2015 Heartland Championship

The 2015 Heartland Championship, the tenth edition of the Heartland Championship since the 2006 reconstruction of the National Provincial Championship, was a rugby union competition involving the twelve semi-professional rugby unions in New Zealand. The tournament involved 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 playing at home against the lower seed.

2015 Heartland Championship
Date22 August 2015 (2015-08-22)–25 October 2015 (2015-10-25)
CountriesNew Zealand New Zealand
Final positions
ChampionsWanganui (Meads Cup)
King Country (Lochore Cup)
Runner-upSouth Canterbury (Meads Cup)
North Otago (Lochore Cup)
2014
2016

Teams

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The 2015 Heartland Championship was contested by the following teams.

Team Super Rugby partner Hometown Home stadium Capacity
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

Standings

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Pos. Team Pld W D L PF PA PD TB LB Pts
1 South Canterbury 8 7 0 1 346 162 +184 7 0 35
2 Mid Canterbury 8 7 0 1 295 228 +67 5 1 34
3 Wanganui 8 6 1 1 318 185 +133 6 1 33
4 Wairarapa Bush 8 4 0 4 238 192 +46 5 2 23
5 Horowhenua-Kapiti 8 4 0 4 263 261 +2 5 2 23
6 Buller 8 4 0 4 200 187 +13 3 2 21
7 King Country 8 4 1 3 245 192 +53 3 0 21
8 North Otago 8 4 0 4 189 252 −63 2 2 20
9 Thames Valley 8 3 0 5 206 255 −49 4 0 16
10 West Coast 8 3 0 5 184 208 −24 3 1 16
11 Poverty Bay 8 1 0 7 227 333 −106 4 2 10
12 East Coast 8 0 0 8 112 368 −256 1 1 2
Meads Cup qualification
Lochore Cup qualification

In the case of two teams being tied 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 case of three or more teams being tied 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.

Finals

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Semifinals

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Meads Cup
17 October 2015 South Canterbury 25–21 Wairarapa Bush Fraser Park, Timaru  
14:30 (NZST) Report


17 October 2015 Mid Canterbury 11–26 Wanganui Ashburton Showgrounds, Ashburton  
14:30 (NZST) Report
Lochore Cup
17 October 2015 Horowhenua-Kapiti 12–57 North Otago Levin Domain, Levin  
14:00 (NZST) Report


17 October 2015 Buller 6–20 King Country Victoria Square, Westport  
14:30 (NZST) Report

Finals

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Meads Cup
24 October 2015 South Canterbury 11–28 Wanganui Fraser Park, Timaru  
16:35 (NZST) Report
Lochore Cup
24 October 2015 King Country 47–34 North Otago Rugby Park, Te Kūiti  
13:35 (NZST) Report

See also

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