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Domestic rugby will be given a shakeup next year with a rejigged format, more Thursday night games and simultaneous live broadcasts of two games on Friday nights.
The changes to the Air New Zealand Cup are born out of a review of the inaugural competition and have trimmed out the lacklustre second stage of Top Six and repechage games, which posed logistical problems.
Instead, the 14 teams will play a modified 10-round competition, followed by quarter and semifinals and the final on Saturday, October 20 - the same weekend of the World Cup final in Paris. The opening round will be on July 26.
Teams will play 10 of the other 13 teams in a format based on teams' finishing positions this season.
The top eight teams after the round robin will move into the knockout stage.
North Harbour will put up the Ranfurly Shield for all five home games - assuming they hold the trophy through the competition. Those who are in line for a challenge, after the pre-competition challenges, are Taranaki, Waikato, Manawatu, Bay of Plenty and Southland.
New Zealand Rugby Union deputy chief executive Steve Tew said the new format had the "overwhelming support" of the unions as it retained the extended knockout phase and the draw was confirmed in advance while the competition remained in its existing 13-week window.
Tew said all unions had agreed to host at least one Thursday night match. That was trialled this season with Southland and Manawatu acting as guinea pigs.
The split of games will be one on Thursday night, two on Friday night, and either two each on Saturday and Sunday or three on Saturday and one on Sunday.
Dates for each game have yet to be finalised.
Waikato Rugby Union chief executive Gary Dawson said the new format offered "more certainty, which was lacking in the original format".
"This certainty means that many of the logistical and commercial challenges we faced this season will be overcome."
