2016 Heartland Championship

2016 Heartland Championship
Date	27 August 2016–29 October 2016
Countries	New Zealand
Final positions
Champions	Wanganui (Meads Cup) ; North Otago (Lochore Cup)
Runner-up	Buller (Meads Cup) ; King Country (Lochore Cup)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	54
	← 2015 2017 →

The 2016 Heartland Championship, known as the 2016 Mitre 10 Heartland Championship for sponsorship reasons,^[2] was the eleventh edition of the Heartland Championship, a rugby union competition involving the twelve amateur rugby unions in New Zealand. The tournament included a round-robin stage in which the twelve teams played eight games each and then the top four advanced to the Meads Cup semifinals, while fifth to eighth advanced to the Lochore Cup semifinals. In both of these knockout stages the top seeds (first and fifth) played at home against the lowest seeds (fourth and eighth), the second highest seeds (second and sixth) played at home against the third highest seeds (third and seventh) and the final had the higher seed play at home against the lower seed.

Law changes[edit]

The New Zealand Rugby Union decided to implement new law changes for the Heartland Championship for 2016. These law changes involved a new points scoring system:^[3]

8 pts for a penalty try (no conversion kick required);
6 pts for a try;
2 pts for a penalty, conversion or drop goal.

Teams[edit]

Locations of teams in the 2016 Heartland Championship

The 2016 Heartland Championship was contested by the following teams.

Team	Super Rugby partner	Hometown	Home stadium	Capacity^[4]
Buller	Crusaders	Westport	Victoria Square	5,000
East Coast	Hurricanes	Ruatoria	Whakarua Park	3,000
Horowhenua-Kapiti	Hurricanes	Levin	Levin Domain	6,500
King Country	Chiefs	Taupō	Owen Delany Park	20,000
Mid Canterbury	Crusaders	Ashburton	Ashburton Showgrounds	5,000
North Otago	Highlanders	Oamaru	Whitestone Contracting Stadium	7,000
Poverty Bay	Hurricanes	Gisborne	More FM Rugby Park	18,000
South Canterbury	Crusaders	Timaru	Fraser Park	12,000
Thames Valley	Chiefs	Paeroa	Paeroa Domain	3,000
Wairarapa Bush	Hurricanes	Masterton	Trust House Memorial Park	10,000
Wanganui	Hurricanes	Wanganui	Cooks Gardens	15,000
West Coast	Crusaders	Greymouth	Rugby Park	6,000

Ranfurly Shield challenges[edit]

Three Heartland Championship teams, Thames Valley, King Country and Wanganui challenged Waikato for the coveted Ranfurly Shield.^[5] Thames Valley last challenged for the Ranfurly Shield in 2014 against Counties Manukau (losing 68–0),^[6] whereas both King Country and Wanganui last challenged for it in 2012 against Taranaki (losing 67–16 and 51–7, respectively).^[7]^[8]

The first challenge came from Thames Valley in June, when the Swamp Foxes succumbed 83–13 to Waikato.^[9] In July the holders retained their Shield in a 55-to-nothing victory against King Country.^[10] The last Heartland Championship challenge for 2016 saw Waikato defeat Wanganui 32–12 in Cambridge.^[11]

	6 June 2016	Thames Valley	13–83	Waikato	Paeroa Domain, Paeroa
		Try: Brett Ranga Jone Koroinsagana Pen: Josh O'Flaherty	Report	Try: Iliesa Tavuyara (3) Whetu Douglas (2) Atu Moli (2) Latu Talakai Jake Ale Jason Robertson Hame Faiva Sevu Reece Murray Iti Con: Jason Robertson (6) Matt Lansdown (3)

	30 July 2016	King Country	0–55	Waikato	Bedford Park, Matamata
	14:35 (NZST)		Report	Try: Brian Alainu'uese 11' Hame Faiva (2) Jordan Trainor Murray Iti 47' Sevu Reece 74' Matt Lansdown 78' Tevita Taufui 80' Con: Jordan Trainor (6) Pen: Jordan Trainor

	6 August 2016	Waikato	32–12	Wanganui	Memorial Park, Cambridge
	14:35 (NZST)	Try: Iliesa Tavuyara Tevita Taufui Jordan Trainor (2) Whetu Douglas Steven Misa Con: Jordan Trainor	Report	Try: Gavin Thornbury Jamie Hughes Con: Dane Whale

Standings[edit]

Pos.	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TB	LB	Pts
1	Wanganui	8	8	0	0	362	110	+252	6	0	38
2	South Canterbury	8	7	0	1	324	162	+162	7	1	36
3	King Country	8	4	2	2	236	170	+66	4	1	25
4	Mid Canterbury	8	5	0	3	278	198	+80	6	1	27
5	North Otago	2	1	0	1	62	62	+0	2	1	7
6	Poverty Bay	2	1	0	1	78	60	+18	1	1	6
7	Wairarapa Bush	2	1	0	1	48	40	+8	1	1	6
8	Buller	2	1	0	1	60	60	+0	1	1	6
9	Horowhenua-Kapiti	2	1	0	1	56	62	+4	1	0	5
10	Thames Valley	2	0	0	2	52	64	−12	1	2	3
11	East Coast	2	0	0	2	38	128	−90	0	0	0
12	West Coast	2	0	0	2	26	132	−106	0	0	0

	Meads Cup qualification
	Lochore Cup qualification

In the case of a two-team tie on points the ranking of teams is decided by:

(1) the winner of the round robin match between the two provinces; then
(2) highest point difference; then
(3) most tries scored; then
(4) a coin toss.

In the caseof a three-team or more tie on points the ranking of teams is decided by:

(1) the province with the most wins against other tied provinces in the Round Robin; then
(2) if two teams remain tied they shall be ranked according to the criteria listed above, but if more than two teams remain tied, they shall be ranked according to criteria (2) to (4) only.

Regular season[edit]

The schedule of fixtures was confirmed on 1 March 2016.^[1]

Round 1[edit]

	27 August 2016	Thames Valley	30–34	Horowhenua Kapiti	Paeroa Domain, Paeroa
	14:00 (NZST)	Try: John Hale Lance Easton Norman Solofa Jonnie Te Ruki-Chambers Con: Jonnie Te Ruki-Chambers (2) Pen: Jonnie Te Ruki-Chambers	Report	Try: Fa'afoi Ioapo Ryan Shelford Andrew Lima Perry Hayman Con: Perry Hayman (3) Pen: Perry Hayman (2)

	27 August 2016	Mid Canterbury	40–32	North Otago	Ashburton Showgrounds, Ashburton
	14:30 (NZST)	Try: Jarred Percival (2) Jon Dampney Brendon Rigden Timoci Nabakeke Mike Lynch Con: Jarred Percival (2/6)	Report	Try: Shay Tucker Josh Casey Joe Pickett Simon Lilicama Con: Carey (2/4)

	27 August 2016	Poverty Bay	54–30	East Coast	More FM Rugby Park, Gisborne
	14:30 (NZST)	Try: Isaia Vuki Everard Reid Devonte Stuart Ken Houkamau Siosiua Moala Tamati Samuels Con: Isaia Vuki (3) Pen: Isaia Vuki (2)	Report	Try: Scorers not provided^[12]

	27 August 2016	South Canterbury	28–26	Buller	Fraser Park, Timaru
	14:30 (NZST)	Try: Raitube Vasurakuta Max Morris Viliame Rogatavu Kieran Coll Con: Zac Southern (2)	Report	Try: Setafano Sauqaqa David Egelstaff James Lash Con: James Lash (2) Pen: James Lash (2)

	27 August 2016	Wairarapa Bush	16–18	King Country	Trust House Memorial Park, Masterton
	14:30 (NZST)	Try: James Googer Richard Puddy Con: Tim Priest (1/2) Pen: Tim Priest	Report	Try: Stephan Turner Sean Wanden Con: Zayn Tipping (2/2) Pen: Zayn Tipping

	27 August 2016	Wanganui	74–6	West Coast	Cooks Gardens, Wanganui
	14:30 (NZST)	Try: Michael Nabuliwaqe (3) Malakai Volau Roman Tutauha Te Rangatira Waitokia (2) Gavin Thornbury Cole Baldwin Bryn Hudson Con: Dane Whale (7)	Report	Try: Trent Reti

Round 2[edit]

	3 September 2016	Buller	34–32	Mid Canterbury	Victoria Square, Westport
	14:30 (NZST)	Try: James Lash Anthony Tailua Joshua Tuidriva Dan Hytongue Con: James Lash (4/4) Drop: James Lash 80'	Report	Try: Logan Bonnington Jarred Percival Mike Lynch Timoci Nabakeke Con: Jarred Percival (4/4)

	3 September 2016	East Coast	8–74	Wanganui	Whakarua Park, Ruatoria
	14:30 (NZST)	Try: BJ Sidney Con: Todd Dolan (1/1)	Report	Try: Simon Dibben (2) Kameli Kuruyabaki Cole Baldwin Tremaine Gilbert Gavin Thornbury Te Rangitira Waitokia (2) Craig Clare Ace Malo Con: Dane Whalen (5) Steve Crosbie (2)

	3 September 2016	Horowhenua-Kapiti	22–32	Wairarapa Bush	Westpac Stadium, Wellington^[13]
	15:05 (NZST)	Try: Tyson Maki Penalty try Con: Perry Hayman (1/1) Pen: Perry Hayman (2) Warwick Lahmert	Report	Try: Andrew Smith James Goodger Zac Guildford Sam Monaghan Con: Tim Priest (2) Pen: Tim Priest (2)

	3 September 2016	King Country	30–24	Poverty Bay	Owen Delany Park, Taupo
	14:30 (NZST)	Try: Sam Mason Kieron Robinson Ralulu Bovau Zayn Tipping Con: Zayn Tipping (2) Pen: Zayn Tipping	Report	Try: Les Hills Tani Misikosi Ratu Daurua Con: Isaia Vuki (2) Pen: Isaia Vuki (2)

	3 September 2016	North Otago	30–22	Thames Valley	Whitestone Contracting Stadium, Oamaru
	14:30 (NZST)	Try: Ralph Darling Josh Casey Matt Posea Lemi Masoe Con: Josh Casey (3)	Report	Try: Jonnie Te Ruki-Chambers Rupeni Vakacugu Hayden Wisnoski Con: Hayden Wisnoski (2)

	3 September 2016	West Coast	20–58	South Canterbury	Rugby Park, Greymouth
	14:30 (NZST)	Try: Troy Tauwhare Maleli Mudu Logan Winter Con: Nik Cumming (1)	Report	Try: Viliame Logavatu (2) Mosese Aho John Dyer Raitube Vasurakuta Max Morris Kieran Coll Shay Moseby Con: Zac Southern (5)

Round 3[edit]

	10 September 2016	Thames Valley	22-22	King Country	Boyd Park, Te Aroha
	14:00 (NZST)

	10 September 2016	Mid Canterbury	16-26	Wairarapa Bush	Ashburton Showgrounds, Ashburton
	14:30 (NZST)

	10 September 2016	North Otago	36-36	Horowhenua-Kapiti	Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin^[13]
	14:30 (NZST)

	10 September 2016	Poverty Bay	18-30	Buller	More FM Rugby Park, Gisborne
	14:30 (NZST)

	10 September 2016	Wanganui	32-30	South Canterbury	Cooks Gardens, Wanganui
	14:30 (NZST)

	10 September 2016	West Coast	36-30	East Coast	Rugby Park, Greymouth
	14:30 (NZST)

Round 4[edit]

	17 September 2016	Buller	48-0	West Coast	Victoria Square, Westport
	14:30 (NZST)

	17 September 2016	East Coast	8-48	North Otago	Whakarua Park, Ruatoria
	14:30 (NZST)

	17 September 2016	Horowhenua-Kapiti	26-42	Mid Canterbury	Horowhenua Community Trust Levin Domain, Levin
	14:30 (NZST)

	17 September 2016	King Country	10-22	Wanganui	Rugby Park, Te Kūiti
	14:30 (NZST)

	17 September 2016	South Canterbury	52-28	Poverty Bay	Fraser Park, Timaru
	14:30 (NZST)

	17 September 2016	Wairarapa Bush	28-18	Thames Valley	Trust House Memorial Park, Masterton
	18:00 (NZST)

Round 5[edit]

	24 September 2016	Thames Valley	16-62	South Canterbury	Paeroa Domain, Paeroa
	14:00 (NZST)

	24 September 2016	Buller	54-22	East Coast	Victoria Square, Westport
	14:30 (NZST)

	24 September 2016	Horowhenua-Kapiti	18-42	King Country	Horowhenua Community Trust Levin Domain, Levin
	14:30 (NZST)

	24 September 2016	Mid Canterbury	34-22	West Coast	Ashburton Showgrounds, Ashburton
	14:30 (NZST)

	24 September 2016	North Otago	22-38	Wairarapa Bush	Whitestone Contracting Stadium, Oamaru
	14:30 (NZST)

	24 September 2016	Poverty Bay	30-52	Wanganui	More FM Rugby Park, Gisborne
	14:30 (NZST)

Round 6[edit]

	1 October 2016	East Coast	22-76	Mid Canterbury	Whakarua Park, Ruatoria
	14:30 (NZDT)

	1 October 2016	King Country	4-4	North Otago	Rugby Park, Te Kūiti
	14:30 (NZDT)

	1 October 2016	South Canterbury	36-24	Horowhenua Kapiti	Fraser Park, Timaru
	14:30 (NZDT)

	1 October 2016	Wairarapa Bush	24-26	Buller	Trust House Memorial Park, Masterton
	14:30 (NZDT)

	1 October 2016	Wanganui	60-14	Thames Valley	Cooks Gardens, Wanganui
	14:30 (NZDT)

	1 October 2016	West Coast	28-62	Poverty Bay	Rugby Park, Greymouth
	14:30 (NZDT)

Round 7[edit]

	8 October 2016	Buller	0-28	Wanganui	Victoria Square, Westport
	14:30 (NZDT)

	8 October 2016	East Coast	24-72	King Country	Whakarua Park, Ruatoria
	14:30 (NZDT)

	8 October 2016	Horowhenua Kapiti	52-22	West Coast	Horowhenua Community Trust Levin Domain, Levin
	14:30 (NZDT)

	8 October 2016	Mid Canterbury	38-22	Thames Valley	Ashburton Showgrounds, Ashburton
	14:30 (NZDT)

	8 October 2016	North Otago	16-44	South Canterbury	Whitestone Contracting Stadium, Oamaru
	14:30 (NZDT)

	8 October 2016	Poverty Bay	30-32	Wairarapa Bush	More FM Rugby Park, Gisborne
	14:30 (NZDT)

Round 8[edit]

	15 October 2016	Thames Valley	14-50	Poverty Bay	Paeroa Domain, Paeroa
	14:00 (NZDT)

	15 October 2016	King Country	38-40	Buller	Owen Delany Park, Taupo
	14:30 (NZDT)

	15 October 2016	South Canterbury	14-0	Mid Canterbury	Fraser Park, Timaru
	14:30 (NZDT)

	15 October 2016	Wanganui	20-12	Horowhenua Kapiti	Cooks Gardens, Wanganui
	14:30 (NZDT)

	15 October 2016	West Coast	54-42	North Otago	Rugby Park, Greymouth
	14:30 (NZDT)

	15 October 2016	Wairarapa Bush	44-22	East Coast	Trust House Memorial Park, Masterton
	18:00 (NZDT)

Finals[edit]

Meads Cup semi-finals			Meads Cup final

1	Wanganui	58

4	Wairarapa Bush	26
			1	Wanganui	20

			3	Buller	18
2	South Canterbury	6

3	Buller	16

Lochore Cup semi-finals			Lochore Cup final

1	Mid Canterbury	24

4	North Otago	36
			2	King Country	22

			4	North Otago	44
2	King Country	48

3	Poverty Bay	26

Semifinals[edit]

Meads Cup

	22 October 2016	Wanganui	58-26	Wairarapa Bush	Cooks Gardens, Wanganui
	14:30 (NZST)

	22 October 2016	South Canterbury	6-16	Buller	Fraser Park, Timaru
	14:30 (NZST)

Lochore Cup

	22 October 2016	Mid Canterbury	24-36	North Otago	Ashburton Showgrounds, Ashburton
	14:30 (NZST)

	22 October 2016	King Country	48-26	Poverty Bay	Rugby Park, Te Kūiti
	14:30 (NZST)

Finals[edit]

Meads Cup

	29 October 2016	Wanganui	20-18	Buller
	TBC

Lochore Cup

	29 October 2016	King Country	22-44	North Otago
	TBC

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b "2016 Mitre 10 Heartland Championship Draw" (PDF). Heartland Championship. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
^ "Mitre 10 unveiled as new sponsor of national provincial rugby competitions". Heartland Championship. 13 December 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
^ "Law trials for NZ domestic competitions in 2016". Heartland Championship. 5 April 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
^ "2013 Pink Batts Heartland Championship Media Guide". AllBlacks.com. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
^ "Pre-season Ranfurly Shield challenges confirmed". Mitre 10 Cup. 17 March 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
^ Eade, Shaun (2 July 2014). "Counties Manukau too strong for Swamp Foxes". Stuff. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
^ "Taranaki fend off King Country". Rugby365. 27 July 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
^ "Wanganui RFU – 2012". Wanganui Rugby Football Union. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
^ Pearson, Joseph (6 June 2016). "Waikato begin Ranfurly Shield defence as expected with thrashing of Thames Valley". Stuff. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
^ Voerman, Andrew (30 July 2016). "Waikato ease past King Country in the wet to hold on to the Ranfurly Shield". Stuff. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
^ Pearson, Joseph (7 August 2016). "Waikato see off spirited Wanganui challenge to retain the Ranfurly Shield". Stuff. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
^ McDonnell, Lynn (27 August 2016). "Champions make winning Heartland start". Heartland Championship. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
^ ^a ^b "Forsyth Barr to host Heartland clash". Horowhenua-Kapiti Rugby Football Union. 6 July 2016. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.

External links[edit]

Official website of the Heartland Championship

[fixtures-1] "2016 Mitre 10 Heartland Championship Draw" (PDF). Heartland Championship. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.

[2] "Mitre 10 unveiled as new sponsor of national provincial rugby competitions". Heartland Championship. 13 December 2015. Retrieved 12 April 2016.

[3] "Law trials for NZ domestic competitions in 2016". Heartland Championship. 5 April 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.

[4] "2013 Pink Batts Heartland Championship Media Guide". AllBlacks.com. 13 August 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2016.

[2016preseason-5] "Pre-season Ranfurly Shield challenges confirmed". Mitre 10 Cup. 17 March 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.

[6] Eade, Shaun (2 July 2014). "Counties Manukau too strong for Swamp Foxes". Stuff. Retrieved 12 April 2016.

[7] "Taranaki fend off King Country". Rugby365. 27 July 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2016.

[8] "Wanganui RFU – 2012". Wanganui Rugby Football Union. Retrieved 12 April 2016.

[9] Pearson, Joseph (6 June 2016). "Waikato begin Ranfurly Shield defence as expected with thrashing of Thames Valley". Stuff. Retrieved 9 June 2016.

[10] Voerman, Andrew (30 July 2016). "Waikato ease past King Country in the wet to hold on to the Ranfurly Shield". Stuff. Retrieved 30 July 2016.

[11] Pearson, Joseph (7 August 2016). "Waikato see off spirited Wanganui challenge to retain the Ranfurly Shield". Stuff. Retrieved 8 August 2016.

[12] McDonnell, Lynn (27 August 2016). "Champions make winning Heartland start". Heartland Championship. Retrieved 27 August 2016.

[hkap-13] "Forsyth Barr to host Heartland clash". Horowhenua-Kapiti Rugby Football Union. 6 July 2016. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.

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Law changes[edit]

Teams[edit]

Ranfurly Shield challenges[edit]

Standings[edit]

Regular season[edit]

Round 1[edit]

Round 2[edit]

Round 3[edit]

Round 4[edit]

Round 5[edit]

Round 6[edit]

Round 7[edit]

Round 8[edit]

Finals[edit]

Semifinals[edit]

Finals[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]