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Heartland Championship
Current season, competition or edition:; 2024 Heartland Championship
Formerly	National Provincial Championship (1976–2005)
Sport	Rugby union
Founded	October 1975; 49 years ago
First season	1976
CEO	Mark Robinson
No. of teams	12
Country	New Zealand
Headquarters	Wellington, New Zealand
Most recent; champion(s)	Thames Valley ; (2024)
Most titles	Hawke's Bay; Taranaki; (7 titles)
TV partner(s)	Sky Sport
Sponsor(s)	Bunnings
Related; competitions	Farah Palmer Cup; National Provincial Championship
Official website	provincial.rugby

The Heartland Championship is an annual round-robin rugby union competition in men's domestic New Zealand rugby. First played in 1976, it is the third highest level of competition in New Zealand alongside the Ranfurly Shield. It is organised by New Zealand Rugby (NZR) and since 2021, it has been known as the Bunnings Heartland Championship after Bunnings, its naming rights sponsor. A concurrent women's tournament is also held, the Farah Palmer Cup.

Following the 2005 season the league was restructured into a two-tier competition. The Heartland Championship would include semi-professional and amateur players, and consist of the bottom twelve populated and performing regional teams. For sponsorship reasons it was rebranded as the AA Rewards Heartland Championship. The remaining teams would continue to exist in the newly reformed professional competition known as the National Provincial Championship.^[1]

Twenty-nine teams have competed since the inception of the competitions second division in 1976. Hawke's Bay and Taranaki are historically the most successful unions with seven titles each and Whanganui is the most successful team during the modern-era, having won six from eleven finals. Sixteen other teams have won titles from both periods: South Canterbury (6), Southland (5), Mid Canterbury (4), North Otago (3), Bay of Plenty (2), Marlborough (2), Nelson Bays (2), Northland (2), Thames Valley (2), Waikato (2), Wairarapa Bush (2), Central Vikings (1), Counties Manukau (1) East Coast (1), King Country (1) and North Harbour (1).

Format

Locations of the 2022 Heartland Championship teams.

The Heartland Championship is held annually, and starts in August. Rugby teams from 12 provincial unions compete.

Points are earned during the competition based on the following schedule:

4 points for a win
2 points for a draw
0 points for a loss
1 bonus point for scoring 4 or more tries, regardless of the final result
1 bonus point for a loss by 7 points or less

Prior to 2011

Prior to the 2011 Competition, the tournament was conducted in three rounds.^[2] This was similar to the structure of the 2006 Air New Zealand Cup, but that competition collapsed its first two phases into one effective in 2007. At the start of Round One, the 12 teams would split into seeded pools of six teams each, Pool A and Pool B. Seedings were also based on positions in the previous year's competition. During Round One, each team would play the other teams in its pool once. All teams would have either two or three home fixtures, with the three highest seeds in each pool at the start of the season receiving the extra home fixture.

All teams would advance to Round Two. The top three teams in each pool advance to the Meads Cup, while the bottom three teams enter the Lochore Cup.

Round two saw each team in both the Meads and Lochore Cups playing the three teams that it did not play during Round One. The three teams with the most competition points in Round One would play two home fixtures and one away, while the other three teams would play one home fixture and two away.

All competition points from Round One carried over to Round Two, and the competition points earned in both rounds determined the teams that advanced to the semifinals of each Cup in Round Three. The top four teams in the Meads and Lochore Cup competitions at the end of Round Two advanced to the semifinals.

Round Robin

This round sees the 12 teams playing 8 games each. 1st to 4th on the ladder at the end of the 8 weeks will play off for the Meads Cup, while 5th to 8th play off for the Lochore Cup.

Finals

The Meads and Lochore Cup winners are both determined in four-team single-elimination tournaments. The semifinal matchups are seeded 1-4 and 2-3, with the higher seed receiving home field advantage. The highest surviving seed hosts each Cup final.

Teams

The Heartland Championship is contested by the following teams:^[2]

Team	Union	Established	Location	Venue
Buller	Buller Rugby Union	1894; 131 years ago (1894)	Westport	Victoria Square
East Coast	Ngāti Porou East Coast Rugby Union	1922; 103 years ago (1922)	Ruatoria	Whakarua Park
Horowhenua Kapiti	Horowhenua Kapiti Rugby Football Union	1893; 132 years ago (1893)	Levin	Levin Domain
King Country	King Country Rugby Union	1922; 103 years ago (1922)	Te Kuiti	Owen Delany Park, Taupō
Mid Canterbury	Mid Canterbury Rugby Union	1904; 121 years ago (1904)	Ashburton	Ashburton Showgrounds
North Otago	North Otago Rugby Football Union	1927; 98 years ago (1927)	Oamaru	Whitestone Contracting Stadium
Poverty Bay	Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union	1890; 135 years ago (1890)	Gisborne	More FM Rugby Park
South Canterbury	South Canterbury Rugby Football Union	1888; 137 years ago (1888)	Timaru	Alpine Energy Stadium
Thames Valley	Thames Valley Rugby Union	1922; 103 years ago (1922)	Paeroa	Boyd Park
Wairarapa Bush	Wairarapa Bush Rugby Football Union	1971; 54 years ago (1971)	Masterton	Trust House Memorial Park
West Coast	West Coast Rugby Union	1890; 135 years ago (1890)	Greymouth	John Sturgeon Park
Whanganui	Whanganui Rugby Football Union	1888; 137 years ago (1888)	Whanganui	Cooks Gardens

Prior to 2006, East Coast, North Otago, Poverty Bay and Whanganui competed in Division Two of the NPC, alongside Counties-Manukau, Hawke's Bay, Manawatu, Nelson Bays and Marlborough (all promoted to the Air New Zealand Cup, Nelson Bays and Marlborough merging to form Tasman). The remaining teams competed in Division Three of the NPC.

Champions

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
2011	Wanganui	Poverty Bay
2012	East Coast	Buller
2013	Mid Canterbury	South Canterbury
2014	Mid Canterbury	Wanganui
2015	Wanganui	King Country
2016	Wanganui	North Otago
2017	Wanganui	Mid Canterbury
2018	Thames Valley	Horowhenua-Kapiti
2019	North Otago	South Canterbury
2021	South Canterbury	Whanganui
2022	South Canterbury	East Coast
2023	South Canterbury	West Coast
2024	Thames Valley^[3]	King Country

No Heartland Championship was held in 2020 due to COVID-19.

Meads Cup winners

Team	Titles	Years	Runners-up
Whanganui	6	2008, 2009, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2017	5
South Canterbury	3	2021, 2022, 2023	2
North Otago	3	2007, 2010, 2019	1
Mid Canterbury	2	2013, 2014	2
Thames Valley	2	2018, 2024	1
East Coast	1	2012	1
Wairarapa Bush	1	2006	1
Buller	—	—	2
Horowhenua-Kapiti	—	—	1

Lochore Cup winners

Team	Titles	Years	Runners-up
Poverty Bay	4	2006, 2007, 2008, 2011	1
North Otago	2	2009, 2016	3
South Canterbury	2	2013, 2019	3
Whanganui	2	2014, 2021	-
King Country	2	2015, 2024	2
Buller	1	2012	2
West Coast	1	2023	3
Mid Canterbury	1	2017	1
Horowhenua-Kapiti	1	2018	1
East Coast	1	2022	—
Wairarapa Bush	1	2010	1

Osborne Taonga

In 2021, a new challenge trophy for the Heartland Championship teams was announced, named after 16-test All Black Bill Osborne. It would follow similar rules to the Ranfurly Shield.

The Osborne Taonga was designed and created by Otaki-based Kaiwhakaairo (carver) and artist Jason Hina (Ngā Rauru Kiitahi, Te Atihaunui ā Pāpārangi, Ngāti Apa, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kauwhata and Ngāti Raukawa) and fellow carver Bill Doyle, who created the Tū Kotahi Aotearoa trophy.^[4]

Ian Kirkpatrick Medal

Since 2022, the Heartland Championship Player of the Year award has been awarded a medal named after former All Blacks captain Ian Kirkpatrick.^[4]

Winners of the Medal are:

2022 Sam Parkes (East Coast). Other finalists were Siu Kakala (South Canterbury) and Semi Vodosese (Whanganui).^[5]
2023 Siu Kakala (South Canterbury). Other finalists were Stuart Leach (Poverty Bay) and Alekesio Vakarorogo (Whanganui)^[6]

Heartland Championship representative team

Each year, a New Zealand Heartland XV is selected to recognise the top performing players in the Championship. The team selected plays various fixtures and in some years goes on an overseas tour.

References

^ "NZRU releases eligibility criteria for new competitions". All Blacks. 4 November 2004. Archived from the original on 13 February 2005. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Division One 2006: Competition Structure" (PDF). allblacks.com. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 20 August 2006. Before the "Heartland Championship" name was adopted, this competition was tentatively called "Division One" of the NPC.
^ "The Waikato Times". www.waikatotimes.co.nz.
^ ^a ^b "Bunnings Heartland Championship introduces Bill Osborne Taonga and Ian Kirkpatrick Medal". allblacks.com (Press release). 11 November 2021. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
^ "Ruahei Demant and World Cup winning Black Ferns shine at the ASB Rugby Awards". New Zealand Rugby (Press release). 8 December 2022. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
^ "Ardie Savea wins top prize at ASB Rugby Awards". allblacks.com (Press release). 14 December 2023. Retrieved 20 August 2024.