Nelson’s state of emergency has forced New Zealand Rugby (NZR) to cancel the Round 6 Bunnings Warehouse Farah Palmer Cup (FPC ) match between Tasman and Hawke’s Bay which had been scheduled to kick off at Trafalgar Park tomorrow (Saturday, 20 August).
NZR General Manager Community Rugby Steve Lancaster said: “Rugby has understandably taken a back seat to the situation people in Nelson are facing due to the extreme weather in the Tasman region. Trafalgar Park is being used by Civil Defence as an emergency facility and our efforts to shift the match to another venue have been unsuccessful, so the call has been made, in consultation with the Tasman and Hawke’s Bay unions, to cancel the match.”
Road closures had made it impossible to get to other suitable venues in the region, while flights were not available to fly the Tasman squad to Hawke’s Bay, Lancaster said.
“We also considered rescheduling the match, but after confirming the result would not affect either team’s chances of making the playoffs, both unions agreed cancellation was the appropriate course of action.”
Tasman and Hawke’s Bay will both be awarded two competition points.
The remainder of Round 6 of the Farah Palmer Cup presented by Bunnings Warehouse will continue with the feature match being a double-header at Orangetheory Stadium in Christchurch where Canterbury and the Manawatū Cyclones, at 4.35pm, will be the opening act for the Black Ferns O’Reilly Cup Test against Australia at 7.05pm.
The Bunnings Warehouse Heartland Championship also kicks off on Saturday while the Bunnings Warehouse NPC moves into Round 3.
Buller and Mid Canterbury kick off the 2022 Bunnings Warehouse Heartland Championship at Victoria Square in Westport as the 12 competing Provincial Unions begin their quest to lift the Meads Cup or Lochore Cup.
Five of the six first round matches will be played at 2.30pm on Saturday with the South Canterbury v Thames Valley match at Temuka Domain, Live on Sky and Prime TV. The only Sunday fixture of Round 1, between Wairarapa Bush and North Otago will also be broadcast live, on Sky at 7.05pm.
Round 3 of Bunnings Warehouse NPC will feature 14 current All Blacks who have been released to play for their Provincial Unions with the Counties-Manukau trio of Dalton Papalii, Hoskins Sotutu and Nepo Laulala in action for the first match of the round at Navigation Homes Stadium in Pukekohe tonight (Friday, 19 August) against Waikato.
Bunnings Warehouse NPC Round 3:
For Match Officials in Round 3 of Bunnings Warehouse NPC, click here and for up-to-date media information across the season head to: Bunnings NPC Media Information » Provincial Rugby
FPC presented by Bunnings Warehouse Round 6:
See below for Match Official appointments for Round 6 of the FPC presented by Bunnings Warehouse and for up-to-date media information across the season head to: Media Information » Provincial Rugby
| FPC Match Officials
WEEK 6: All matches Saturday, 20 August |
||||
| 4.35pm | Canterbury vs. Manawatū | Larissa Woolerton | Jared Le Gros | Gareth Reed |
| 11.35am | Taranaki vs. Northland | Ben Woolerton | Leighton Butler | Tim Biesiek |
| 11.35am | Wellington vs. Bay of Plenty | Cassie Watt | Ben van Berkel | Ethan Loveridge |
| 2.05pm | North Harbour vs. Otago | Taneika Uerata | James Wheaton | Chris Martin |
| 2.05pm | Tasman vs. Hawkes Bay | CANCELLED | CANCELLED | CANCELLED |
| 4.35pm | Waikato vs. Auckland | Tarsh Ganley | Ben Brownlie | Nico Fox |
With thanks to New Zealand Rugby
