Make the NPC more fun and the crowds will come, says ABs assistant coach

Improving spectators' experience at rugby games is the way for the National Provincial Championship to grow game-day attendance, says All Blacks senor assistant coach Neil Barnes.

“You need smaller stadiums, not big concrete jungles, where you've got an atmosphere there," he told TWN.

“Sitting at home watching it is one thing, but getting out there in the stadium and being involved in the crowd that gets behind their team and will them on to success is something to enjoy and behold.”

Rob Nichol, chief executive of New Zealand Rugby Players’ Association (NZRPA), said the NPC was very special to New Zealand.

“The quality of NPC rugby is as good as it ever has been. It's a very, very good competition with some great games.

“It gets really good broadcast following, even to this day . . . [what’s] not consistent is people's desire to go to the ground and actually watch the game in big numbers.”

Taranaki, one of the 14 provinces in the NPC, have won the competition twice, most recently in the 2023 final against Hawkes Bay.

Taranaki Rugby Football Union chief executive Jimmy Fastier said Taranaki was a very special place which had developed great athletes and connected the community.

“There’s an opportunity to grow marketing for the competition because there's such a good story to tell, having your local club player that's come up through the grades.

“We need to keep innovating how we deliver away from the rucks and mauls and put on a game day experience.”

Otago are going into the 2026 season as 2025 runners-up, and holders of the Ranfurly Sheild.

Chief executive of Otago Rugby Football Union Richard Kinley said the quality of the game is a big drawcard in growing attendance.

“You've got your tried-and-true fans who follow the team, but people do pick up on results.

“Last year we had a team that was winning but was actually enjoying themselves while they played rugby and people attached themselves to that.”

The events and marketing manager at Otago Rugby Football Union, Sarah Rickerby, said the province would be using 50 years to remind New Zealand of the influence Otago has had on the competition.

“Fifty years of the NPC is a great way for us to tell those stories [and] remind everybody about how awesome NPC rugby has been.”

Barnes said: “We have to adapt to keep NPC strong because that is your pathway . . . it's somewhere where a kid can leave school [and] he doesn't have to leave his province.”

Founder of Boomfa Vintage Duncan Wood said returning to larger NPC crowds would not be an easy fix, but the rugby unions were on the right track.

“If you invest in the game-day experience, then the word gets around. It's a lot of fun. It's a family-friendly place.

“Then not only do you fill the stands up more, but you start to inspire the next generation.”

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Our journalists sometimes use AI tools which are checked by humans for accuracy. 

AI was used to transcribe audio from the interview.