New Zealand Rugby League Awards Historic Tournament Hosting Rights to Hawke’s Bay

Rugby League Hawke’s Bay (RLHB) has been selected to host the New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) Men’s Premiership North pool alongside the complete National Women’s Premiership tournament.

The consolidated tournament weekend will unfold across 12-13 September at the Mitre 10 Sports Park in Hastings. The landmark agreement marks the very first time the regional governing body has been granted hosting rights for a national NZRL fixture of this scale. The event is expected to serve as a critical economic driver for the Hastings and Napier municipal zones, using domestic sports tourism to inject commercial revenue into regional hospitality assets.

Commenting on the announcement, RLHB chairman, Anthony Taueki, said: “Hosting these prestigious national tournaments is more than just rugby league, it is a powerful opportunity to showcase Hawke’s Bay on a national stage, strengthen our local league community, boost regional economic growth through visitors and tourism and prove that our region is ready, capable, and deserving of future major tournaments.” 

Expressing his enthusiasm, NZRL National Football operations manager, David McMeeken, added: “There’s real momentum building for rugby league in Hawke’s Bay.”

“The work done by Rugby League Hawke’s Bay across the region has been outstanding, and the strong relationships formed by Rugby League Hawke’s Bay with Napier City Council, Hastings District Council and the Hawke’s Bay Sports Park team, have played a huge role in making these events possible,” McMeeken said.

Revised Tournament Format and Post-Season Pathway

The 2026 scheduling introduces a revised tournament-style format that completely replaces the previous multi-week home-and-away competition model.

By concentrating full pool stages into a single weekend at centralized high-performance sports parks, the NZRL aims to reduce travel logistics costs for participating districts while maximizing broadcast and scouting efficiencies.

The restructured post-season pathway will operate under strict tournament parameters:

• Men’s Progression: The Men’s Premiership continues to operate via a North and South Island pool system. The top two placing teams from the Hawke’s Bay event and the parallel South Island tournament, held at Ngā Puna Wai in Christchurch, will secure qualification for the national semi-finals in Auckland on 26 September.
• Women’s Progression: The entire National Women’s Premiership field will compete exclusively in Hastings. The top two highest-ranked teams at the conclusion of the weekend will bypass the semi-final stage entirely, advancing directly to the National Grand Final.
• Championship Integration: The Hastings venue will simultaneously accommodate the National Men’s and Women’s Championship tier tournaments across its expansive eight-field facility.
• Championship Deciders: Both the Men’s and Women’s National Premiership Grand Finals are locked in to take place as a premium double-header in Auckland on Sunday 27 September.

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