Heartland Championship

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Heartland Championship

sport Rugby union
Association New Zealand Rugby Union
League foundation 2006
Teams 12
Country countries New ZealandNew Zealand New Zealand
Title holder North Otago (Meads Cup)
Wairarapa Bush (Lochore Cup)
Website provincial.rugby/heartland-championship
↑ ITM Cup

The Heartland Championship is an amateur rugby union league in New Zealand . It was first played in 2006 after the National Provincial Championship (NPC) was split into two different competitions. 13 of the country's 27 original provincial teams (plus one team from two merged provincial associations) formed the top division, the professional ITM Cup . The Heartland Championship is made up of the remaining twelve provincial teams. These play for two cups, the more prestigious Meads Cup (named after Colin Meads ) and the Lochore Cup (named after Brian Lochore ).

The competition

The Heartland Championship is held every year and begins in August. Rugby teams from twelve provinces compete against each other in a division.

The points are distributed according to the following scheme:

  • 4 points for a win
  • 2 points for a tie
  • 0 points for a loss
  • 1 bonus point for achieving 4 or more attempts
  • 1 bonus point for a defeat with a difference of 7 points (corresponds to an increased attempt) or less.

The championship is divided into three rounds:

Round one

At the start of the first round, the twelve teams are divided into two groups of six teams each, Group A and Group B. The placements are based on the previous year's results. During the first round, each team plays once against the other teams in its group. The teams have two or three home games, with the higher ranked teams being allowed to play the additional home game.

All six teams in a group advance to the second round. The top three teams play for the Meads Cup, while the three worst teams play for the Lochore Cup.

Round two

Each team in both groups will play against the three teams it has not played against in the first round. The three teams with the most points in round one have two home and one away games, the other three teams have one home and two away games.

All points from the first round are carried over to the second round. The points accumulated in both rounds are decisive for the final placements. For the semi-finals of the Meads Cup and the Lochore Cup in round three, the four best teams are each qualified.

Round three

The Meads Cup and the Lochore Cup are decided in the knockout system. The semi-finals are composed as follows: The first against the fourth and the second against the third, whereby the team placed higher enjoys home rights. The higher ranked remaining team will host the respective final.

Ranfurly Shield

In the Heartland championship, cup games for the Ranfurly Shield are played if a team holds the Shield there. However, this has never happened to this day. This is the oldest and most prestigious trophy in New Zealand rugby. The shield holder must defend the shield in every home game of the regular ITM Cup season. If the away team wins the game, they will receive the Ranfurly Shield. If the home team wins or draws, they have successfully defended the trophy. He will not be played for in the play-offs.

Before a season, the shield holder must also take on some challenges from the other division.

Teams

The following teams play in the Heartland Championship:

Map of the regional associations and their teams

winner

year Meads Cup Lochore Cup
2006 Wairarapa Bush Poverty Bay
2007 North Otago Poverty Bay
2008 Wanganui Poverty Bay
2009 Wanganui North Otago
2010 North Otago Wairarapa Bush

For past winners of the NPC's lower divisions, see the National Provincial Championship .

See also

Web links

  • Homepage . Heartland Championship,accessed June 5, 2018.