The 2006 Heartland Championship is 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.

At the end of Round 1, the top three teams from each pool contested the Meads Cup, and the bottom three from each pool contested the Lochore Cup. 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, 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

Pos. Team Pld W D L For Against +/- Pts
1 Wairarapa.Bush 5 5 0 0 111 74 +37 21
2 North Otago 5 4 0 1 200 74 +126 20
3 Mid.Canterbury 5 2 0 3 92 98 -6 10
4 Buller 5 2 0 3 93 125 -32 9
5 East Coast 5 1 0 4 64 125 -61 6
6 West Coast 5 1 0 4 81 145 -64 6

Pool B

Pos. Team Pld W D L For Against +/- Pts
1 Wanganui 5 4 1 0 186 79 +107 21
2 South.Canterbury 5 3 0 2 77 76 +1 14
3 Horo-Kapiti 5 2 1 2 98 133 -35 12
4 Poverty Bay 5 2 0 3 123 140 -17 10
5 Thames Valley 5 2 0 3 85 126 -41 10
6 King Country 5 0 2 3 77 92 -15 6

Fixtures and Results

Week 1

19.August East.Coast 07–25 Mid.Canterbury Ruatoria
19.August Wairarapa.Bush 31–13 Buller Masterton
19.August North.Otago 67–03 West.Coast Oamaru
19.August Wanganui 65–18 Thames.Valley Wanganui
19.August Horo-Kapiti 23–23 King.Country Levin
19.August Poverty Bay 22–30 Sth.Canterbury Gisborne

Week 2

26.August Thames.Valley 19–21 Poverty.Bay Paeroa
26.August Horo-Kapiti 20–12 Sth.Canterbury Levin
26.August King.Country 23–23 Wanganui Te Kuiti
26.August Mid.Canterbury 16–28 North.Otago Ashburton
26.August Buller 28–18 East.Coast Westport
26.August Wairarapa.Bush 31–18 West.Coast Masterton

Week 3

2.September East.Coast 06–10 Wairarapa.Bush Ruatoria
2.September West.Coast 24–09 Mid.Canterbury Greymouth
2.September North.Otago 37–24 Buller Oamaru
2.September Sth.Canterbury 16–13 Thames.Valley Timaru
2.September Wanganui 46–03 Horo-Kapiti Wanganui
2.September Poverty.Bay 19–18 King.Country Gisborne

Week 4

9.September Horo-Kapiti 32–31 Poverty.Bay Levin
9.September King.Country 03–13 Thames.Valley Taupo
9.September Wanganui 11–05 Sth.Canterbury Wanganui
9.September Wairarapa.Bush 19–18 North.Otago Masterton
9.September Buller 19–23 Mid.Canterbury Westport
9.September East.Coast 22–20 West.Coast Ruatoria

Week 5

Pool Date Home team Score Away team Score
A 16.September Mid.Canterbury 19 Wairarapa.Bush 20
A 16.September North.Otago 50 East.Coast 12
A 16.September West.Coast 16 Buller 17
B 16.September Sth.Canterbury 14 King.Country 10
B 16.September Thames.Valley 22 Horo-Kapiti 21
B 16.September Poverty.Bay 30 Wanganui 41

Round 2

Standings

Meads Cup Pool

Pos Name Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1 Wanganui 8 7 1 0 123 67 +56 35
2 Wairarapa.Bush 8 7 0 1 100 56 +44 31
3 North.Otago 8 6 0 2 132 80 +52 31
4 Mid.Canterbury 8 4 0 4 63 80 -17 19
5 Sth.Canterbury 8 3 0 5 28 102 -74 14
6 Horo-Kapiti 8 2 1 5 65 126 -61 13

Lochore Cup Pool

Pos Name Pld W D L F A +/- Pts
1 Poverty.Bay 8 5 0 3 120 54 +66 24
2 Thames.Valley 8 4 0 4 107 51 +56 21
3 King.Country 8 3 2 3 81 40 +41 20
4 Buller 8 3 0 5 46 57 -11 14
5 East.Coast 8 1 0 7 44 130 -86 6
6 West.Coast 8 1 0 7 55 121 -66 6

Fixtures and Results

Week 6

Pool Date Home team Score Away team Score
MC 23.September Wanganui 46 Mid.Canterbury 08
MC 23.September Wairarapa.Bush 31 Horo-Kapiti 11
MC 23.September North.Otago 36 Sth.Canterbury 06
LC 23.September Thames.Valley 51 West.Coast 16
LC 23.September Poverty.Bay 33 East.Coast 15
LC 23.September Buller 06 King.Country 11

Week 7

Pool Date Home team Score Away team Score
MC 30.September Mid.Canterbury 36 Horo-Kapiti 29
MC 30.September North.Otago 37 Wanganui 49
MC 30.September Wairarapa.Bush 47 Sth.Canterbury 17
LC 30.September East.Coast 17 Thames.Valley 40
LC 30.September Buller 22 Poverty.Bay 30
MC 30.September West.Coast 22 King.Country 32

Week 8

Pool Date Home team Score Away team Score
MC 7.October Wanganui 28 Wairarapa.Bush 22
MC 7.October Horo-Kapiti 25 North.Otago 59
MC 7.October Sth.Canterbury 05 Mid.Canterbury 19
LC 7.October Thames.Valley 16 Buller 18
LC 7.October Poverty.Bay 57 West.Coast 17
LC 7.October King.Country 38 East.Coast 12

Semifinals

Fixtures and Results

Meads Cup

Date Home team Score Away team Score
14.October Wanganui 30 Mid.Canterbury 17
14 October Wairarapa.Bush 25 North.Otago 19

Lochore Cup

Date Home team Score Away team Score
14 October Poverty.Bay 36 Buller 10
14.October Thames.Valley 15 King.Country 17

Finals

Fixtures and Results

Meads Cup Final

Date Home team Score Away team Score
21.October Wanganui 14 Wairarapa.Bush 16

Lochore Cup Final

Date Home team Score Away team Score
21.October Poverty.Bay 46 King.Country 34