New NPC draw of little help to finances

North Harbour's financial plight does not look to have gained much help after the draw for next year's revamped NPC was revealed.

Harbour host Taranaki and Wellington but also play the promoted Manawatu, who failed to fire in the second division this season.

National champions Auckland host their Harbour neighbours but will also wonder about their crowd attendances when they play Tasman and Bay of Plenty at Eden Park.

After winning the first division crown this season, Auckland start the renamed Air New Zealand Cup next July with an away game against Manawatu in Palmerston North.

The revamped series begins as two pools of seven sides.

The teams then split into a top-six and bottom-eight second round.

The two top teams from that bottom-eight round join the top six in the quarter-finals.

Pools were based on their seedings at the end of this year's NPC with Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Manawatu, North Harbour, Taranaki, Tasman and Wellington in the first pool and Canterbury, Counties Manukau, Hawkes Bay, Northland, Otago, Southland and Waikato in the other section.

The Air New Zealand Cup will start on the weekend of July 28 with the final on the weekend of October 28. The days and times of matches have yet to be confirmed with Sky television or the provinces.