2006 Heartland Championship
The 2006 Heartland Championship was an amateur rugby union competition in New Zealand. It was the first season of the competition, a direct successor to 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 teams.
| Date | 19 August 2006–21 October 2006 |
|---|---|
| Countries |  New Zealand |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Wairarapa Bush (Meads Cup)  Poverty Bay (Lochore Cup) |
| Runner-up |  Wanganui (Meads Cup)  King Country (Lochore Cup) |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 54 |
2007 → | |
At the end of Round 1, the top three teams from each pool contested the Meads Cup,[1] and the bottom three from each pool contested the Lochore Cup.[2] Competition points from Round 1 carried over to Round 2, in which each team in each cup competition played a round-robin with the three teams it did not play in Round 1. At the end of Round 2, the top four teams in each cup competition entered a single-elimination playoff for the Meads and Lochore Cups. The cups were named after Colin Meads and Brian Lochore, both legendary players for the country's national team, the All Blacks.
The inaugural Meads Cup champion was Wairarapa Bush,[3] and Poverty Bay lifted the first Lochore Cup.
Round 1
Standings
The top three places in each pool, highlighted in blue, advanced to the Meads Cup. The remaining teams entered the Lochore Cup.
Pool A
| Qualified for Meads Cup |
| Pos. | Team | Pld | W | D | L | For | Against | +/- | BP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wairarapa Bush |
5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 111 | 74 | +37 | 1 | 21 |
| 2 |  North Otago |
5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 200 | 74 | +126 | 4 | 20 |
| 3 |  Mid Canterbury |
5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 92 | 98 | -6 | 2 | 10 |
| 4 | .png.webp){kind=small} Buller |
5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 93 | 125 | -32 | 1 | 9 |
| 5 |  East Coast |
5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 64 | 125 | -61 | 2 | 6 |
| 6 |  West Coast |
5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 81 | 145 | -64 | 2 | 6 |
Pool B
| Qualified for Meads Cup |
| Pos. | Team | Pld | W | D | L | For | Against | +/- | BP | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wanganui |
5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 186 | 79 | +107 | 3 | 21 |
| 2 |  South Canterbury |
5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 77 | 76 | +1 | 2 | 14 |
| 3 |  Horowhenua-Kapiti |
5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 98 | 133 | -35 | 2 | 12 |
| 4 | Poverty Bay |
5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 123 | 140 | -17 | 2 | 10 |
| 5 |  Thames Valley |
5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 85 | 126 | -41 | 2 | 10 |
| 6 | King Country |
5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 77 | 92 | -15 | 2 | 6 |
- Pos = Table Position
- Pld = Played
- W = Win (Worth 4 points)
- D = Draw (Worth 2 points)
- L = Loss (Worth 0 points)
- For = For (Total points scored)
- Against = Against (Total points scored against)
- +/- = Points difference (The total of For minus Against points)
- BP = Bonus Point (Teams can score additional bonus points by certain scenarios. 1 Bonus point will be awarded to any team that scores 4 tries or more regardless of win/loss/draw. A bonus point will be awarded to the losing side if the loss is by 7 points or less. It is possible to receive 2 (two) bonus points in a loss.)
- Pts = Progressive points tally
Fixtures and results
Week 1
| 19 August 2006 | East Coast | 7–25 | Mid Canterbury | Ruatoria |
| 19 August 2006 | Wairarapa Bush | 31–13 | Buller | Masterton |
| 19 August 2006 | North Otago | 67–3 | West Coast | Oamaru |
| 19 August 2006 | Wanganui | 65–18 | Thames Valley | Wanganui |
| 19 August 2006 | Horowhenua-Kapiti | 23–23 | King Country | Levin |
| 19 August 2006 | Poverty Bay | 22–30 | South Canterbury | Gisborne |
Week 2
| 26 August 2006 | Thames Valley | 19–21 | Poverty Bay | Paeroa |
| 26 August 2006 | Horowhenua-Kapiti | 20–12 | South Canterbury | Levin |
| 26 August 2006 | King Country | 23–23 | Wanganui | Te Kuiti |
| 26 August 2006 | Mid Canterbury | 16–28 | North Otago | Ashburton |
| 26 August 2006 | Buller | 28–18 | East Coast | Westport |
| 26 August 2006 | Wairarapa Bush | 31–18 | West Coast | Masterton |
Week 3
| 2 September 2006 | East Coast | 6–10 | Wairarapa Bush | Ruatoria |
| 2 September 2006 | West Coast | 24–9 | Mid Canterbury | Greymouth |
| 2 September 2006 | North Otago | 37–24 | Buller | Oamaru |
| 2 September 2006 | South Canterbury | 16–13 | Thames Valley | Timaru |
| 2 September 2006 | Wanganui | 46–3 | Horowhenua-Kapiti | Wanganui |
| 2 September 2006 | Poverty Bay | 19–18 | King Country | Gisborne |
Week 4
| 9 September 2006 | Horowhenua-Kapiti | 32–31 | Poverty Bay | Levin |
| 9 September 2006 | King Country | 3–13 | Thames Valley | Taupō |
| 9 September 2006 | Wanganui | 11–5 | South Canterbury | Wanganui |
| 9 September 2006 | Wairarapa Bush | 19–18 | North Otago | Masterton |
| 9 September 2006 | Buller | 19–23 | Mid Canterbury | Westport |
| 9 September 2006 | East Coast | 22–20 | West Coast | Ruatoria |
Week 5
Round 2
Standings
Meads Cup Pool
Pos Name Pld W D L F A +/- BP Pts 1 Wanganui 8 7 1 0 123 67 +56 5 35 2 Wairarapa Bush 8 7 0 1 100 56 +44 3 31 3 North Otago 8 6 0 2 132 80 +52 7 31 4 Mid Canterbury 8 4 0 4 63 80 -17 3 19 5 South Canterbury 8 3 0 5 28 102 -74 2 14 6 Horowhenua-Kapiti 8 2 1 5 65 126 -61 3 13
Lochore Cup Pool
Pos Name Pld W D L F A +/- BP Pts 1 Poverty Bay 8 5 0 3 120 54 +66 4 24 2 Thames Valley 8 4 0 4 107 51 +56 5 21 3 King Country 8 3 2 3 81 40 +41 4 20 4 Buller 8 3 0 5 46 57 -11 2 14 5 East Coast 8 1 0 7 44 130 -86 2 6 6 West Coast 8 1 0 7 55 121 -66 2 6
Fixtures and results
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Semifinals
Fixtures and results
Meads Cup
Lochore Cup
Finals
Fixtures and results
Meads Cup
Lochore Cup
References
- "Wanganui face tough tests in battle for Meads Cup". The New Zealand Herald. NZPA. 24 September 2006.
- "TDIH: November 1 2006 – NEW ZEALAND HEARTLAND XV – New Zealand Rugby Museum | All Blacks | Palmerston North". New Zealand Rugby Museum.
- "Meads Cup Final - Wanganui v Wairarapa Bush (October 21, 2006)". Marty Melville/Getty Images.