BUNNINGS WAREHOUSE HEARTLAND CHAMPIONSHIP DRAW 2025
BUNNINGS WAREHOUSE HEARTLAND CHAMPIONSHIP
DRAW 2025
All details are subject to change, home team listed first.
(BOT) Bill Osborne Taonga challenge match
Bunnings Warehouse Heartland Championship draw announced
Provincial bragging rights are back up for grabs when the Bunnings Warehouse Heartland Championship kicks off for 10 weeks of exciting competition in August.
The 2024 season saw Thames Valley end South Canterbury’s three-year reign in winning the Meads Cup, a dramatic extra-time thriller in the Lochore Cup Final and the Bill Osborne Taonga change hands six times.
Excitement is guaranteed from the moment the competition kicks off with a repeat of the Meads Cup Final in round one when Thames Valley host Mid Canterbury. The Bill Osborne Taonga will go on the line in round two when holders King Country host Poverty Bay in Taupō.
Both Thames Valley and King Country will have the chance to add to their trophy cabinets in pre-season with confirmed Ranfurly Shield Challenges against Taranaki.
New Zealand Rugby’s Head of Community Rugby Steve Lancaster said the Heartland Championship is a great example of rugby being at the heart of communities.
“Rugby in our Heartland Unions is thriving, we saw more players than ever before take the field in the community game across these Unions in 2024 and that was followed by a truly entertaining Heartland Championship.
“There is something special about seeing seasoned campaigners alongside emerging talent, fuelled by provincial pride, it always produces exciting and entertaining rugby,” said Lancaster.
The competition sees an eight-week round robin before the top eight teams play off for the Meads Cup and Lochore Cup. The Finals will be played the following weekend.
One Bunnings Warehouse Heartland Championship match will be broadcast live on Sky each week.
| Thames Valley | Mid Canterbury | Waihi RFC | Waihi | ||
| Whanganui | North Otago | Cooks Garden | Whanganui | ||
| Wairarapa-Bush | South Canterbury | Trust House Memorial Park | Masterton | ||
| Horowhenua Kāpiti | Buller | Levin Domain | Levin | ||
| Poverty Bay | Ngāti Porou East Coast | Rugby Park | Gisborne | ||
| West Coast | King Country | John Sturgeon Park | Greymouth | ||
| Ngāti Porou East Coast | West Coast | Whakarua Park | Ruatoria | ||
| Mid Canterbury | Horowhenua Kāpiti | Ashburton Showgrounds | Ashburton | ||
| King Country | Poverty Bay | Rugby Park | Te Kuiti | ||
| North Otago | Wairarapa-Bush | A&P Showgrounds | Oamaru | ||
| Buller | Whanganui | Victoria Square | Westport | ||
| South Canterbury | Thames Valley | Fraser Park | Timaru | ||
| Ngāti Porou East Coast | North Otago | Whakarua Park | Ruatoria | ||
| Wairarapa-Bush | Mid Canterbury | Trust House Memorial Park | Masterton | ||
| Buller | South Canterbury | Victoria Square | Westport | ||
| Horowhenua Kāpiti | Poverty Bay | Levin Domain | Levin | ||
| Thames Valley | King Country | Boyd Park | Te Aroha | ||
| Whanganui | West Coast | Cooks Garden | Whanganui | ||
| Mid Canterbury | Ngāti Porou East Coast | Ashburton Showgrounds | Ashburton | ||
| Poverty Bay | Buller | Rugby Park | Gisborne | ||
| West Coast | Wairarapa-Bush | John Sturgeon Park | Greymouth | ||
| King Country | Horowhenua Kāpiti | (BOT) Rugby Park | Te Kuiti | ||
| North Otago | Thames Valley | A&P Showgrounds | Oamaru | ||
| South Canterbury | Whanganui | Fraser Park | Timaru | ||
| Ngāti Porou East Coast | Whanganui | Whakarua Park | Ruatoria | ||
| Buller | Thames Valley | Victoria Square | Westport | ||
| Horowhenua Kāpiti | West Coast | (BOT) Levin Domain | Levin | ||
| North Otago | Poverty Bay | A&P Showgrounds | Oamaru | ||
| South Canterbury | Mid Canterbury | Fraser Park | Timaru | ||
| King Country | Wairarapa-Bush | 5.30pm Owen Delany Park | Taupō | ||
| Poverty Bay | South Canterbury | Rugby Park | Gisborne | ||
| Wairarapa-Bush | Buller | Trust House Memorial Park | Masterton | ||
| West Coast | North Otago | John Sturgeon Park | Greymouth | ||
| Thames Valley | Ngāti Porou East Coast | Coromandel RFC | Coromandel | ||
| Mid Canterbury | King Country | Ashburton Showgrounds | Ashburton | ||
| Whanganui | Horowhenua Kāpiti | Cooks Garden | Whanganui | ||
| Poverty Bay | Mid Canterbury | Rugby Park | Gisborne | ||
| Horowhenua Kāpiti | Wairarapa-Bush | Levin Domain | Levin | ||
| North Otago | South Canterbury | A&P Showgrounds | Oamaru | ||
| Buller | Ngāti Porou East Coast | Victoria Square | Westport | ||
| King Country | Whanganui | Taumarunui Domain | Taumarunui | ||
| Thames Valley | West Coast | Centennial Park | Paeroa | ||
| Wairarapa-Bush | Poverty Bay | Trust House Memorial Park | Masterton | ||
| Mid Canterbury | North Otago | Ashburton Showgrounds | Ashburton | ||
| South Canterbury | Horowhenua Kāpiti | Fraser Park | Timaru | ||
| Whanganui | Thames Valley | Cooks Garden | Whanganui | ||
| West Coast | Buller | John Sturgeon Park | Greymouth | ||
| Ngāti Porou East Coast | King Country | Whakarua Park | Ruatoria | ||
| Whanganui | Horowhenua Kāpiti | Cooks Garden | Whanganui | ||
| North Otago | Poverty Bay | A&P Showgrounds | Oamaru | ||
| Mid Canterbury | Wairarapa-Bush | Ashburton Showgrounds | Ashburton | ||
| South Canterbury | Thames Valley | Fraser Park | Timaru | ||
| -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| *Date subject to Operational and Broadcasting logistics | |||||
| ......................................... | ......................... | ......................................... | |||
| 2025 Heartland Standings | Team | P | W | L | D | Bpts | F | A | +/- | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 MC | Mid Canterbury | 8 | 8 | - | - | 8 | 368 | 186 | 182 | 40 |
| 2 MC | South Canterbury *(35 - 34) | 8 | 5 | 3 | - | 9 | 297 | 239 | 58 | 29* |
| 3 MC | Thames Valley *(34 - 35) | 8 | 5 | 3 | - | 9 | 335 | 172 | 163 | 29* |
| 4 MC | Wairarapa-Bush | 8 | 5 | 3 | - | 8 | 290 | 226 | 64 | 28 |
| 5 LC | Whanganui *(39 - 21) | 8 | 5 | 3 | - | 6 | 258 | 220 | 38 | 26* |
| 6 LC | North Otago *(21 - 39) | 8 | 5 | 3 | - | 6 | 279 | 290 | -11 | 26* |
| 7 LC | Poverty Bay | 8 | 4 | 4 | - | 9 | 249 | 247 | 2 | 25 |
| 8 LC | Horowhenua-Kapiti | 8 | 4 | 4 | - | 5 | 242 | 221 | 21 | 21 |
| 9 | King Country | 8 | 2 | 6 | - | 5 | 259 | 234 | 25 | 15 |
| 10 | West Coast ** | 8 | 4 | 4 | - | 8 | 268 | 203 | 65 | *9 |
| 11 | Buller | 8 | 1 | 7 | - | 3 | 129 | 378 | -249 | 7 |
| 12 | Ngati Porou East Coast | 8 | - | 8 | - | 1 | 112 | 470 | -358 | 1 |
| ** WEST COAST have received a 15 competition point sanction for the current season, because of player eligibility . “Based on the information available to NZR , the importance of the eligibility rules to the integrity of the competition, and previous breaches by the Union in 2010 and 2018, NZR have imposed a financial penalty of $5,000 and a 15 competition point sanction for the current season. The West Coast Union has accepted this.” | ||||||||||
| *TIEBREAKERS: 1. Head to head result. 2. *Points differential. 3. Tries scored. 4. Points scored. 5. Coin toss. | ||||||||||
