[[King Country Rugby Football Union|King Country]] (Lochore Cup)"},"runnerup_other":{"wt":"[[Mid Canterbury Rugby Football Union|Mid Canterbury]] (Meads Cup)
[[West Coast Rugby Football Union|West Coast]] (Lochore Cup)"},"matches":{"wt":"54"},"top scorer":{"wt":""},"most tries":{"wt":""},"preceded by":{"wt":"[[2023 Heartland Championship|2023]]"},"succeeded by":{"wt":"[[2025 Heartland Championship|2025]]"}},"i":0}}]}" id="mwCA">Rugby union tournament
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]
The 2024 Heartland Championship was contested by the following teams:
In the regular season, South Canterbury topped the standings with 40 points after winning all eight games. [2]
Pos. | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | South Canterbury | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 327 | 214 | +113 | 8 | 40 |
2 | Whanganui | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 383 | 199 | +184 | 7 | 31 |
3 | Thames Valley | 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 | 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 |
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.
In the 2024 season South Canterbury once again went unbeaten through the regular season. They scored 327 points, down from 341 the previous year and significantly lower than the 2020 season's record of 491. However, South Canterbury were upset in semi-final 16–17 by their neighbours Mid Canterbury. [3] [4]
In the other semi-final Thames Valley travelled to Cooks Gardens and beat Whanganui by a comfortable 38-15. [5]
The final was played at Boyd Park with the home team Thames Valley beating Mid Canterbury 37-29. [6] [7]
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. [8] [9] [10] 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. [11]
The North Otago Rugby Football Union (NORFU) is a New Zealand rugby union province based in Oamaru and compete in the Heartland Championship. They are one of the strongest teams in The Heartland Championship, winning the Meads Cup section of the competition in its second year, 2007 as well as 2010. Their home ground is Whitestone Contracting Stadium, formerly Centennial Park.
The National Provincial Championship, often simply called the NPC, was an annual promotion and relegation rugby union competition in men's domestic New Zealand rugby. First played during the 1976 season, it was the highest level of competition in New Zealand until Super Rugby launched in 1996. It was organised by New Zealand Rugby (NZR) and ceased following the 2005 season.
The Heartland Championship is an annual round-robin rugby union competition in men's domestic New Zealand rugby. First played in 1976, it is the third highest level of competition in New Zealand alongside the Ranfurly Shield. It is organised by New Zealand Rugby (NZR) and since 2021, it has been known as the Bunnings Heartland Championship after Bunnings, its naming rights sponsor. A concurrent women's tournament is also held, the Farah Palmer Cup.
The Ngati Porou East Coast Rugby Football Union (NPEC) is a constituent union in the New Zealand Rugby Union. It is located on the East Coast of the North Island, based in Ruatoria. It is the smallest Union in New Zealand in the sense of player numbers and population base. Due to the high number of players from the Ngati Porou iwi, the team is often referred to as Ngati Porou East Coast.
The Thames Valley Rugby Football Union (TVRFU) is the governing body of rugby union in the region of Thames Valley in the North Island of New Zealand. Their senior representative team compete in the Heartland Championship. Thames Valley Rugby Football Union was founded in 1921 when it broke away from the now defunct South Auckland Rugby Union. The Thames Rugby Union, a sub-union that had remained affiliated with the Auckland Rugby Football Union, eventually joined the Thames Valley Union in 1951.
The Meads Cup is a rugby union trophy named after King Country and All Blacks player Colin Meads. It is contested during the Heartland Championship. It was first awarded in 2006, when the Heartland Championship format was introduced.
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The 2013 Heartland Championship, the eighth edition of the Heartland Championship since the 2006 reconstruction, was a rugby union competition involving the twelve amateur 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 played at home against the lowest seeds, the second highest seeds played at home against the third highest seeds and the final had the higher seed play at home against the lower seed.
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 played at home against the lowest seeds, the second highest seeds played at home against the third highest seeds and the final had the higher seed playing at home against the lower seed.
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