2018 Mitre 10 Cup
# 2018 Mitre 10 Cup

The 2018 Mitre 10 Cup season was the thirteenth season of New Zealand's provincial rugby union competition since it turned professional in 2006. The regular season began on August 16, when North Harbour hosted Northland. It involved the top fourteen rugby unions of New Zealand. For sponsorship reasons, the competition was known as the Mitre 10 Cup and it was the third season under the lead sponsor. The winner of the Championship, Waikato was promoted to the Premiership, the seventh placed Premiership team, Taranaki was relegated to the Championship.

## Format

The Mitre 10 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. 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 deferential 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. 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. 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.

## Standings

Source: Mitre 10 Cup standings 2018

Premiership Division :

| # | Team | GP | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | PTS |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Auckland | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 343 | 209 | +134 | 9 | 1 | 46 |
| 2 | Tasman | 10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 319 | 195 | +124 | 7 | 0 | 43 |
| 3 | Canterbury | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 325 | 212 | +113 | 8 | 1 | 41 |
| 4 | Wellington | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 354 | 202 | +152 | 7 | 3 | 34 |
| 5 | North Harbour | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 317 | 297 | +20 | 6 | 0 | 30 |
| 6 | Counties Manukau | 10 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 218 | 275 | –57 | 3 | 6 | 17 |
| 7 | Taranaki | 10 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 203 | 335 | –132 | 3 | 2 | 13 |

Championship Division :

| # | Team | GP | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | PTS |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Waikato | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 368 | 243 | +125 | 7 | 3 | 34 |
| 2 | RS – Otago | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 306 | 302 | +4 | 4 | 1 | 29 |
| 3 | Hawke's Bay | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 296 | 321 | –25 | 7 | 1 | 28 |
| 4 | Northland | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 276 | 306 | –30 | 5 | 3 | 24 |
| 5 | Bay of Plenty | 10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 253 | 292 | –39 | 3 | 2 | 21 |
| 6 | Manawatu | 10 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 202 | 357 | –155 | 2 | 0 | 14 |
| 7 | Southland | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 168 | 402 | –234 | 3 | 1 | 4 |

### Standings progression

| Premiership |
| - |
| Team | W1 | W2 | W3 | W4 | W5 | W6 | W7 | W8 | W9 |
| Auckland | 4 (3rd) | 9 (2nd) | 14 (2nd) | 19 (1st) | 24 (1st) | 29 (1st) | 31 (3rd) | 36 (3rd) | 46 (1st) |
| Canterbury | 0 (6th) | 5 (6th) | 10 (4th) | 15 (3rd) | 22 (2nd) | 27 (3rd) | 32 (2nd) | 37 (2nd) | 41 (3rd) |
| Counties Manukau | 1 (5th) | 2 (7th) | 8 (7th) | 13 (5th) | 13 (6th) | 14 (6th) | 15 (6th) | 16 (6th) | 17 (6th) |
| North Harbour | 4 (4th) | 9 (3rd) | 9 (6th) | 9 (7th) | 14 (5th) | 19 (5th) | 24 (5th) | 29 (5th) | 30 (5th) |
| Taranaki | 0 (7th) | 5 (5th) | 10 (5th) | 10 (6th) | 10 (7th) | 12 (7th) | 13 (7th) | 13 (7th) | 13 (7th) |
| Tasman | 4 (2nd) | 9 (1st) | 14 (1st) | 14 (4th) | 19 (4th) | 28 (2nd) | 33 (1st) | 38 (1st) | 43 (2nd) |
| Wellington | 5 (1st) | 6 (4th) | 11 (3rd) | 17 (2nd) | 22 (3rd) | 27 (4th) | 28 (4th) | 29 (4th) | 34 (4th) |
| Championship |
| Team | W1 | W2 | W3 | W4 | W5 | W6 | W7 | W8 | W9 |
| Bay of Plenty | 4 (3rd) | 8 (2nd) | 8 (2nd) | 9 (4th) | 9 (5th) | 9 (5th) | 10 (5th) | 16 (5th) | 21 (5th) |
| Hawke's Bay | 5 (1st) | 10 (1st) | 12 (1st) | 17 (1st) | 17 (2nd) | 18 (2nd) | 23 (2nd) | 28 (2nd) | 28 (3rd) |
| Manawatu | 5 (2nd) | 5 (3rd) | 5 (5th) | 5 (6th) | 5 (6th) | 5 (6th) | 9 (6th) | 9 (6th) | 14 (6th) |
| Northland | 1 (4th) | 1 (5th) | 5 (4th) | 6 (5th) | 11 (4th) | 16 (3rd) | 21 (3rd) | 22 (4th) | 24 (4th) |
| Otago | 0 (6th) | 1 (6th) | 6 (3rd) | 10 (3rd) | 15 (3rd) | 15 (4th) | 20 (4th) | 25 (3rd) | 29 (2nd) |
| Southland | 0 (7th) | 1 (7th) | 1 (7th) | 2 (7th) | 2 (7th) | 2 (7th) | 2 (7th) | 3 (7th) | 4 (7th) |
| Waikato | 1 (5th) | 3 (4th) | 3 (6th) | 13 (2nd) | 18 (1st) | 23 (1st) | 28 (1st) | 33 (1st) | 34 (1st) |
| 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 2018 Mitre 10 Cup played across nine weeks with every team playing one Wednesday night fixture in a double-up round where they played twice that week. The competition started on Thursday August 16, with North Harbour taking on Northland at QBE Stadium. The opening round saw a repeat of the Premiership final with Tasman against the then current champions Canterbury.

## Play-offs

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final | Final |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Waikato | 48 | | | |
| 4 | Northland | 26 | | | |
| 4 | Northland | 26 | 1 | Waikato | 36 |
| | | | 2 | Otago | 13 |
| 2 | Otago | 20 | 2 | Otago | 13 |
| 3 | Hawke's Bay | 19 | | | |
| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final | Final |
| 1 | Auckland | 38 | | | |
| 4 | Wellington | 17 | | | |
| 4 | Wellington | 17 | 1 | Auckland | 40 |
| | | | 3 | Canterbury | 33 |
| 2 | Tasman | 16 | 3 | Canterbury | 33 |
| 3 | Canterbury | 21 | | | |

### Semi-finals

* 19 October 2018 19:35 NZST

| Tasman | 16–21 | Canterbury |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Havili 35' c Con: Hunt (1/1) 36' Pen: Hunt (3/3) 30', 40', 50' Cards: Curry 53' to 63' Jordan 70' | Report | Try: Drummond (2) 64' c, 76' m Con: Cameron (1/2) 65' Pen: Cameron (3/3) 3', 40', 43' |

* Trafalgar Park, Nelson Referee: Mike Fraser (New Zealand)
* 20 October 2018 14:35 NZST

| Waikato | 48–26 | Northland |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Taukei'aho 15' c Stratton 37' c Reece (4) 40' c, 42' c, 53' c, 59' c Con: Smith (6/6) 16', 38', 40', 43', 54', 60' Pen: Smith (2/2) 52', 72' Cards: Tucker 65' to 75' Jacobson 80' | Report | Try: Nock 2' c Gregory 23' c Wright 30' c Kitto 66' m Con: Debreczeni (3/3) 3', 24', 31' Faiane (0/1) Pen: Debreczeni (0/1) Cards: Nock 35' to 45' |

* Waikato Stadium, Hamilton Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand)
* 20 October 2018 17:05 NZST

| Auckland | 38–17 | Wellington |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Nanai 8' c Lemalu 15' c Ioane (2) 31' c, 58' c Fepulea'i 69' c Con: Plummer (5/5) 9', 16', 32', 59', 70' Pen: Plummer (1/2) 37' | Report | Try: Goosen 5' c Ben-Nicholas 49' c Con: Garden-Bachop (2/2) 6', 50' Pen: Garden-Bachop (1/2) 20' |

* Eden Park, Auckland Attendance: 5,600 Referee: Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
* 20 October 2018 19:35 NZST

| Otago | 20–19 | Hawke's Bay |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Scott 50' c Tomkinson 73' c Con: Ioane (2/2) 51', 74' Pen: Ioane (2/3) 27', 80' | Report | Try: Mikaele-Tu'u 5' c Weber 13' c Emerson 62' m Con: Taulagi (2/3) 6', 14' |

* Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin Attendance: 4,203 Referee: Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand)

### Finals

* 26 October 2018 19:35 NZST

| Waikato | 36–13 | Otago |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Reece (2) 7' c, 54' c Tupaea 20' c Lansdown 31' m Campbell 45' c Con: Smith (4/5) 8', 21', 46', 55' Pen: Smith (1/1) 69' | Report | Try: Lentjes 43' c Con: Ioane (1/1) 44' Pen: Ioane (2/2) 14', 17' |

* Waikato Stadium, Hamilton Referee: Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand)
* 27 October 2018 16:05 NZST

| Auckland | 40–33 (a.e.t) | Canterbury |
| - | - | - |
| Try: Manu 34' c Ioane 48' m Trainor 62' c Clarke 72' c Sosene-Feagai 91' c Fukofuka 92' c Con: Plummer (5/6) 34', 62', 74', 91', 94' Pen: Plummer (0/2) | Report | Try: Penalty try 26' Bridge 32' c Sanders 84' c Con: Cameron (2/2) 33', 85' Pen: Cameron (4/6) 10', 40', 51', 55' |

* Eden Park, Auckland Attendance: 20,130 Referee: Glen Jackson (New Zealand)

| FB | 15 | Jordan Trainor |
| - | - | - |
| RW | 14 | Melani Nanai |
| OC | 13 | Tumua Manu |
| IC | 12 | TJ Faiane (c) |
| LW | 11 | Salesi Rayasi |
| FH | 10 | Harry Plummer |
| SH | 9 | Jonathan Ruru | 62' |
| N8 | 8 | Akira Ioane | | 26' to 36' |
| OF | 7 | Adrian Choat | 62' |
| BF | 6 | Evan Olmstead |
| RL | 5 | Michael Fatialofa | 52' |
| LL | 4 | Fa'atiga Lemalu |
| TP | 3 | Marcel Renata |
| HK | 2 | Robbie Abel | 55' |
| LP | 1 | Sam Prattley | 5' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Mike Sosene-Feagai | 55' |
| PR | 17 | Jarred Adams | 5' |
| PR | 18 | Marco Fepulea'i |
| LK | 19 | Taleni Seu | 52' |
| FL | 20 | Hoskins Sotutu | 62' |
| SH | 21 | Leon Fukofuka | 62' |
| FH | 22 | Daniel Kirkpatrick |
| WG | 23 | Caleb Clarke |
| FB | 15 | George Bridge |
| RW | 14 | Josh McKay |
| OC | 13 | Braydon Ennor |
| IC | 12 | Phil Burleigh | 85' |
| LW | 11 | Caleb Makene | 26' |
| FH | 10 | Brett Cameron |
| SH | 9 | Mitchell Drummond (c) | 62' |
| N8 | 8 | Luke Whitelock |
| OF | 7 | Billy Harmon | | 41' to 51' |
| BF | 6 | Reed Prinsep |
| RL | 5 | Mitchell Dunshea |
| LL | 4 | Luke Romano |
| TP | 3 | Sef Fa'agase | 49' |
| HK | 2 | Nathan Vella | 49' |
| LP | 1 | Alex Hodgman | 53' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Brodie McAlister | 49' |
| PR | 17 | Harry Allan | 53' |
| PR | 18 | Chris King | 49' |
| N8 | 19 | Tom Sanders |
| FL | 20 | Tom Christie |
| SH | 21 | Ere Enari | 62' |
| CE | 22 | Sam Beard | 85' |
| WG | 23 | Ngane Punivai | 26' |
