2016 Heartland Championship

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.

2016 Heartland Championship
Date27 August 2016 (2016-08-27)–29 October 2016 (2016-10-29)[1]
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 played54
← 2015
2017 →

Law changes

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
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 Taupo 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 Alpine Energy Stadium 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
Main article: Ranfurly Shield 2010–19 § 2016

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]

Standings
Pos. Team Pld W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts
1 Wanganui 8800362110+2526038
2 South Canterbury 8701324162+1627136
3 King Country 8422236170+664125
4 Mid Canterbury 8503278198+806127
5 North Otago 21016262+0217
6 Poverty Bay 21017860+18116
7 Wairarapa Bush 21014840+8116
8 Buller 21016060+0116
9 Horowhenua-Kapiti 21015662+4105
10 Thames Valley 20025264−12123
11 East Coast 200238128−90000
12 West Coast 200226132−106000
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

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

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Round 8

Finals

Semifinals
Meads Cup
Lochore Cup

Finals
Meads Cup
Lochore Cup
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See also

References
  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.
  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.co.nz. 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.co.nz. 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.co.nz. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  11. Pearson, Joseph (7 August 2016). "Waikato see off spirited Wanganui challenge to retain the Ranfurly Shield". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  12. McDonnell, Lynn (27 August 2016). "Champions make winning Heartland start". Heartland Championship. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  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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