The 2013 ITM Cup in New Zealand kicks off on this Thursday 15 August 2013.
We thought this season we would bring you a slightly different perspective on the Cup, from a UK fans view I will try not to be biased towards Auckland as a fan of theirs and the Blues Super franchise. Last season the fight was between Auckland and Canterbury and there is no reason to presume this time will be any different. At the other end of the table Counties Manukau with promotion from the Championship will be looking to cement their position with some early wins. Other sides we expect great things from this season are Waikato and Wellington.
The Championship we are not so sure on but expect Southland, Hawkes bay and Otago to be in the mix for promotion come the end of the season.
It would be great to follow all the games in New Zealand in this competition which like the UK Championship bloods a lot of rising and exciting talent but we will have to make do with what the Sky channels broadcast for us. So lets see how the season goes and what I can write about hopefully of interest to all our readers.
Here are all the teams in the Divisions for the up-coming season:
Teams To Division
2013 ITM Cup Premiership
Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Counties Manukau, Taranaki, Waikato and Wellington
2013 ITM Cup Championship
Hawke’s Bay, Manawatu, North Harbour, Northland, Otago, Southland and
Tasman
Round one should give us a bit of a feel for how the season will pan out, though their are some tough match ups for a few lessor sides. Counties will have a tough ask with Wellington visiting them, Canterbury v Taranaki should be a cracker. Whilst Waikato defend the Ranfurly Shield against Northland and they are unlikely to loosen their grip on the old log in this round. Expect Auckland to get off to a winning start against North Harbour, a local derby. Here are all the first round fixtures with our picks as usual in Bold:
Fixtures Round One
All Times UK
Thu 15/08 08:35 Counties Manukau v Wellington Pukekohe
Fri 16/08 08:35 Canterbury v Taranaki Christchurch SkySports UK
Sat 17/08 03:35 Hawke’s Bay v Manawatu Napier
Sat 17/08 06:35 Southland v Tasman Invercargill SkySports UK
Sat 17/08 08:35 Waikato (RS) v Northland Hamilton SkySport UK
Sun 18/08 03:35 Auckland v North Harbour Auckland
Sun 18/08 05:35 Otago v Bay of Plenty Dunedin
Tony Stredwick says
Also looking forward to ITM Cup and expect to see some cracking rugby over the next 11 weeks. Canterbury named a large squad of 38 but with 8 (now maybe 9 after Crotty’s call up) AB’s and a number of injuries up front (C Taylor and D Bird for two, their squad is going to be hard pressed to sixpeat. Auckland and Wellington ought to be pushing hard but BoP are likely to struggle again this year.
In the Championship Hawkes Bay are being strongly tipped but Tasman who did well last season seem to be flying under the radar this season, have recruited well and look good to be the surprise package this year.