1977 National Provincial Championship
# 1977 National Provincial Championship

The National Provincial Championship, or NPC, was the predecessor to the current Air New Zealand Cup and Heartland Championship in New Zealand rugby. 1977 was the second year of the National Provincial Championship, Canterbury were the winners of Division 1, thus claiming the title of National Champions.

## Division 1

### Standings

* Relegated to Division Two

These were the NPC Division 1 standings for the 1977 season.

New Zealand National Championship 1977 Division 1 :

| | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Canterbury | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 190 | 81 | +109 | 30 | 20 |
| 2 | Counties | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 254 | 94 | +160 | 42 | 16 |
| 3 | Auckland | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 166 | 164 | +2 | 20 | 12 |
| 4 | Manawatu | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 152 | 95 | +57 | 20 | 12 |
| 5 | Hawke's Bay | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 160 | 174 | -14 | 20 | 10 |
| 6 | Taranaki | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 142 | 123 | +19 | 14 | 10 |
| 7 | Wellington | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 155 | 146 | +9 | 25 | 10 |
| 8 | Otago | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 149 | 171 | -22 | 17 | 8 |
| 9 | Southland | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 131 | 132 | -1 | 13 | 8 |
| 10 | Bay of Plenty | 10 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 144 | 283 | -139 | 18 | 4 |
| 11 | Marlborough | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 90 | 270 | -180 | 12 | 0 |

### Table notes

* Pld = Played
* W = Win
* D = Draw
* L = Loss
* PF = For (Total points scored)
* PA = Against (Total points scored against)
* PD = Points difference
* TF = Tries for
* Pts = Championship points

## Division 2 (North Island)

### Standings

New Zealand National Championship 1977 Division 2 (North Island) :

| | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | North Auckland | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 238 | 32 | +206 | 40 | 16 |
| 2 | Waikato | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 203 | 70 | +133 | 29 | 12 |
| 3 | Poverty Bay | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 132 | 101 | +31 | 17 | 11 |
| 4 | Wanganui | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 160 | 134 | +26 | 24 | 11 |
| 5 | Wairarapa Bush | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 90 | 79 | +11 | 10 | 8 |
| 6 | King Country | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 75 | 149 | -74 | 10 | 6 |
| 7 | Thames Valley | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 99 | 158 | -59 | 14 | 5 |
| 8 | East Coast | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 74 | 203 | -129 | 12 | 3 |
| 9 | Horowhenua | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 48 | 193 | -145 | 6 | 0 |

## Division 2 (South Island)

### Standings

New Zealand National Championship 1977 Division 2 (South Island) :

| | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TF | Pts |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | South Canterbury | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 111 | 21 | +90 | 17 | 10 |
| 2 | Mid Canterbury | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 87 | 36 | +51 | 15 | 8 |
| 3 | Nelson Bays | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 56 | 63 | -7 | 6 | 6 |
| 4 | West Coast | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 65 | 81 | -16 | 9 | 4 |
| 5 | North Otago | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 43 | 99 | -56 | 5 | 2 |
| 6 | Buller | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 18 | 80 | -62 | 2 | 0 |

## Promotion/Relegation

Bay of Plenty and Marlborough finished in the bottom two of Division 1.

The winners of Division 2 North, North Auckland, were automatically promoted to Division 1. Bay of Plenty were relegated, just one season after they won the National Championship.

The winners of Division 2 South, South Canterbury, played Marlborough and won 13-9 to earn promotion to Division 1. Marlborough were relegated to Division 2.

