1981 National Provincial Championship
The 1981 season was the sixth year of the National Provincial Championship (NPC), a provincial rugby union competition in New Zealand. Wellington were the winners of Division 1.
Division 1
The following table gives the final standings:[1][2]
| Relegated to Division Two |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Wellington
|
10 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 255 | 94 | +161 | 18 |
| 2 |  Manawatu
|
10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 269 | 157 | +112 | 14 |
| 3 |  Counties
|
10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 197 | 129 | +68 | 13 |
| 4 |  Auckland
|
10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 55 | 135 | -80 | 12 |
| 5 |  Waikato
|
10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 142 | 160 | -18 | 11 |
| 6 |  Bay of Plenty
|
10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 183 | 172 | +11 | 10 |
| 7 |  North Auckland
|
10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 115 | 144 | -29 | 10 |
| 8 |  Otago
|
10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 148 | 195 | -47 | 10 |
| 9 |  Canterbury
|
10 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 128 | 165 | -37 | 8 |
| 10 |  Hawke's Bay
|
10 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 158 | 279 | -121 | 2 |
| 11 |  Southland
|
10 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 115 | 235 | -120 | 2 |
Division 2 (North Island)
The following table gives the final standings:[2]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Wairarapa Bush
|
7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 141 | 29 | +112 | 14 |
| 2 |  Taranaki
|
7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 295 | 52 | +243 | 12 |
| 3 |  Wanganui
|
7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 208 | 70 | +130 | 10 |
| 4 |  Poverty Bay
|
7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 170 | 140 | +30 | 6 |
| 5 |  Horowhenua
|
7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 96 | 209 | -113 | 6 |
| 6 |  King Country
|
7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 105 | 119 | -14 | 4 |
| 7 |  Thames Valley
|
7 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 81 | 182 | -101 | 4 |
| 8 |  East Coast
|
7 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 40 | 168 | -128 | 0 |
Division 2 (South Island)
The following table gives the final standings:[2]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  South Canterbury
|
6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 143 | 66 | +77 | 11 |
| 2 |  Marlborough
|
6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 150 | 67 | +83 | 10 |
| 3 |  Mid Canterbury
|
6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 115 | 47 | +68 | 8 |
| 4 |  Nelson Bays
|
6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 64 | 66 | -2 | 5 |
| 5 |  West Coast
|
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 62 | 124 | -62 | 4 |
| 6 | .png){kind=small} Buller
|
6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 49 | 85 | -36 | 4 |
| 7 |  North Otago
|
6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 40 | 168 | -128 | 0 |
Promotion/relegation
Division Two North winner Wairarapa Bush defeated Southland 10 points to 9 and were promoted to Division One for the 1982 season.[3]
References
- ^ NPC Results 1976-2006 at the Wayback Machine (archived 2009-08-08)
- ^ a b c "Defeat for Wellington". The Press. 5 October 1981. p. 17.
- ^ "Southland suffers disappointing loss". The Press. 5 October 1981. p. 17.