You are here
Home > Heartland Championship > Finals – The essential guide to Finals rugby

Finals – The essential guide to Finals rugby

Our Finals
The essential guide to Finals rugby

After 126 matches across the Mitre 10 Cup and Mitre 10 Heartland Championship just four games remain as the 2018 national provincial champions are set to be crowned this weekend.

There are four trophies up for grabs this weekend. Here’s an easy guide to the Finals and everything you need to know.

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND – OCTOBER 24: Jona Nareki of Otago (L), Luke Jacobson of Waikato, T J Faiane of Auckland and Mitchell Drummond of Canterbury pose with the trophies during the Mitre 10 Cup Finals Captains’ Media Call at Eden Park on October 24, 2018 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Dave Rowland/Getty Images)

Auckland v Canterbury
Mitre 10 Cup Premiership Final
Eden Park, Auckland, Saturday 27 October, kickoff 4:05pm

  • FREE entry!! That’s right – Auckland Rugby and Eden Park are opening the gates free of charge for all fans!
  • The winners will claim ultimate bragging rights heading into the summer.
  • Auckland are searching for their first title since 2007 and bring good form into this year’s decider.
  • Finishing as top qualifier in the Premiership, Auckland beat Canterbury in Christchurch 34-29 in round robin.
  • The teams have met 101 times and are evenly poised with 48 wins each and five draws across all encounters.
  • Canterbury are familiar with Finals footy, having won nine of the last 10 Finals – the 10th being the year they did not make the finals.
  • The Premiership trophy is the original NPC Rugby Cup from 1976, refurbished and returned as the major prize in 2016.
  • Auckland have never lost a final it has hosted and Canterbury has never lost one on the road so something will change on Saturday.
  • The anthem singers are Le ART who came to New Zealand internet fame in July when their version of the New Zealand anthem captured the attention of the nation in the wake of the Denver League Test anthem fail.
  • New Zealand band The Feelers are set to perform at Eden Park prematch and at halftime.
PREMIERSHIP FINAL
AUCKLAND v CANTERBURY
Saturday 28 October 2017, 7.35pm at AMI Stadium, Christchurch
Played: 101, 1883-2018 | Auckland wins: 48 | Canterbury wins: 48 |
Last match: Auckland 34 Canterbury 29 in Addington 16.09.2018 (M10C)
Last Canterbury win: Canterbury 32 Auckland 27 in Auckland 13.10.2017 (M10C)
Biggest Auckland score: 47 in Auckland 12.09.1992 (NPC, RS) 
Biggest Canterbury score:  56 in Addington 19.10.2013 (ITMC, PSF)
Biggest differential: Canterbury by 40 (43-3) in Addington 20.08.16 (M10C)

Waikato v Otago
Mitre 10 Cup Championship Final
FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton, Friday 26 October, kickoff 7.35pm

  • It’s do or die – the winner earning promotion into next year’s Premiership while the winner will be back with Taranaki who have been relegated for next year’s season.
  • Waikato claimed the Ranfurly Shield from Taranaki early in the season only for Otago to walk away with it when the teams met in the last match of the regular season. The Shield is safe with Otago for the summer.
  • Waikato last won in 2006 while for Otago’s drought stretches back to 1998.
  • These teams met in the first NPC Division One final, in 1992, which Waikato won 40-5.
  • Waikato’s Sevu Reece is the competition’s leading try scorer with 12 tries, four of which he scored in last weekend’s semifinal. Reece also leads the stats for defenders beaten, clean breaks and offloads.
  • Te Awamutu schoolgirl Haley Cole will sing the national anthem.
CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL
WAIKATO v OTAGO
Friday 27 October 2016, 7.35pm at FMG Stadium Waikato, Hamilton
Played: 53, 1935-2018 | Waikato wins: 29 | Otago wins: 23 | Draws: 1
Last match: Otago 23 Waikato 19 in Hamilton 13.10.2018 (RS, M10C)
Last Waikato win: Waikato 25 Otago 10 in Hamilton 13.08.2011 (ITMC)
Biggest Waikato score: 47 in Hamilton 28.03.1992
Biggest Otago score: 49 in Dunedin 25.10.1998 (NPC)
Biggest differential: Waikato by 35 (40-5) in Hamilton 4.10.1992 (NPC)

 


TIE BREAKER RULES

In the event that teams are tied at the end of a semifinal or final match, the winner will be determined by the following criteria, which shall be applied in the order in which they appear until a result is determined:

a. The winner following a further ten (10) minutes of extra time each way.
b. The team scoring the most tries in the match (including extra time).
c. The winner of the Round Robin match played that year between the two teams.
d. The team having the higher points difference at the end of the Round Robin.
e. The team that scored the most tries in the Round Robin.
f. The team that scored the most points in the Round Robin.
g. The team with the higher Finals Ranking.


South Canterbury v Thames Valley
Mitre 10 Heartland Championship – Meads Cup
Alpine Energy Stadium, Timaru, Saturday 27 October, kickoff 1.05pm

  • The Meads Cup is set to have a new winner in 2018 with South Canterbury and Thames Valley having never claimed it before.
  • Thames Valley will appear in their first final since 1995 which ends the longest drought by any team in domestic play offs, and have advanced by upsetting the defending champions, Wanganui in the semifinals.
  • When the team’s met in the regular season, South Canterbury won 33-24.
  • South Canterbury have one previous appearance in the Meads Cup Final, a losing effort to Wanganui in 2015. They previously won the Lochore Cup in 2013.
  • Thames Valley’s impressive season has seen four players called into the New Zealand Heartland XV, the most representation of any province alongside Wanganui.
MEADS CUP FINAL
SOUTH CANTERBURY v THAMES VALLEY
Saturday 27 October 2018, 1.05pm at Alpine Energy Stadium, Timaru
Played: 20, 1961-2018 | South Canterbury: 15 | Thames Valley wins: 5
Last match: South Canterbury 33 Thames Valley 24 in Timaru 13.10.2018 (HC)
Last Thames Valley win: Thames Valley 21 South Canterbury 17 in Paeroa 24.08.2013 (HC)
Biggest South Canterbury score: 62 in Paeroa 24.09.2016 (HC)
Biggest Thames Valley score:  40 in Timaru 24.09.2005 (NPC)
Biggest differential: South Canterbury by 46 (62-16) in Paeroa 24.09.2016 (HC)

Horowhenua Kapiti v Wairarapa Bush
Mitre 10 Heartland Championship – Lochore Cup
Levin Domain, Levin, Sunday 28 October, kickoff 2.35pm

  • Neighbours Horowhenua Kapiti and Wairarapa Bush will battle it out for the Lochore Cup.
  • Pride will be on the line for Wairarapa Bush, competing for the trophy named after their most famous son, Sir Brian Lochore.
  • The teams have met once previously in a Final, with the honours going to Wairarapa Bush in 2005.
  • The result in regular season this year when these teams met saw Horowhenua Kapiti take the spoils 37-21.
  • For those who believe in good omens, Horowhenua Kapiti’s last title was in the Union’s Centenary year, 1993, this season they have celebrated their 125th jubilee.
LOCHORE CUP FINAL
HOROWHENUA KAPITI v WAIRARAPA BUSH
Sunday 28 October 2018, 2.35pm at Levin Domain, Levin
Played: 55, 1971-2018 | Horowhenua Kapiti wins: 19 | Wairarapa Bush wins: 34 | Draws: 1
Last match: Horowhenua Kapiti 37 Wairarapa Bush 21 in Levin 22.09.2018 (HC)
Last Wairarapa Bush win: Wairarapa Bush 32 Horowhenua Kapiti 22 in Wellington 3.09.2016 (HC)
Biggest Horowhenua Kapiti score: 38 in Wellington 1.10.2017 (HC)
Biggest Wairarapa Bush score: 82 in Masterton 31.05.1987
Biggest differential: Wairarapa Bush by 75 (82-7) in Masterton 31.05.1987

 

Similar Articles

Top
RUGBY HEARTLAND