2024 Heartland Championship
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New ZealandKing Country (Lochore Cup)
West Coast (Lochore Cup)
| Date | 17 August 2024–19 October 2024 |
|---|---|
| Countries | New Zealand |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Thames Valley (Meads Cup) King Country (Lochore Cup) |
| Runner-up | Mid Canterbury (Meads Cup) West Coast (Lochore Cup) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 54 |
← 2023 2025 → | |
The 2024 Heartland Championship, was the 18th edition of the Heartland Championship, a rugby union competition involving the twelve amateur provincial unions in New Zealand.
The tournament began with a round-robin stage in which the twelve teams played eight games each, from which 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 featured the higher seed playing at home against the lower seed.[1]
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The 2024 Heartland Championship was contested by the following teams:
| Team | Super Rugby partner | Coach | Home ground(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buller | Crusaders | Craig Adams[2] | Westport |
| Horowhenua-Kapiti | Hurricanes | Aleni Feagaiga[3] | Levin |
| King Country | Chiefs | Aarin Dunster[4] | Taupō, Taumarunui, Te Kūiti |
| Mid Canterbury | Crusaders | Matt Winter[5] | Ashburton |
| Ngati Porou East Coast | Hurricanes | Kahu Tamatea[6] | Ruatoria |
| North Otago | Highlanders | Jason Forrest[7] | Oamaru |
| Poverty Bay | Hurricanes | Miah Nikora[8] | Gisborne |
| South Canterbury | Crusaders | Nigel Walsh[9] | Timaru |
| Thames Valley | Chiefs | David Harrison[10] & Joe Murray[11] | Paeroa |
| Wairarapa Bush | Hurricanes | Reece Robinson[12] | Masterton |
| West Coast | Crusaders | Sean Cuttance[13] | Greymouth |
| Whanganui | Hurricanes | Jason Hamlin[14] | Whanganui |
Regular season standings
On September 2022 Horowhenua-Kapiti played South Canterbury at Eden Park. South Canterbury won the match by 28-24. It was just the fourth time Horowhenua-Kapiti had played at Eden Park and the sixth time for South Canterbury.[15][16]
In the regular season, South Canterbury topped the standings with 40 points after winning all eight games.[17]
| Pos. | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Canterbury[18][19] | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 327 | 214 | +113 | 8 | 40 |
| 2 | Whanganui | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 383 | 199 | +184 | 7 | 31 |
| 3 | Thames Valley[20] | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 348 | 190 | +158 | 7 | 31 |
| 4 | Mid Canterbury | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 297 | 215 | +82 | 6 | 30 |
| 5 | King Country | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 276 | 179 | +97 | 8 | 28 |
| 6 | Horowhenua-Kapiti | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 244 | 289 | −45 | 6 | 22 |
| 7 | East Coast | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 212 | 236 | −24 | 4 | 20 |
| 8 | West Coast | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 228 | 265 | −37 | 8 | 20 |
| 9 | North Otago | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 240 | 201 | +39 | 6 | 14 |
| 10 | Wairarapa Bush[21][22][23] | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 246 | 393 | −147 | 5 | 13 |
| 11 | Buller | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 142 | 402 | −260 | 2 | 10 |
| 12 | Poverty Bay | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 190 | 350 | −160 | 6 | 6 |
| Meads Cup qualification | |
| Lochore Cup qualification |
Finals
In the Meads Cup the top placegetter plays at their home ground against the fourth team while the second placed team plays at home against the third. In the Lochore Cup the fifth placegetter plays at their home ground against the eighth team while the sixth placed team plays at home against the seventh. The winning semi-finalists then meet in the respective finals for each Cup, played at the home-ground of the team ranked highest in the regular season.
Meads Cup
In the 2024 season South Canterbury once again went unbeaten through the regular season. They scored 327 points, down from 341 the previous year. However, South Canterbury were upset in semi-final 16–17 by their neighbours Mid Canterbury.[19][24]
In the other semi-final Thames Valley travelled to Cooks Gardens and beat Whanganui by a comfortable 38-15.[25]
The final was played at Boyd Park with the home team Thames Valley beating Mid Canterbury 37-29.[26][27]
Lochore Cup
King Country finished the regular season 5th and therefore top qualifier for the Lochore Cup. They won their semi-final in a close victory 34-31 over Ngati Porou East Coast.[28][29][30] In the other semi-final Horowhenua-Kapiti the 6th placegetter in the regular season were upset, losing to West Coast by 51-52 at the Levin Domain.
The Lochore Cup Final was another close battle with King Country edging West Coast by 46-44.[31]
Bill Osborne Taonga
Since 2022 Heartland teams have played for this challenge trophy, named after 16-test All Black Bill Osborne and based on similar rules to the Ranfurly Shield played for by National Provincial Championship teams. Whereas in 2023 Ngati Porou East Coast retained the Bill Osborne Taonga in all four challenges, only one out of six challenges was successfully defended in the 2024 season. Ngati Porou East Coast lost the first challenge from Buller. Buller then lost the Taonga to King Country who then lost it to Thames Valley. Thames Valley in turn lost it to Whanganui who managed to win their first defence against Wairarapa Bush. However Whanganui lost the Taonga to King Country in their second defence.
Challenges
- 17 August - Ngati Porou East Coast 11 Buller 13
- 24 August - Buller 27 King Country 54
- 31 August - King Country 18 Thames Valley 23
- 7 September - Thames Valley 14 Whanganui 16
- 21 September - Whanganui 56 Wairarapa Bush 17
- 5 October - Whanganui 17 - King Country 34
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.The 2024 winner was Alekesio Vakarorogo (Whanganui).[32]
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