Match scheduled:
Dated: 18-08-2011 from 07:35 until 09:30(GMT)
16-08-2011 on 14:54
Wellington v Southland :: ITM Cup 2011
The ITM Cup is New Zealand's annual professional domestic Rugby union competition, taking place from late July through October (or the first week of November). It was founded in 2006 with 14 teams, after the Natinal Provincial Championship (NPC) was split into two separate competitions.
The other 12 provincial teams from the NPC now compete in the amateur Heartland Championship. From its inception through the 2009 season, it was sponsored by Air New Zealand, the national airline and flag carrier of New Zealand, and called the Air New Zealand Cup. New Zealand also has five teams in Super Rugby, an elite competition which also involves sides from Australia and South Africa.
In March 2010 it was announced that the Air New Zealand Cup would be renamed the ITM Cup with the addition of building supplies cooperative ITM (Independent Timber Merchants) as the major sponsor. The change came because Air New Zealand chose to concentrate their rugby sponsorship on the country's national team, the All Blacks
