Stephen Donald slotted an early penalty for Waikato, but three from Canterbury replacement flyhalf Tom Taylor gave his side a 9-3 lead at the break. Taylor kicked another late in the second half to put the result beyond doubt.

It was the first tryless First Division final in the history of the competition.

Weepu follows All Blacks team-mates centre Ma’a Nonu, flyhalf Aaron Cruden and former skipper Andrew Hore to the Wellington exit. Wing Hosea Gear and fullback Cory Jane are also considering leaving the Hurricanes as head coach Mark Hammett has begun building a new-look squad for 2012.

Weepu’s exit comes as a big shock, however, as the player has expressed his willingness to stay. The 27-year-old was given a new contract deal earlier this month, but decided the move to Auckland was the best choice.

‘It was very tough. I had moments where I wanted to play for this province and this franchise. But, like everyone says, you’ve got to take care of No1 and I’m just looking after the best interests of myself and my future,’ Weepu said after the All Blacks 40-7 win over the Springboks last Saturday.

Ken Laban, close family friend and a Wellington Rugby Union board member, expressed his anger on Twitter and blamed Hammett.

‘I will be supporting the Blues in 2012 as will most, if not all, of Wainuiomata,’ Laban stated. ‘Piri is a boy who I have known all his life, long before the Canes came along and long before Hammett came to town. Our families are very close.’

New Zealand’s rugby sensation Williams, who turned down a reported $6 million contract with French club Toulon to fight for a spot in the All Blacks’ World Cup squad, has decided that he will be based in Christchurch where is likely to play at wing or centre. The deal isn’t confirmed yet but Williams is expected to sign in the near future.

In signing with Canterbury, Williams will reject a lucrative offer from Hawkes Bay, who were willing to pay double the amount of North Harbour’s deal with adding luxury accommodation and a prestige car. He will also snub the chance to rejoin former mentor Tana Umaga, who’s an assistant coach at Counties-Manuka, and his family, who want him to be based with them in Auckland.

Williams’s three goals are to make the World Cup squad, be the best representative he can be and help the team secure World Cup glory. Signing with Canterbury, who are the New Zealand Cup defending champions and seven-time Super Rugby champions, he will be in the best position to achieve this.

”I do talk with him often, but we don’t talk about what he’s going to do. I have told him that Counties-Manukau is a great place to live … but in the end, he’s got to do what’s best for himself,’ Umaga told smh.com.au.

It was decided last week that the NZ Cup will accommodate all 14 unions in next season’s competition because of threats of legal action. So the NZ Cup will have the same structure next year, with round-robin matches, semi-finals and final.

Now the NZRU have revealed their plans for 2011, which will see the top seven teams after the 2010 season forming the Premiership and the bottom half forming the Championship.

Each team will face all the unions in their division, as well as four teams from the other division. The winner of the Championship will be promoted to the top tier, while the 7th-placed side in the Premiership will be relegated.

Because of the 2011 World Cup, the competition will be reduced to 8 weeks, which results in mid-week fixtures and no semi-finals.

From 2012, however, the competition will start after the Super 15 over a 12-week period, which sees no mid-week matches and semi-finals will return.

The organisation had hoped to reduce the number of top-tier teams to 10, with six sides (including two from the Heartland Championship) contesting the First Division.

However, the threat of legal action by affected unions – most likely Counties Manukau, Tasman, Manawatu and Northland – forced the NZRU to put those plans on hold for at least another season.

‘A number of factors have changed since the board made its decisions in June and July,’ said NZRU chairman Jock Hobbs in a statement. ‘These include the fact that competition formats have become a fundamental part of the collective employment negotiations currently underway, the fact that we have appeals lodged by the Tasman and Counties-Manukau Rugby Unions and threatened legal action from other unions,’ he said.

‘All of these matters were not likely to be resolved prior to the first quarter of 2010, and with outcomes uncertain and the need to create certainty for provincial unions and teams, it was not possible to go ahead with the new format in 2010.’

In July, the NZRU announced they would cut four teams from the NZ Cup to create a 10-team competition for financial and planning reasons (there is only a 12-week window available).

These four teams would then join the Heartland Unions to make a second tier competition, and a promotion-relegation system would be adopted, something similar to the Currie Cup.

All 14 unions have been working on theirs cases on why they should be in the new premier tournament. The criteria the NZRU will use to assess the unions include population figures, player development, on-field performance, financial stability and community rugby programmes.

However, it has been reported that the NZRU could go against this decision.

Northland, Counties-Manukau, Tasman and Manawatu are the sides considered to face the axe, but have made it clear they would take legal action if this follows through.

It was also suggested that two pools could be created to accommodate all the unions, and the top teams in each pool can compete in the play-offs, but then time would be an issue.

The decision will only be made public on Friday.

Despite the success of Canterbury in the NZ Cup and the Crusaders in the Super 14, the number of ticket sales at the AMI stadium have dropped in recent years.

Only 12 000 fans came out to watch Canterbury beat Wellington in the NZ Cup final.

Now, with the new Deans Stands opening this season, Canterbury and Crusaders rugby chief executive Hamish Riach said they have reduced the ticket prices by 60% in order to attract the crowds back to the Christchurch home ground.

‘We know from our research that one of the concerns has been price, and we are doing something about it. We have listened and now we are acting,’ Riach told stuff.co.nz.

‘We have also introduced a range of very flexible options for payment, starting weekly. We acknowledge that this has been a tough year for both the New Zealand economy and many New Zealanders, so by introducing these flexible options we want to make it as affordable as possible for Cantabrians to be able to enjoy their two rugby teams.’

Supporters will be able to get a season ticket in the Deans Stand for as little as $3.69 (R19) per week. Adult prices have been reduced by $142.50 and now range from $392.50 (R2105) for Platinum tickets in the Deans Stand down and $117.50 (R630) in the Tui or Hadlee stands. Children’s prices range from $153.50 (R823) in the Deans or Paul Kelly Stand and $84.50 (R453) in the Tui or Hadlee stands.

A season ticket covers all league matches for both Canterbury and Crusaders rugby, and it gives the owner the right to purchase a Test ticket in their own seat.

Season ticket holders will also have the advantage of buying tickets for the 2011 World Cup before the public release, and will be able to apply for quarterfinal tickets and/or the third-fourth place play-off.

Fullback Collin Slade grabbed a first half brace, while pivot Stephen Brett kicked eight points to give the home side an 18-3 lead at the break.

In the second, Wellington spurred on a comeback as they stole momentum in the last quarter after Slade was sin-binned in the 67th minute for slowing down the ball.

With Wellington enjoying a one-man advantage, flank Scott Fuglistaller crossed the chalk and flyhalf Piri Weepu grabbed the extras to trail 25-20 with five minutes remaining.

However, Brett slotted his third penalty in the dying moments of the match to seal the title for Canterbury.

Southland scored first through hooker Jason Routledge and took a 7-0 lead early in the first half. However, All Blacks scrumhalf Piri Weepu kicked his side ahead with three penalties.

Wing David Smith then extended Wellington’s lead with a try and Weepu bagged the extras. The No 9 kicked another three pointer to make it 19-7 at the break.

Two tries from scrumhalf Jimmy Cowan and centre Kenny Lynn brought Southland back into the game with the score at 22-21 in Wellington’s favour, but that would be the last points for the visitors.

A late brace from replacement hooker Dane Coles sealed the victory for Wellington, who will now face defending champions Canterbury in the final.

Canterbury will play the winner of Saturday’s semi-final between Wellington and Southland. They will need to improve on Friday’s game against Hawke’s Bay, as both sides made too many errors.

Locks Sam Whitelock and Isaac Ross scored in the first half to see Canterbury to a 12-3 halftime advantage. Stephen Brett’s scored from a turnover in the second half to confirm the result.

Waikato needed a four-try bonus win to to book a play-off berth, but failed, despite a valiant attempt. The result means
Southland travel to Wellington for one semifinal next weekend, while Canterbury will host Hawke’s Bay.

Auckland lead 13-11 at half-time, and Waikato had opportunities to secure the victory, but squandered a number of those.

Auckland scored through Jamie Helleur and Charlie Faumuina, while Ash Moeke kicked three penalties and two conversions. Waikato responded through five pointers from Jack Lam and Trent Renata, and Callum Bruce slotted two penalties to go with a conversion.

The victory sees the Lions finishing second behind Canterbury, who are waiting on Saturday’s results to determine the fourth semi-finalist.

Hawke’s Bay scored a 32-13 bonus-point over Northland to give themselves a good chance of claiming that fourth spot, but will hope Waikato don’t record a bonus-point win of their own against Auckland on Saturday.

If Waikato clout Auckland, they will finish in fourth place. According to New Zealand Cup rules, if teams are tied in the final standings, the side that won the corresponding league match will advance. Waikato beat Hawke’s Bay 30-22 earlier in the season, and so would claim fourth place in that event.

Southland are level with Hawke’s Bay on 41 points, but are guaranteed to finish third as they beat both Hawke’s Bay and Waikato this year.

It was the defending champions who scored the first points as flyhalf Stephen Brett slotted a drop goal to give Canterbury a 3-0 lead. Southland’s pivot Robbie Robinson then converted a penalty in the 37th minute to leave the score level at the break.

In the second stanza, Robinson kicked his team into a 9-3 lead with another two penalties. Southland followed with an impressive defensive effort to hold on for the win.

Southland are now assured of a play-off place and won the Ranfurly Shield for the first time in 50 years in the process. Canterbury were already certain of a home semi-final with the win over Hawke’s Bay last week.

The Lions are now in second place and are likely to trounce Chris Jack’s Tasman in the final round next week. They’ll have to do this without their All Blacks, however, as those selected for the end-of-year tour – the squad will be announced this Sunday – will not be available for the remainder of the domestic competition.

Ma’a Nonu scored Wellington’s third try while form winger Hosea Gear wrapped up the bonus point for the Lions.

In other fixtures, Otago thumped Tasman 21-0 while Waikato beat Northland 27-19.

The Stags will be waiting on the outcome of several other games this weekend, as their place in the semi-finals depends on a few results going their way. Southland will play their final league match against Canterbury next week, a match they are expected to lose.

In other New Zealand Cup fixtures on Friday, Bay of Plenty held off a spiritied Manawatu outfit to win 28-27 in Palmerston North.

Trailing 17-7 late in the first half, Canterbury surged ahead with two tries scored by All Blacks Richie McCaw and Dan Carter.

Canterbury struggled to hold on for the win in the dying moments as Hawke’s Bay touched down, but the latter’s try was disallowed. The defending champions then kept their composure for the vital victory, which sees them top the log with one round of fixtures to go in the competition.

The Lions possessed a number of All Blacks in their backline and proved too classy for Northland. Gear’s double took him to 10 tries in this year’s New Zealand Cup, while Tamati Ellison, Ged Robinson and Alby Mathewson crossed the line.

The bonus-point win sees Wellington retaining third spot on the log. They’re well set for a semi-final and have to play North Harbour and Tasman in their remaining league fixtures.

The victory takes them into the top four with the semi-finals a fortnight away. Winger Tim Mikkelson scored the decisive try, securing their sixth win in seven matches and ensuring that their play-off hopes are in their hands.

Waikato led 20-19 ahead at the break, but pulled further ahead with a converted try by prop Hikairo Forbes with 20 minutes to go.

However, Otago struck back through Ben Smith before Mikkelson sealed the result on the stroke of full-time.

More to follow…

The hosts, strengthened by the inclusion of All Blacks Wyatt Crockett and Owen Franks, Brad Thorn and Kieran Read in their starting line-up, and the mercurial duo of Dan Carter and Richie McCaw playing off the wood, ran in eight tries.

Manawatu struck first, but that early promise failed to amount to a sustained challenge, as Read (2), Sam Whitelock, Tu Umaga-Marshall, Corey Flynn, Andy Ellis, Colin Slade and Carter all crossed the whitewash.

The win cemented Canterbury’s position at the top of the table, while Manawatu languish in 11th position.

In the other match of the day, Auckland kept their hopes of a play-off place alive with a 10-0 win over Taranaki in miserable conditions in New Plymouth. Onosai Auva’a try and a penalty and conversion from Ash Moeke was the difference between the sides.

Zac Guildford scored a hat-trick while Thomas Waldrom picked up a brace, but it was a far from convincing performance. Counties were only 13-8 behind at half-time, but unfortunately couldn’t stop their opponents running in seven tries in all.

The bonus-point win means Hawke’s Bay remain in second place on the New Zealand Cup log. On more victory in their remaining two fixtures will guarantee a play-off spot.