 | |
| 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]
The Mid Canterbury team play from Ashburton Showgrounds, Ashburton and in the 2006 season are in Pool B of the Heartland Championship. They are seeded 9th for the Championship as they finished 5th in the 3rd division in 2005.
Mid Canterbury Rugby Football Union is made up of 9 clubs:
Mid Canterbury along with Canterbury, Tasman, Buller, South Canterbury and West Coast make up the Crusaders Super Rugby franchise.
Mid Canterbury won the 2nd division South Island in 1980, 1983 and the 3rd division in 1994 and 1998, and the Meads Cup in 2013 and 2014.
| 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 | — |
Mid Canterbury have never held the Ranfurly Shield. Mid Canterbury last challenged for the Shield in July 2015 against Hawke's Bay, but were defeated 57–12. [6]
| 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 |
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.
There have only been 3 players selected for the All Blacks whilst playing their club rugby in Mid Canterbury.
The National Provincial Championship, often simply called the NPC, is an annual round-robin rugby union competition in men's domestic New Zealand rugby. First played during the 2006 season, it is the second 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 NPC after its headline sponsor. A concurrent women's tournament is also held, the Farah Palmer Cup.
The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challenge matches, which are usually played at the shield holder's home venue, and if the challenger is successful in their challenge they will become the new holder of the Shield. There is a tradition for the first challenges of a new rugby season to be played against smaller associations from the Heartland Championship.
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 competition, known for sponsorship reasons as the Bunnings Warehouse Heartland Championship, is a domestic rugby union competition in New Zealand. It was founded in 2006 as one of two successor competitions to the country's former domestic competition, the National Provincial Championship (NPC). The country's 27 provincial teams were split into two separate competitions. Thirteen of the original teams, plus one merged side created from two other teams, entered the new top-level professional competition, the Air New Zealand Cup. The remaining 12 sides entered the new Heartland Championship, whose teams contest two distinct trophies, both named after famous New Zealand players:
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.
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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 Buller Rugby Union (BRU) is a rugby union province based in the town of Westport, New Zealand. The Buller provincial boundary also includes other notable towns such as Reefton, Karamea, Granity, Charleston, Punakaiki and Murchison.
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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 Poverty Bay Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union within the Gisborne district, in the area surrounding Poverty Bay on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The men's representative team play from Rugby Park, Gisborne, and currently compete in the Heartland Championship.
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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.
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