Players from Kaikohe (above) and Te Rarawa women's rugby teams have an opportunity to make the Northland Farah Palmer Cup squad. SUPPLIED
WOMEN'S RUGBY
The inclusion of Northland in the Farah Palmer Cup has seen the national provincial women's rugby competition grow from 12 to 13 teams this season.
Organisers said the growth of the competition mirrored the surging interest in the women's game.
The opening round on August 31 will see
six of the premiership teams take the field, including defending champions Canterbury who host the newly-promoted Wellington, the only team to have beaten them in the 2018 season. Canterbury are again the team to watch as they target a third consecutive title as well as the defence of the JJ Stewart Trophy.
Other premiership teams are Wellington, Counties Manukau, Manawatu, Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Auckland (who avoided relegation due to the expanded competition format); while Otago, North Harbour, Tasman, Hawke's Bay, Taranaki along with newcomers Northland make up the championship.
