2016 Mitre 10 Heartland Championship – Round 8 Stats Preview –

Follow @RedefinedRugby

All The Head to Head Stats you need to enjoy week eight of the 2016 Mitre 10 Heartland Championship :

Heartland Championship: Round Eight Preview 

The final round of rugby’s Mitre 10 Heartland Championship on Saturday will have plenty of intrigue. Wanganui look set to finish in top spot, unbeaten in seven games so far, but other than that the finishing order of top four spots seem wide open. Mid Canterbury’s clash against South Canterbury is crucial for both sides Meads Cup aspirations.

Second placed South Canterbury are slight favourites on form but Mid Canterbury always step up against their Hanan Shield neighbours. Mid Canterbury’s motivation is however simple – lose and the Hammers are likely to slip from third on the table to outside of the top four. A win for South Canterbury or even a four try bonus point will be enough to seal second place and a home semi-final.

Buller and Wairarapa Bush be keeping a close eye on the result in Timaru as well as on each other. If Mid Canterbury lose Buller and Wairarapa Bush could end up tied in third, if both sides manage bonus point wins. The acid will be on Buller to grab four tries against King Country as Wairarapa Bush will easily do it against a easy beats East Coast.

In a twist Wairarapa Bush will know exactly what is on the line before they kick off, with their game scheduled at an unusually late time of 6pm, so the lights at Memorial Park can get a work out.

If they end up tied Buller will have the higher ranking as beat the Wairarapa Bush in round robin play, thanks to a last gasp penalty to first five James Lash. His presence has proved crucial for the country’s smallest union in two games, also sinking Mid Canterbury with a last minute drop goal.

If results go to form South Canterbury seem likely to host Buller while Wanganui, the defending champions, would take on Wairarapa Bush at Cooks Garden in the semis.

Mid Canterbury would have No.1 spot in the Lochore Cup (for teams finishing fifth to eighth) and host Poverty Bay while North Otago would travel to King Country, the defending champions. A surprise Mid Canterbury win over South Canterbury however would see a rematch the following week with Wairarapa Bush likely to drop into the Lochore Cup.

Heartland rugby commentator Terry O’Neill said Wanganui remained the powerhouse of the Heartland Championship, followed by South Canterbury. O’Neill said he expected South Canterbury would be too strong for Mid Canterbury, allowing Buller and Wairarapa to leap frog them.

“The final will Wanganui and South Canterbury.”

O’Neill said what he had noted in 2016 was upsets were no longer common. “I think the smaller unions are getting weaker, there is not the evenness of past seasons.

“Even with the loan players the likes of East Coast and West Coast a latterly North Otago are battling to hang on. “If those sides have injuries there is no depth and they start to go down.”

O’Neill wasn’t sold on the rule changes either. A feature of championship has been the lack of penalty goals taken as under the trial rules they are only worth two points, along with the drop goal, while a try has increased to six.

In the 42 games to date there has been an average of eight tries scored a game but only one penalty. South Canterbury have embraced the new rules are yet to take a penalty shot at goal. The top three championship points scorers also make interesting reading. Lash sits on top with 98 points through seven tries, 24 conversion but only three penalties a drop goal. Mid Canterbury first five Jarred Percival in on 92 points, also with seven tries and 24 conversions but only one penalty. Third on the list is Wanganui fullback Te Rangatira Waitokia with 60 points courtesy of 10 tries.10 tries.

( Preview written by STU PIDDINGTON http://www.stuff.co.nz/ )

NEW SCORING SYSTEM
Tries are worth six points, and penalty goals, conversions and drop goals all worth two points. A penalty try will also be worth eight points with no conversion attempt required.

MATCH-UPS
*Note all records below are taken from the inception of the Heartland Championship in 2006.

Full Match ‘Stats’ Breakdown – IE: {16.45 v 20.18} = Average Score since 2006

Thames Valley {20.30 v 35.50} Poverty Bay
Overall Stats Thames Valley			Overall Stats Poverty Bay
Games Played	10		Games Played	10
*Games Won	2		*Games Won	8
*Games Lost	8		*Games Lost	2
Games Drawn	0		Games Drawn	0
*Longest.Winning.Streak	1		*Longest.Winning.Streak	7
*Longest Losing Streak	7		*Longest Losing Streak	1
*Largest Points For	43		*Largest Points For	65
*Largest Points Against	65		*Largest Points Against	43
*Largest.Winning.Margin	9		*Largest.Winning.Margin	62
*Largest Losing Margin	-62		*Largest Losing Margin	-9
*Total Points For	203		*Total Points For	355
*Avg Points For	20.30		*Avg Points For	35.50
*Total Points Against	355		*Total Points Against	203
*Avg Points Against	35.50		*Avg Points Against	20.30
*Total Points Difference	-152		*Total Points Difference	152
*Avg Points Difference	-15.20		*Avg Points Difference	15.20
* = By Thames Valley			* = By Poverty Bay
*Heartland matches played between Thames Valley and Poverty Bay 29-Aug-15 Poverty Bay 37 – 43 Thames Valley 4-Oct-14 Thames Valley 09 – 17 Poverty Bay 31-Aug-13 Poverty Bay 18 – 27 Thames Valley 6-Oct-12 Thames Valley 29 – 56 Poverty Bay 9-Oct-10 Poverty Bay 45 – 18 Thames Valley 26-Sep-09 Thames Valley 22 – 27 Poverty Bay 13-Sep-08 Poverty Bay 43 – 10 Thames Valley 13-Oct-07 Poverty Bay 65 – 03 Thames Valley 29-Sep-07 Poverty Bay 26 – 23 Thames Valley 26-Aug-06 Thames Valley 19 – 21 Poverty Bay
King Country {20.10 v 23.60} Buller
Overall Stats King Country			Overall Stats Buller
Games Played	10		Games Played	10
*Games Won	3		*Games Won	7
*Games Lost	7		*Games Lost	3
Games Drawn	0		Games Drawn	0
*Longest.Winning.Streak	1		*Longest.Winning.Streak	4
*Longest Losing Streak	4		*Longest Losing Streak	1
*Largest Points For	44		*Largest Points For	53
*Largest Points Against	53		*Largest Points Against	44
*Largest.Winning.Margin	39		*Largest.Winning.Margin	24
*Largest Losing Margin	-24		*Largest Losing Margin	-39
*Total Points For	201		*Total Points For	236
*Avg Points For	20.10		*Avg Points For	23.60
*Total Points Against	236		*Total Points Against	201
*Avg Points Against	23.60		*Avg Points Against	20.10
*Total Points Difference	-35		*Total Points Difference	35
*Avg Points Difference	-3.50		*Avg Points Difference	3.50
* = By King Country			* = By Buller
*Heartland matches played between King Country and Buller 17-Oct-15 Buller 06 – 20 King Country 22-Aug-15 Buller 32 – 20 King Country 6-Sep-14 King Country 29 – 53 Buller 15-Sep-12 Buller 31 – 19 King Country 13-Aug-11 King Country 20 – 34 Buller 9-Oct-10 King Country 44 – 05 Buller 3-Oct-09 King Country 17 – 20 Buller 4-Oct-08 Buller 25 – 08 King Country 6-Oct-07 Buller 24 – 13 King Country 23-Sep-06 Buller 06 – 11 King Country
South Canterbury {18.80 v 22.80} Mid Canterbury
Overall Stats South Canterbury			Overall Stats Mid Canterbury
Games Played	10		Games Played	10
*Games Won	3		*Games Won	7
*Games Lost	7		*Games Lost	3
Games Drawn	0		Games Drawn	0
*Longest.Winning.Streak	2		*Longest.Winning.Streak	3
*Longest Losing Streak	3		*Longest Losing Streak	2
*Largest Points For	48		*Largest Points For	34
*Largest Points Against	34		*Largest Points Against	48
*Largest.Winning.Margin	28		*Largest.Winning.Margin	17
*Largest Losing Margin	-17		*Largest Losing Margin	-28
*Total Points For	188		*Total Points For	228
*Avg Points For	18.80		*Avg Points For	22.80
*Total Points Against	228		*Total Points Against	188
*Avg Points Against	22.80		*Avg Points Against	18.80
*Total Points Difference	-40		*Total Points Difference	40
*Avg Points Difference	-4.00		*Avg Points Difference	4.00
* = By South Canterbury			* = By Mid Canterbury
*Heartland matches played between South Canterbury and Mid Canterbury 22-Aug-15 Mid Canterbury 34 – 17 South Canterbury 11-Oct-14 South Canterbury 07 – 24 Mid Canterbury 21-Sep-13 Mid Canterbury 34 – 27 South Canterbury 20-Oct-12 South Canterbury 48 – 20 Mid Canterbury 13-Oct-12 South Canterbury 17 – 15 Mid Canterbury 10-Sep-11 Mid Canterbury 34 – 22 South Canterbury 9-Oct-10 Mid Canterbury 13 – 15 South Canterbury 24-Oct-09 Mid Canterbury 19 – 17 South Canterbury 5-Sep-09 South Canterbury 13 – 16 Mid Canterbury 7-Oct-06 South Canterbury 05 – 19 Mid Canterbury
Wanganui {38.38 v 19.63} Horowhenua Kapiti
Overall Stats Wanganui			Overall Stats Horowhenua Kapiti
Games Played	8		Games Played	8
*Games Won	7		*Games Won	1
*Games Lost	1		*Games Lost	7
Games Drawn	0		Games Drawn	0
*Longest.Winning.Streak	6		*Longest.Winning.Streak	1
*Longest Losing Streak	1		*Longest Losing Streak	6
*Largest Points For	76		*Largest Points For	34
*Largest Points Against	34		*Largest Points Against	76
*Largest.Winning.Margin	68		*Largest.Winning.Margin	11
*Largest Losing Margin	-11		*Largest Losing Margin	-68
*Total Points For	307		*Total Points For	157
*Avg Points For	38.38		*Avg Points For	19.63
*Total Points Against	157		*Total Points Against	307
*Avg Points Against	19.63		*Avg Points Against	38.38
*Total Points Difference	150		*Total Points Difference	-150
*Avg Points Difference	18.75		*Avg Points Difference	-18.75
* = By Wanganui			* = By Thames Valley
*Heartland matches played between Wanganui and Horowhenua Kapiti 22-Aug-15 Horowhenua-Kapiti 34 – 39 Wanganui 30-Aug-14 Wanganui 23 – 34 Horowhenua-Kapiti 5-Oct-13 Horowhenua-Kapiti 24 – 28 Wanganui 1-Sep-12 Wanganui 28 – 10 Horowhenua-Kapiti 10-Sep-11 Wanganui 76 – 08 Horowhenua-Kapiti 4-Sep-10 Horowhenua-Kapiti 16 – 30 Wanganui 12-Sep-09 Wanganui 37 – 28 Horowhenua-Kapiti 2-Sep-06 Wanganui 46 – 03 Horowhenua-Kapiti
West Coast {16.71 v 28.29} North Otago
Overall Stats West Coast			Overall Stats North Otago
Games Played	7		Games Played	7
*Games Won	1		*Games Won	6
*Games Lost	6		*Games Lost	1
Games Drawn	0		Games Drawn	0
*Longest.Winning.Streak	1		*Longest.Winning.Streak	4
*Longest Losing Streak	4		*Longest Losing Streak	1
*Largest Points For	35		*Largest Points For	67
*Largest Points Against	67		*Largest Points Against	35
*Largest.Winning.Margin	18		*Largest.Winning.Margin	64
*Largest Losing Margin	-64		*Largest Losing Margin	-18
*Total Points For	117		*Total Points For	198
*Avg Points For	16.71		*Avg Points For	28.29
*Total Points Against	198		*Total Points Against	117
*Avg Points Against	28.29		*Avg Points Against	16.71
*Total Points Difference	-81		*Total Points Difference	81
*Avg Points Difference	-11.57		*Avg Points Difference	11.57
* = By West Coast			* = By North Otago
*Heartland matches played between West Coast and North Otago 22-Aug-15 North Otago 17 – 16 West Coast 5-Oct-13 West Coast 22 – 32 North Otago 7-Aug-11 North Otago 29 – 19 West Coast 31-Oct-09 West Coast 13 – 21 North Otago 17-Oct-09 West Coast 35 – 17 North Otago 30-Aug-08 West Coast 09 – 15 North Otago 19-Aug-06 North Otago 67 – 03 West Coast
Wairarapa Bush {35 v 17} East Coast
Overall Stats Wairarapa Bush			Overall Stats East Coast
Games Played	7		Games Played	7
*Games Won	6		*Games Won	1
*Games Lost	1		*Games Lost	6
Games Drawn	0		Games Drawn	0
*Longest.Winning.Streak	4		*Longest.Winning.Streak	1
*Longest Losing Streak	1		*Longest Losing Streak	4
*Largest Points For	67		*Largest Points For	33
*Largest Points Against	33		*Largest Points Against	67
*Largest.Winning.Margin	44		*Largest.Winning.Margin	20
*Largest Losing Margin	-20		*Largest Losing Margin	-44
*Total Points For	245		*Total Points For	122
*Avg Points For	35.00		*Avg Points For	17.43
*Total Points Against	122		*Total Points Against	245
*Avg Points Against	17.43		*Avg Points Against	35.00
*Total Points Difference	123		*Total Points Difference	-123
*Avg Points Difference	17.57		*Avg Points Difference	-17.57
* = By Wairarapa Bush			* = By East Coast
*Heartland matches played between Wairarapa Bush and East Coast 3-Oct-15 East Coast 05 – 45 Wairarapa Bush 5-Oct-13 Wairarapa Bush 44 – 31 East Coast 3-Sep-11 East Coast 33 – 13 Wairarapa Bush 18-Sep-10 Wairarapa Bush 33 – 14 East Coast 12-Sep-09 East Coast 10 – 33 Wairarapa Bush 11-Oct-08 Wairarapa Bush 67 – 23 East Coast 2-Sep-06 East Coast 06 – 10 Wairarapa Bush