| NZRL Men's National Competition | |
| Current Season: | 2022 New Zealand rugby league season |
| Founded: | 2010 |
| Inaugural: | 2010 |
| Teams: | 12 |
| Champion: | Akarana Falcons |
| Season: | 2022 |
| Most Champs: | Akarana Falcons |
| Count: | 9 |
The NZRL Men's National Competition (previously called the National Zonal Competition) is the top-level rugby league competition run by the New Zealand Rugby League. In 2010 the competition replaced the Bartercard Premiership following a Sparc funded review and restructure of the New Zealand Rugby League. Since 2019, the competition has consisted of a four-team national premiership and an eight-team national championship (split into North and South Island Conferences) with a promotion and relegation between the two divisions.
Senior teams compete for the Albert Baskerville Trophy, which is named after Albert Baskerville, the organiser of the 1907-1908 All Golds tour. Under-17s compete for the Mark Graham Cup, which is named after Mark Graham, the New Zealand Rugby League player of the century. Under-15s compete for the Nathan Cayless Cup, which is named after Nathan Cayless, the only captain to win the World Cup for New Zealand.
The competition was reformatted for the 2016 season, with Akarana, Counties Manukau, Canterbury and Wellington competing in a national championship. The Upper Central and Mid-Central zones reverted to district teams with these teams, alongside Northland and the South Island districts, competing in four regional championships. The four regional winners then compete in a National Premiership competition, which play a promotion-relegation match against the last placed national championship side.[1]
From 2019, this changed again, with a 4-team Premiership and 8-team, two conference (North and South Island) Championship contested.
| Team | City/Region | Current Coach | Home Grounds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akarana Falcons | Auckland | Steve Buckingham | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | |
| Canterbury Bulls | Christchurch | Andrew Auimatagi[2] | Ngā Puna Wai Sports Hub, Christchurch | |
| Counties Manukau Stingrays | South Auckland | Rod Ratu | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | |
| Hamilton | FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton |
| Team | City/Region | Current Coach | Home Grounds | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Island Conference | ||||
| Auckland | Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland | |||
| Mid-Central Vipers | New Plymouth | Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth | ||
| Upper Central Stallions | Tauranga & Rotorua | Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua | ||
| Wellington Orcas | Wellington | Mike Kuiti | Jerry Collins Stadium, Porirua | |
| South Island Conference | ||||
| Aoraki Eels | South Christchurch | Ngā Puna Wai Sports Hub, Christchurch | ||
| Otago Rugby League | Dunedin | Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin | ||
| Southland Rams | Invercargill | Rugby Park Stadium, Invercargill | ||
| West Coast Chargers | Greymouth | Wingham Park, Greymouth | ||
| Year | Premiership | Championship | Juniors | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albert Baskerville Trophy | Score | Runner up | Minor Premiers | Wooden Spoon | Championship winner | Score | Championship Runner-Up | Mark Graham Cup (U-17) | Nathan Cayless Cup (U-15) | ||
| 2010 | Auckland | 14-6 | Counties Manukau | Auckland | Northern Swords | N/A | N/A | N/A | Counties Manukau | Counties Manukau | |
| 2011 | Auckland Pride | 44-34 | South Island | Auckland Pride | Northern Swords | Auckland Pride | Auckland Pride | ||||
| 2012 | Akarana Falcons | 38-20 | Counties Manukau | Counties Manukau | Northern Swords | Akarana Falcons | Counties Manukau | ||||
| 2013 | Akarana Falcons | 22-12 | Counties Manukau | Counties Manukau | Central Vipers | Counties Manukau | Akarana Falcons | ||||
| 2014 | Canterbury Bulls | 40-8 | Waicoa Bay Stallions | Counties Manukau* | Northern Swords | Akarana Falcons | Akarana Falcons | ||||
| 2015 | Counties Manukau[3] | 41-10 | Canterbury Bulls | Counties Manukau | Northern Swords | Akarana Falcons | Akarana Falcons | ||||
| 2016 | Akarana Falcons[4] | 32-12 | Counties Manukau | Counties Manukau | Wellington Orcas | Waikato | Akarana Falcons | Counties Manukau | |||
| 2017 | Akarana Falcons | 30-4 | Waikato | Akarana Falcons | Wellington Orcas | Bay of Plenty Lakers | |||||
| 2018 | Akarana Falcons | 51-20 | Akarana Falcons | Wellington Orcas | |||||||
| 2019 | Akarana Falcons | 28-10 | Canterbury Bulls | Akarana Falcons | Waikato | ||||||
| 2020 | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand | ||||||||||
| 2021 | |||||||||||
| 2022 | Akarana Falcons | 46-4 | Canterbury Bulls | Akarana Falcons | Waikato | Auckland Vulcans | 48-12 | Otago | Counties Manukau | Counties Manukau | |
| 2023 | 70-4 | Counties Manukau | Canterbury Bulls | Bay of Plenty Lakers | 62-16 | Aoraki Eels | |||||
Note: *In 2014 Counties Manukau were disqualified from the final for fielding an ineligible player.