	2.00
Wellington	3	1	2	2	4	8	2	6	9	4	3	4	5	7	0	0	28	32	2.80	3.20

For

Against

Source: The weekly reviews of the matches published on provincial.rugby (see "Report" in the individual match scoring stats).

Sanctions

Player	Team	Red	Yellow	Sent off match(es):
Aaron Smith		0	1	vs Counties Manukau
Halani Aulika		0	1	vs Auckland
Anthony Perenise		0	1	vs Tasman
Ash Moeke		0	1	vs Bay of Plenty
Chris King		0	1	vs Otago
James McGougan		0	1	vs Southland
Sam Cane		0	1	vs Taranaki
Scott Waldrom		0	1	vs Bay of Plenty
Simon Lemalu		0	1	vs Auckland
Jeremy Thrush		0	1	vs Manawatu
TJ Ioane		0	1	vs Tasman
Scott Fuglistaller		0	1	vs Waikato
Liam Squire		0	1	vs Manawatu
Francis Bryant		0	1	vs Tasman
Stephen Donald		0	1	vs Auckland
Adam Hill		0	1	vs Manawatu

Ranfurly Shield

See also: Ranfurly Shield 2010–19.

Pre-season challenges

Notes and References

1. News: Adjustment to Mitre 10 Heartland Championship bonus points system. Rugby Heartland. 2 September 2016.
2. Web site: New Zealand Rugby Union Competition Regulations Handbook 2016. New Zealand Rugby. 1 September 2017. 12 July 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190712231129/http://files.allblacks.com/legal_and_judicial/NZR_2016_Competitions_Regulations_Handbook.pdf. dead .
3. Web site: 2010 ITM Cup Competition Structures. Manawatu Rugby Union. 7 August 2010. dead. https://archive.today/20130223161744/http://www.manawaturugby.co.nz/article/1863.html. 23 February 2013. dmy-all .
4. Web site: ITM Cup Finals schedule. All Blacks. 24 October 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130116061427/http://itmcup.co.nz/itmCupnews/20886/ITM-Cup-Finals-schedule. 16 January 2013. dmy-all .
5. Web site: Historical Standings. New Zealand Rugby. 1 October 2022.
6. Web site: Action packed ITM Cup 2011 draw released. All Blacks. 27 July 2011. 11 November 2011. https://archive.today/20130727035802/http://www.itmcup.co.nz/itmCupnews/15416/Action-packed-ITM-Cup-2011-draw-released. 27 July 2013. dead. dmy-all .
7. Web site: Weather postpones Otago v Manawatu ITM Cup match . ITM Cup . 17 August 2011 . 10 September 2021 . https://archive.today/20130731113821/http://www.itmcup.co.nz/itmCupnews/17150/Weather-postpones-Otago-v-Manawatu-ITM-Cup-match#selection-683.8-683.36 . 31 July 2013 . dead.
8. Web site: Historical Fixtures and Results. New Zealand Rugby. 1 October 2022.