The Farah Palmer Cup is back, opening with a bang when the defending Premiership champions, Waikato, were stunned by Auckland.

The Farah Palmer Cup presented by Bunnings Warehouse has concluded in 2023 with the Auckland Storm winning the Premiership for the 16th time and Northland winning the Championship for the first time.

Four unbeaten teams, Bay of Plenty, Hawke's Bay, Taranaki and Canterbury, are setting the pace after two rounds of the Bunnings NPC.