 | |
| Club information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Mid Canterbury Rugby Football Union |
| Colours | Green and Yellow |
| Founded | 1904 |
| Website | www.midcanterburyrugby.co.nz |
| Current details | |
| Ground(s) | |
| Competition | Heartland Championship |
The Mid Canterbury Rugby Football Union (MCRFU) is a rugby province in the South Island of New Zealand.
The Mid Canterbury Rugby Football Union was formed in 1904 as Ashburton Country, first as a sub-union of the South Canterbury Rugby Football Union and then of the Canterbury Rugby Football Union. The union gained full status in 1927, and changed its name to Mid Canterbury in 1952. [1]
Mid Canterbury Rugby Football Union is made up of 9 clubs:
The Mid Canterbury team play from Ashburton Showgrounds, Ashburton.
In the NPC Mid Canterbury won:
In the Heartland Championship which commenced in 2006 Mid Canterbury have won:
| Heartland Championship Results [2] [3] [4] [5] | |||||||||||||
| Year | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | BP | Pts | Place | Playoffs | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qual | SF | F | |||||||||||
| 2006 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 155 | 178 | −22 | 3 | 19 | 4th | Meads Cup | Lost 17–30 to Wanganui | — |
| 2007 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 213 | 151 | +62 | 4 | 28 | 2nd | Meads Cup | Lost 0–18 to Wanganui | — |
| 2008 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 225 | 129 | +96 | 5 | 33 | 2nd | Meads Cup | Won 38–24 against North Otago | Lost 12–27 to Wanganui |
| 2009 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 196 | 133 | +63 | 2 | 30 | 1st | Meads Cup | Won 19–17 against South Canterbury | Lost 13–34 to Wanganui |
| 2010 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 179 | 94 | +85 | 5 | 25 | 2nd | Meads Cup | Lost 24–40 to North Otago | — |
| 2011 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 180 | 143 | +37 | 6 | 26 | 4th | Meads Cup | Lost 22–32 to Wanganui | — |
| 2012 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 158 | 162 | −4 | 5 | 17 | 7th | Lochore Cup | Lost 20–48 to South Canterbury | — |
| 2013 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 232 | 131 | +101 | 5 | 33 | 1st | Meads Cup | Won 28–25 against West Coast | Won 26–20 against North Otago |
| 2014 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 258 | 139 | +119 | 4 | 26 | 3rd | Meads Cup | Won 29–22 against Poverty Bay | Won 36–13 against Buller |
| 2015 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 295 | 228 | +67 | 6 | 34 | 2nd | Meads Cup | Lost 11–26 to Wanganui | — |
| 2016 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 278 | 198 | +80 | 7 | 27 | 5th | Lochore Cup | Lost 24–36 to North Otago | — |
| 2017 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 275 | 224 | +51 | 3 | 26 | 1st | Meads Cup | Won 56–22 against Poverty Bay | Won 47–15 against West Coast |
| 2018 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 225 | 233 | −8 | 7 | 19 | 8th | Lochore Cup | Lost 24–34 to Horowhitu-Kapiti | — |
| 2019 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 161 | 236 | −75 | 4 | 10 | 11th | No | — | |
| 2021 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 226 | 209 | +17 | 4 | 24 | 6th | No | — | |
| 2022 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 214 | 249 | −35 | 6 | 18 | 8th | Lochore Cup | Won 31–15 against North Otago | Lost 20–25 to Ngati Porou East Coast |
| 2023 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 221 | 245 | −24 | 8 | 16 | 9th | No | — | |
| 2024 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 297 | 215 | +82 | 6 | 30 | 4th | Meads Cup | Won 17–16 against South Canterbury | Lost 29–37 to Thames Valley |
There was no Heartland Championship in 2020 due to Covid 19 restrictions.
The Hanan Shield is one of the most prestigious trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1946, the Hanan Shield is based on a challenge system played between North Otago, South Canterbury and Mid Canterbury.
Mid Canterbury have never held the Ranfurly Shield. Unsuccessful challenges include:
| 9 July 2014 | Counties Manukau | 46–10 | Mid Canterbury | ECOLight Stadium, Pukekohe | ||
| 18:00 (NZST) | Try: Dan Hyatt (2) Jared Page Maama Vaipulu John Tu'ugafasi Toni Pulu Andy Muirhead Con: Jared Page (4/6) Pen: Jared Page (1/1) | Report | Try: Jon Sharpe Con: Murray Williams (1/1) Pen: Murray Williams (1) |
| 23 July 2015 | Hawke's Bay  | 57–12 |  Mid Canterbury | McLean Park, Napier | ||
| 19:35 (NZST) | Try: Jonah Lowe (2) Shannan Chase Tony Lamborn Brendon O'Connor Zac Guildford Ryan Tongia Con: Ihaia West (5) Pen: Tyrone Elkington-MacDonald (3) Ihaia West | Report | Pen: Murray Williams (4) | Referee:  Brendon Pickerill |
There have been 3 players selected for the All Blacks whilst playing their club rugby in Mid Canterbury.
Mid Canterbury along with Canterbury, Tasman, Buller, South Canterbury and West Coast make up the Crusaders Super Rugby franchise.