Hilux NPC regular season ends with 57% attendance surge and record 18-try winger

The 2026 Hilux NPC regular season has closed with a string of record-breaking numbers, headlined by a 57 per cent jump in match attendance to more than 300,000 and a 103 per cent increase in views across the competition’s social media channels. The figures were released ahead of the first round of playoffs.

On the field, the season produced historic attacking output — an average of 61.6 points per game, with 645 tries scored across 10 weeks of round-robin rugby. Tasman winger Kyren Taumoefolau was the standout individual, obliterating the previous single-season try-scoring record of 15 by finishing on 18, including four in his final appearance. The 23-year-old also led the competition in linebreaks, tackle busts and metres gained.

Taumoefolau’s story carries an added dimension: he represented Tonga as a teenager at the 2023 Rugby World Cup but becomes eligible for the All Blacks this week. His emergence is one of the more compelling subplots heading into the playoffs.

From a team perspective, Otago led all sides with 386 points — the most accumulated by any team since Canterbury’s 2022 campaign. Loose forward Lucas Casey finished second in the try-scoring charts with 10, a tally that would have attracted far more attention in a season not dominated by Taumoefolau.

The attendance milestone was boosted in part by the opening of Canterbury’s new stadium, Te Kaha, just four months before round one. Broadcast interest tracked the same upward curve, with just under two million New Zealanders watching on Sky Sport and TVNZ, and 4.35 million streams recorded across the season.

Social media engagement added further context to the competition’s growth, with 35,000 new followers gained across provincial rugby channels and 92 million total views generated.

The quarter-finals take place this weekend, with Northland hosting Tasman, North Harbour hosting Taranaki, Otago hosting Hawke’s Bay, and Canterbury hosting Waikato. Counties Manukau have secured the Ranfurly Shield for the off-season, but the remaining eight sides are competing for the NPC title in the tournament’s 50th season.