The Hanan Shield is one of the most prestigious trophies in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1946 after being presented by the Mayor of Timaru, A. E. S. Hanan. The Hanan Shield is based on a challenge system played between North Otago, South Canterbury and Mid Canterbury. The holding union must defend the shield in challenge matches, and if a challenger defeats them, they become the new holder of the shield. A rules change at the end of the 2011 season meant that the shield is contested in all meetings between the holders and one of the other two teams. [1]
| Union | Played | Won | Loss |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Canterbury | 128 | 87 | 41 |
| Mid Canterbury | 109 | 47 | 62 |
| North Otago | 83 | 26 | 57 |
On 6 October 2007, Mid Canterbury won the Shield from North Otago, who had held the shield since 2000, with a 25–22 victory. In a fiercely contested clash in front of a record crowd at Oamaru's Centennial Park, Mid Canterbury played themselves into a Shield winning position. Mid Canterbury made the decisive break thanks to two stunning solo tries to young winger Brenton Connell, then hung on in the final 20 minutes despite losing star midfielder Jack Umaga to a broken jaw. This ended North Otago's Hanan Shield reign of 14 defences over seven years. [2]
On 9 August 2008 Mid Canterbury made their first Hanan Shield defence when they ran onto the Ashburton Showgrounds to play South Canterbury in the first Hanan Shield match contested under the new experimental law variations (ELVs). It was South Canterbury who put on the early pressure with prop Timaru Tafa crossing in the 6th minute. Mid Canterbury's 19-year-old wing Brenton Connell sliced through a midfield gap on his own 10-metre line, broke a tackle and sprinted away down the left-hand flank to score in the corner. In the 29th minute, loose forward Jon Dampney showed his strength in shrugging off a tackler to score in the corner. Connell made it two for the afternoon when Dampney took a quick throw, which saw the ball spread to the opposite sideline into the hands of Connell who crossed the line and scored. South Canterbury started the second half strong, and scored two tries in the first 10 minutes, to loose forward Eric Smith and Tafa got his second. Mid Canterbury were trailing 19–18 but were not about to give up. A try to second five-eighth Richard Fridd pulled them back into the game, while two more tries were scored by first five-eighth Dan Maw and Dampney who scored his second.
| 9 August 2008 |
| Mid Canterbury | 37–19 | South Canterbury |
| Con: Dan Maw (2) Pen: Dan Maw | Con: Luke Reihana (2) |
| Ashburton Showgrounds, Ashburton |
Mid Canterbury retained the Hanan Shield until 2010.
| 24 October 2009 |
| Mid Canterbury | 19–17 | South Canterbury |
| Meads Cup semifinal |
| Ashburton Showgrounds, Ashburton |
In the last Hanan Shield challenge in the 2010 Heartland Championship, South Canterbury took the Shield from Mid Canterbury.
In the first Hanan Shield challenge of the 2011 Heartland Championship, North Otago uplifted the Shield from South Canterbury. North Otago retained the Shield for one challenge.
Mid Canterbury claimed the Hanan Shield from North Otago with a 7–3 win on 8 September 2012. [4]
| 8 September 2012 14:30 (NZST) |
| Mid Canterbury | 7–3 | North Otago |
| Try: Salave Misi Con: Andrew Letham (1/1) | Report | Pen: Tai Aholelei (1) |
| Ashburton Showgrounds, Ashburton |
On 13 October 2012 South Canterbury claimed the shield by defeating Mid Canterbury 17–15 at Fraser Park in Timaru. South Canterbury outscored their opponents by three tries to two.
| 13 October 2012 14:30 (NZST) |
| South Canterbury | 17–15 | Mid Canterbury |
| Try: Timaru Tafa Trevathan Liam Edwards Con: Liam Edwards (1/3) | Report | Try: Tukulua Tolu (2) Con: Solomona Paraki (1/2) Pen: Solomona Paraki (1) |
| Fraser Park, Timaru |
South Canterbury retained the shield by defeating Mid Canterbury 48–20 in the 2012 Lochore Cup semi-final on 21 October. [5]
| 21 October 2012 14:30 (NZST) |
| South Canterbury | 48–20 | Mid Canterbury |
| Try: Stephen Burt Sam Vea Kali Latu Tenare Saumani Liam Edwards Afala Tailega Con: Liam Edwards (5/6) Pen: Liam Edwards (1) | Report | Try: Ben Kitching Nick McKain Jon Dampney Con: Solomona Paraki (1/3) Pen: Solomona Paraki (1) |
| Fraser Park, Timaru |
Mid Canterbury won the Shield with a win 34–27 against South Canterbury on 21 September 2013. [6]
| 21 September 2013 14:30 (NZST) |
| Mid Canterbury | 34–27 | South Canterbury |
| Try: Will McGoon Esera Lauina Richard Catherwood Con: Murray Williams (2/3) Pen: Murray Williams (5) | Report [6] | Try: Tenari Saumani George Folau Liam Edwards Con: Liam Edwards (0/3) Pen: Liam Edwards (4) |
| Ashburton Showgrounds, Ashburton |
Mid Canterbury defended the shield by defeating North Otago 26–20 in the 2013 Meads Cup final on 26 October. [7] This was also Mid Canterbury's first time winning the Meads Cup.
| 26 October 2013 14:30 (NZST) |
| Mid Canterbury | 26–20 | North Otago |
| Try: Dwayne Burrows Jon Dampney Con: Murray Williams (2/2) Pen: Murray Williams (4) | Report | Try: J'ndre Liebenberg Alex Brown Con: Ed Keohane (2/2) Pen: Ed Keohane (2) |
| Ashburton Showgrounds, Ashburton |
On 4 October 2014, Mid Canterbury defended the shield against North Otago in Ashburton. [8] They won the match 28–7. [9] [10]
| 4 October 2014 14:30 (NZST) |
| Mid Canterbury | 28–7 | North Otago |
| Try: Richard Catherwood Tevita Ula Logan Bonnington Con: Murray Williams (2/3) Pen: Murray Williams (3) | Report | Try: Siosiua Ngalo Con: Ben Palmer (1/1) |
| Ashburton Showgrounds, Ashburton |
On 11 October 2014, Mid Canterbury defended the shield against South Canterbury in Timaru, only one week after their match against North Otago. [8] They won 24–7. [11]
| 11 October 2014 14:30 (NZST) |
| South Canterbury | 7–24 | Mid Canterbury |
| Try: Paula Fifita Con: Paula Fifita (1/1) | Report | Try: Jon Dampney Brenton Connell Tevita Ula Jackson Donlan Con: Murray Williams (2/4) |
| Fraser Park, Timaru |
| 22 August 2015 14:30 (NZST) |
| Mid Canterbury | 34–17 | South Canterbury |
| Try: Murray Williams Ashton Tuck Mavae Tomasi Ashton Tuck Ewan Scott Con: Murray Williams (3/5) | Report | Try: Kieran Coll Matthew Kottier Con: Jason Merrett (2/2) |
| Ashburton Showgrounds, Ashburton |
In the last match of the regular season, Mid Canterbury successfully defended the Shield against North Otago in Oamaru. [12]
| 10 October 2015 14:30 (NZST) |
| North Otago | 36–39 | Mid Canterbury |
| Try: Lemi Masoe Sam Sturgess Sali Halaeva Aleki Morris Cameron Keenan Con: Ben Palmer (4/5) Pen: Ben Palmer | Report | Try: Matt Thatcher (2) Tama Tuirirangi Seta Koroitamana Ashton Tuck Con: Andrew Letham (4/5) Pen: Andrew Letham (2) |
| Centennial Park, Oamaru |
In the first match of the 2016 Heartland Championship season, Mid Canterbury defended the Shield for a sixth consecutive time. [13] Mid Canterbury successfully defended the shield in a high-scoring affair. [14]
| 27 August 2016 14:30 (NZST) |
| Mid Canterbury | 40–32 | North Otago |
| 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) |
| Ashburton Showgrounds, Ashburton |
On 15 October 2016, South Canterbury, on their home ground, won the Shield from Mid Canterbury. South Canterbury defended the Shield on four occasions throughout 2017 and 2018.
On 24 August 2019, in an away fixture, North Otago ended the Shield reign of South Canterbury. North Otago defended the Shield in one challenge, against Mid Canterbury.
On 12 September 2020, South Canterbury won the Shield back from North Otago.
A combined Mid Canterbury, North Otago and South Canterbury team has been selected to play touring international teams:
The 2006 Heartland Championship was the inaugural season of the Heartland Championship, an amateur rugby union competition in New Zealand, following the reorganisation of the Second and Third Divisions of the country's former rugby competition, the National Provincial Championship. The competition featured 12 teams, divided into two pools of six.
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 South Canterbury Rugby Football Union (SCRFU) is a rugby province based in the central South Island city of Timaru, New Zealand. The South Canterbury team play at Fraser Park located in Timaru.
The Mid Canterbury Rugby Football Union (MCRFU) is a rugby province in the South Island of New Zealand.
The 2007 Heartland Championship was the second season of the Heartland Championship, the primary provincial rugby union championship in New Zealand played between 18 August and 18 October 2007. As in the inaugural competition, the 2006 Heartland Championship, 12 teams were involved.
The 2008 Heartland Championship was the third season of the Heartland Championship, a provincial rugby union competition involving 12 teams from New Zealand split into two pools. Matches started on Saturday 23 August 2008 and ended with the final on 25 October.
The 2009 Heartland Championship was the fourth Heartland Championship, a provincial rugby union competition in New Zealand involving the country's 12 amateur rugby unions, since it was reorganised in 2006. The round-robin ran from 29 August to 17 October with 30 games in round one and 18 games in round two for a total of 48 games being played through the round-robin, after which the teams went into the playoffs. In the playoffs, the top four teams from each pool in round two went on to semifinals, and then a grand final for each pool was played on 31 October.
The 2010 Heartland Championship was the fifth edition of the New Zealand provincial rugby union competition, since the 2006 reconstruction. The teams represented the 12 amateur rugby unions.
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The Lochore Cup is a New Zealand rugby union trophy named after famed Wairarapa Bush and All Blacks player and coach Brian Lochore. It is contested during the Heartland Championship. It was first awarded in 2006, when the Heartland Championship format was introduced.
The 2014 Heartland Championship was the ninth edition of the Heartland Championship, 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 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.
The 2016 Heartland Championship, known as the 2016 Mitre 10 Heartland Championship for sponsorship reasons, 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 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 2019 Heartland Championship, known as the 2019 Mitre 10 Heartland Championship for sponsorship reasons, was the 14th edition of the Heartland Championship, a rugby union competition involving the twelve amateur rugby 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 played at home against the lowest seeds, the second highest seeds played at home against the third highest seeds and the final featured the higher seed playing at home against the lower seed.
The 2017 Heartland Championship, was the twelfth 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.
The 2018 Heartland Championship, was the thirteenth edition of the Heartland Championship, a rugby union competition involving the twelve amateur provincial unions in New Zealand.
The 2021 Heartland Championship, was the 15th edition of the Heartland Championship, a rugby union competition involving the twelve amateur provincial unions in New Zealand. There was no Heartland Championship held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 restrictions.
The 2022 Heartland Championship, was the 16th edition of the Heartland Championship, a rugby union competition involving the twelve amateur provincial unions in New Zealand.
