# 2021 Farah Palmer Cup

The 2021 Farah Palmer Cup season was the 15th edition of the competition. It began on 17 July with the finals taking place on 9 October.
In September, due to the COVID-19 restrictions, Auckland, Counties Manukau, & North Harbour withdrew from the remainder of the competition leaving the remaining ten teams to complete the season. The respective finals was played on the first two weekends of October.
Waikato and Manawatū were crowned champions in their respective Farah Palmer Cup competitions; Waikato defeated Canterbury to win the Premiership final, and Manawatu beat Hawke's Bay to win the Championship final.

## Format

The competition was divided into two divisions: The Premiership is the top division consisting of seven teams, the winner being crowned the champion while the lowest ranked team will be relegated to the Championship. The Championship is the second division consisting of six teams, the winner of the competition gets promoted to the Premiership for the next year.

## Standings

Premiership :
| # | Team | GP | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | PTS |
| 1 | Canterbury | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 236 | 89 | +147 | 4 | 0 | 28 |
| 2 | Waikato | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 107 | 83 | +24 | 3 | 1 | 18 |
| 3 | Wellington | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 129 | 121 | +8 | 1 | 2 | 17 |
| 4 | Auckland | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 103 | 69 | +34 | 2 | 0 | 16 |
| 5 | Counties Manukau | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 107 | 118 | –11 | 1 | 2 | 13 |
| 6 | Bay of Plenty | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 107 | 162 | –55 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| 7 | Otago | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 76 | 223 | –147 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Championship :
| # | Team | GP | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | TB | LB | PTS |
| 1 | Manawatu | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 273 | 36 | +237 | 5 | 0 | 25 |
| 2 | Northland | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 126 | 73 | +53 | 3 | 0 | 17 |
| 3 | Hawke's Bay | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 203 | 161 | +42 | 4 | 0 | 16 |
| 4 | North Harbour | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 83 | 121 | –38 | 3 | 0 | 13 |
| 5 | Taranaki | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 71 | 160 | –89 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| 6 | Tasman | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 56 | 261 | –205 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
Key: JST – JJ Stewart Trophy holders

## Regular season
### Week 1

* 17 July
| Auckland | 44–12 | Bay of Plenty |
* Eden Park, Auckland
* 17 July
| JJ – Canterbury | 59–12 | Counties Manukau |
* Rugby Park, Christchurch
* 18 July
| Wellington | 13–5 | Otago |
* Porirua Park, Wellington
Bye: Waikato

### Week 2

* 24 July
| North Harbour | 35–32 | Tasman |
* North Harbour
* 24 July
| Hawke's Bay | 31–46 | Northland |
* McLean Park, Napier
* 24 July
| Waikato | 17–24 | Canterbury |
* Waikato
* 24 July
| Counties Manukau | 21–13 | Bay of Plenty |
* Navigation Homes Stadium, Pukekohe
* 24 July
| Manawatu | 48–5 | Taranaki |
* CET Arena, Palmerston North
* 25 July
| Otago | 15–39 | Auckland |
* University of Otago Oval, Dunedin
Bye: Wellington

### Week 3

* 31 July
| Taranaki | 34–12 | Tasman |
* TET Stadium & Events Centre, Inglewood
* 31 July
| Hawke's Bay | 45–24 | North Harbour |
* Tremain Field, Napier
* 31 July
| Bay of Plenty | 10–27 | Waikato |
* 31 July
| Northland | 12–39 | Manawatu |
* Semenoff Stadium, Whangārei
* 1 August
| Counties Manukau | 39–7 | Otago |
* Navigation Homes Stadium, Pukekohe
* 1 August
| JJ – Canterbury | 23–22 | Wellington |
* Rugby Park, Christchurch
Bye: Auckland

### Week 4

* 6 August
| Manawatu | 67–12 | Hawke's Bay |
* CET Arena, Palmerston North
* 7 August
| Wellington | 26–25 | Counties Manukau |
* Sky Stadium, Wellington
* 7 August
| Otago | 22–29 | Waikato |
* Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
* 8 August
| North Harbour | 24–10 | Taranaki |
* North Harbour Stadium
* 8 August
| Tasman | 0–27 | Northland |
* Sports Park
* 8 August
| Auckland | 7–32 | Canterbury |
* Eden Park, Auckland
Bye: Bay of Plenty

### Week 5

* 13 August
| Counties Manukau | 10–13 | Auckland |
* Navigation Homes Stadium, Pukekohe
* 14 August
| Manawatu | 34–0 | North Harbour |
* CET Arena, Palmerston North
* 14 August
| Hawke's Bay | 80–5 | Tasman |
* McLean Park, Napier
* 14 August
| JJ – Canterbury | 26–7 | Bay of Plenty |
* Orangetheory Stadium, Christchurch
* 15 August
| Waikato | 34–27 | Wellington |
* FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton
* 15 August
| Northland | 41–3 | Taranaki |
* Semenoff Stadium, Whangarei
Bye: Otago

### Week 6

* 18 September
| Bay of Plenty | 31–3 | Otago |
* Mt Maunganui

### Week 7

* 25 September
| Otago | 24–72 | Canterbury |
* Forsyth Barr Stadium
* 25 September
| Bay of Plenty | 34–41 | Wellington |
* Blake Park
* 25 September
| Taranaki | 19–35 | Hawke's Bay |
* TET Stadium & Events Centre, Inglewood
* 26 September
| Tasman | 7–85 | Manawatu |
* Trafalgar Park, Nelson

## Play-offs

| Semi-final | Semi-final | Final | Final |
| | | 9 October – Palmerston North | 9 October – Palmerston North |
| | | Manawatu | 55 |
| 1 October – Semenoff Stadium | 1 October – Semenoff Stadium | | Manawatu | 55 |
| 1 October – Semenoff Stadium | 1 October – Semenoff Stadium | Hawke's Bay | 12 |
| Hawke's Bay | 27 | Hawke's Bay | 12 |
| Northland | 26 | | |
| Semi-final | Semi-final | Final | Final |
| | | 9 October – Christchurch | 9 October – Christchurch |
| | | Waikato | 22 |
| 2 October – FMG Stadium Waikato | 2 October – FMG Stadium Waikato | | Waikato | 22 |
| 2 October – FMG Stadium Waikato | 2 October – FMG Stadium Waikato | Canterbury | 20 |
| Waikato | 26 | Canterbury | 20 |
| Wellington | 10 | | |

### Semi-finals

Championship
* 1 October
| Northland | 26–27 | Hawke's Bay |
* Semenoff Stadium, Whangarei
Premiership
* 2 October
| Waikato | 26–10 | Wellington |
* FMG Stadium Waikato

### Finals

Premiership
* 9 October
| Canterbury | 20–22 | Waikato |
* Christchurch
Championship
* 9 October
| Manawatu | 55–12 | Hawke's Bay |
* Palmerston North

## JJ Stewart Trophy

The JJ Stewart Trophy is a trophy based on a challenge system, rather than a league or knockout competition as with most football trophies. The holding union must defend the trophy in challenge matches, and if a challenger defeats them, they become the new holder of the trophy.