2009 Format
The 2009 Air New Zealand Cup saw a different structure than previous years, after a small pre-season the Round-Robin ran for 13 weeks with every team facing each other once. The top four teams advanced to the semi-finals and the winners from each semi competed for the title in the Grand Final.
To decide which four teams went through to the semi-finals the Rugby Union Bonus Points System was used.
The Rugby Union Points System:
- 4 points for a win
- 2 points for a draw
- 1 point for scoring 4 tries
- 1 point for losing by 7 points or less
So the most points a winning team can receive is 5 and the most a losing team can receive is 2 points. Semi-Finals are played between 4 teams, the teams are seeded 1 to 4 and the two highest seeded teams play at home against the two lowest seeded teams meaning 1 plays 4 and 2 plays 3. The highest seed still remaining in the grand final played at home.
Read more about this topic: ITM Cup