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 |