NPC

The first form of competition came in 1904 with the introduction of the Ranfurly Shield as a challenge trophy. Each year, fixtures were arranged in Wellington during the annual meeting of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union, where an elected representative from each provincial union would propose dates and opponents that ideally avoided conflicts with local club competitions. Across the country, neighbouring regions organised regular matches for challenge trophies. One of the most prestigious competitions, the Hanan Shield, was established in 1946 by Timaru's former mayor, A.E.S. Hanan, and was contested by Mid Canterbury, South Canterbury, and North Otago. Another significant trophy, the Seddon Shield, was first challenged in 1906. Named after former New Zealand premier Richard Seddon, it featured representative teams from Buller, Nelson Bays, Marlborough, and the West Coast. In the North Island, starting in the King Country and moving north, eleven teams competed for the Coronation Shield.

Given the numerous competitions across New Zealand, there was a clear need for a national tournament. In 1972, Barry Smith proposed an inter-provincial competition to the Auckland Rugby Union. After gaining approval, the proposal was brought to the New Zealand Rugby Football Union's annual conference in early 1974. It included an overview of the scheme, addressing finance, travel, sponsorship opportunities, implications for club and sub-union competitions, traditional representative matches, international laws, and Sunday play. Following discussions in October 1975, modifications were made and ultimately accepted by all provinces. Radio New Zealand secured sponsorship rights worth NZD 100,000 and helped market the new competition, later joined by Lion Breweries, National Mutual, and Air New Zealand.

Teams were divided into two divisions based on their performance over the previous five years. The premier division included Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Counties, Hawke's Bay, Manawatu, Marlborough, North Auckland, Otago, Southland, and Wellington, determined by a ranking system. The remaining provinces, Buller, East Coast, Horowhenua, King Country, Mid Canterbury, Nelson Bays, North Otago, Poverty Bay, South Canterbury, Taranaki, Thames Valley, Waikato, Wairarapa Bush, Wanganui and the West Coast were split into North Island and South Island sub-divisions, with the potential for promotion to the top division.

Between 1980 and the early 2000s, Auckland experienced a golden era, dominating competitions and consistently retaining the Ranfurly Shield. During this time, they reached eighteen finals, finishing as runners-up multiple times, and secured over half of the available competition titles, totaling fifteen. This remarkable run included a record sixty-one Ranfurly Shield defenses, five South Pacific Championship titles, and recognition as the Halberg Awards Team of the Year in 1992.

Canterbury emerged as the only team to consistently challenge Auckland's supremacy, with several matches becoming historic. The 1985 clash, where Auckland ended Canterbury's record-equalling streak of twenty-five matches, was famously dubbed the "Match of the Century." In front of a record crowd of 52,000 at Lancaster Park, Canterbury nearly staged a stunning comeback from a 24–0 half-time deficit, but Auckland held on to win 28–23, setting a new benchmark with sixty-one consecutive defences over eight years.

However, Auckland's fortunes waned with the professionalisation of rugby, officially declared in August 1995. The introduction of Super 12 in 1996 marked the end of their dominance as many international players became unavailable. Notable stars like Sean Fitzpatrick, who captained the All Blacks and played 154 games for Auckland, and Grant Fox, who set a record for the most shield points (932), were pivotal during this era, along with John Kirwan, who scored forty-four tries.

After the 2005 season, the league underwent a restructuring to create a two-tier competition. The National Provincial Championship would now feature both professional and semi-professional players, comprising the top fourteen financially viable and high-performing regional teams. For sponsorship purposes, it was rebranded as the Air New Zealand Cup, while the remaining teams formed an amateur competition called the Heartland Championship.

This restructuring followed a review conducted by the New Zealand Rugby Union in November 2003, which prioritised issues related to the professional and amateur provincial games, including timing, costs, and the roles of the NZRU, Super 12 franchises, and provincial unions in the sport's management. By December 2005, the final pools and draws for the inaugural Air New Zealand Cup were established, with the season commencing in late July. The fourteen participating teams were Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Canterbury, Counties Manukau, Hawke's Bay, Manawatu, North Harbour, Northland, Otago, Southland, Taranaki, Tasman, Waikato, and Wellington.

The competition format included two pools with a two-round system, followed by a finals series consisting of quarterfinals, semifinals, and a final. Teams competed based on their rankings from the first round, forming a top six pool and a bottom eight repechage in the second round. The top two teams from the repechage joined the top six teams in the quarterfinals. The pools were determined by seedings from the 2005 National Provincial Championship.

Following the inaugural season, the New Zealand Rugby Union held a meeting to evaluate the tournament's success and gather feedback from stakeholders and provincial unions. It was confirmed that the fourteen teams would remain for the 2007 season, though the format would be adjusted. The new structure included seven matches each week during a ten-week modified round robin, followed by quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals. Notably, this modified round robin did not require all teams to compete against one another, as a formula was established to determine which teams would not face each other based on their performance from the previous season.

Canterbury had a remarkable run in the National Provincial Championship from 2008 to 2018, winning the title nine times and cementing their position as one of New Zealand's premier provincial teams. This success stemmed from a strong focus on player development, with many players going on to represent the All Blacks. The 2008 season marked the beginning of Canterbury's unprecedented dynasty, which continued until their streak was broken by Auckland in the 2018 final. They became the first team to win six consecutive titles after defeating Wellington in 2013 and also retained the Ranfurly Shield three times during this era.

During this period, Canterbury produced over twenty international players, more than any other province in New Zealand. Centurions such as Owen Franks and Sam Whitelock, along with other notable talents like Wyatt Crockett, Sonny Bill Williams, Codie Taylor, and Richie Mo'unga, all began their careers with Canterbury. Each of these players made significant contributions to the All Blacks, with many playing over fifty test matches.

Few teams could match Canterbury's dominance until their neighbouring province, Tasman, became competitive and gained promotion in 2013. This led to the end of Canterbury's six-championship winning streak, as Tasman convincingly defeated them in the 2014 semi-final at Trafalgar Park. Ireland international James Lowe and former All Black Jimmy Cowan both scored tries, converted by Marty Banks, securing a memorable 26–6 victory. Canterbury also lost to Tasman during the round-robin phase of that season. The rivalry continued, with the two teams meeting again in the finals of 2016 and 2017, where Canterbury emerged victorious.

In April 2021, Bunnings, a hardware and retail store, became the new sponsor of the competition, leading to the name's return to the National Provincial Championship for the first time since the 2005 season. Additionally, the Rugby Cup was reintroduced as the competition's trophy after being replaced by three other trophies between 2006 and 2021. Following a further review by New Zealand Rugby, the competition format was also restructured, allowing fourteen teams to compete for a single title, eliminating the divisions that had been in place since the 2010 season.

Beyond the traditional Super Rugby bases of Auckland, Canterbury, Otago, Waikato, and Wellington, only two other provinces have achieved notable success during the professional era, Taranaki and Tasman. Their rise began with their matchup in the 2014 final, where Taranaki claimed their first national title in history with a thrilling 36–32 victory. This marked the first time a provincial union outside the big five had won the premiership title since 1980.

Since then, both teams have secured the title twice, with Taranaki also holding the Ranfurly Shield on two occasions and Tasman winning it for the first time in 2024. During this era, notable All Blacks such as the Barrett brothers, Beauden, Jordie, and New Zealand captain Scott all represented Taranaki, while Tasman boasted talents like Will Jordan, one of the country's leading international try scorers, and Ireland international James Lowe.