1978 National Provincial Championship
The 1978 season was the third year of the National Provincial Championship (NPC), a provincial rugby union competition in New Zealand. Wellington were the winners of Division 1.
Division 1
| Relegated to Division Two |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | File:Wellington Lions colours.png Wellington | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 172 | 111 | +61 | 16 |
| 2 | File:CountiesAirNZ.png Counties | 10 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 167 | 110 | +57 | 14 |
| 3 | File:CanterburyColours.png Canterbury | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 152 | 144 | +8 | 12 |
| 4 | File:Auckland colours, Air NZ Cup.png Auckland | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 123 | 100 | +23 | 12 |
| 5 | File:North auckland rugby.png North Auckland | 10 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 129 | 137 | −8 | 12 |
| 6 | File:ManawatuTurbosColours.png Manawatu | 10 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 141 | 122 | +19 | 11 |
| 7 | File:TaranakiRugby.png Taranaki | 10 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 156 | 129 | +27 | 10 |
| 8 | File:SouthlandRugby.png Southland | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 114 | 101 | +13 | 10 |
| 9 | File:Otagorugby.png Otago | 10 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 115 | 164 | −49 | 7 |
| 10 | File:Scantab.png South Canterbury | 10 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 92 | 150 | −58 | 5 |
| 11 | File:Hawkes Bay Air NZ Cup colours.png Hawke's Bay | 10 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 68 | 161 | −93 | 1 |
Promotion/Relegation
As the bottom-placed North Island team, Hawkes Bay were automatically relegated. The winners of Division Two North, Bay of Plenty, were automatically promoted to Division One. South Canterbury faced Division Two South winner Marlborough. The match was tied 10–10, which meant South Canterbury remained in Division One.
Division Two Teams
Division 2 North (in order of final placing)
- File:Bopcolours.png Bay of Plenty
- File:Mooloo.png Waikato
- File:Whanganuicolors.png Wanganui
- File:Povertybay.png Poverty Bay
- File:Hkapiti.png Horowhenua
- File:Thamesvalley.png Thames Valley
- File:Wbush.png Wairarapa Bush
- File:Kcountry.png King Country
- File:Ecoast.png East Coast
Division 2 South (in order of final placing)
- File:Marlborough Rugby Colours.png Marlborough
- File:Nelson bays rugby.png Nelson Bays
- File:Mcantab.png Mid Canterbury
- File:Northotago.png North Otago
- File:Buller Rugby (colours).png Buller
- File:Wcoast.png West Coast
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Ranfurly Shield
Manawatu began the season as holders having defeated Auckland in the 1976 season. In 1978, they defended the shield in four matches, extending their tenure to 13 successful defences before being defeated by North Auckland. North Auckland chose not to accept any more challenges in 1978 and thus held the shield for the summer. Manawatu
- beat West Coast 51–10
- beat Horowhenua 42–14
- beat Poverty Bay 24–0
- beat Wellington 13–6
- lost to North Auckland 10–12