About the Heartland Championship
The history and features of the competition.
The Heartland Championship features a modified round robin, developed in conjunction with the Provincial Unions, which will be played over eight weeks.
Each team plays eight of the other 11 teams in the competition. This is the same format as played last year.
Key Features
Key features of the competition are:
- Runs for ten weeks - an eight-week regular season followed by two weeks of Semifinals and the Finals
- Each team will play four matches at home and four away during the regular season
- Each team will not play three of the other teams during the regular season
- The top four teams after the round robin will play for the Meads Cup
- Teams finishing in places 5-8 after the round robin will play for the Lochore Cup
Meads Cup and Lochore Cup Semifinals and Finals
The teams that finish first to fourth at the conclusion of round robin, based on their competition points, will contest for the Meads Cup. The first semifinal will feature the teams seeded 1 and 4; the second semifinal, teams seeded 2 and 3, with the first ranked team of each match as the host union.
The teams seeded five to eight at the conclusion of round robin, based on their competition points, will contest for the Lochore Cup. The first semifinal will feature the teams seeded 5 and 8; the second semifinal will be contested by the teams finishing in 6th and 7th, with the first ranked team of each match as the host union.
Meads Cup and Lochore Cup Finals will be played on the last weekend of the Heartland Championship.
Roll of Honour
Meads Cup
- 2006: Wairarapa Bush
- 2007: North Otago
- 2008: Wanganui
- 2009: Wanganui
- 2010: North Otago
- 2011: Wanganui
- 2012: East Coast
- 2013: Mid Canterbury
- 2014: Mid Canterbury
- 2015: Wanganui
- 2016: Wanganui
- 2017: Wanganui
- 2018: Thames Valley
- 2019: North Otago
- 2020: No competition was held due to COVID-19
- 2021: South Canterbury
- 2022: South Canterbury
Lochore Cup
- 2006: Poverty Bay
- 2007: Poverty Bay
- 2008: Poverty Bay
- 2009: North Otago
- 2010: Wairarapa Bush
- 2011: Poverty Bay
- 2012: Buller
- 2013: South Canterbury
- 2014: Wanganui
- 2015: King Country
- 2016: North Otago
- 2017: Mid Canterbury
- 2018: Horowhenua Kapiti
- 2019: South Canterbury
- 2020: No competition was held due to COVID-19
- 2021: Wanganui
- 2022: East Coast