2026 Heartland Championship

The 2026 Heartland Championship, is the 20th edition of the Heartland Championship, a rugby union competition involving the twelve amateur provincial unions in New Zealand.

The tournament begins with a round-robin stage in which the twelve teams played eight games each, from which the top four advance to the Meads Cup, while fifth to eighth best teams advance to the Lochore Cup. The four teams in each respective Cup play "knock out" semi-finals to determine the finalists. The top seeds in each (the first and fifth best teams in the regular season) play at home against the lowest seeds (fourth and eighth) while the second highest seeds (second and sixth best) play at home against the third highest seeds (third and seventh). The final of each cup features the higher seed playing at home against the lower seed.

Teams

The 2026 Heartland Championship comprises the following teams: Team Super Rugby partner Home ground(s)BullerCrusadersWestportHorowhenua-KapitiHurricanesLevinKing CountryChiefsTaupō, Taumarunui, Te KūitiMid CanterburyCrusadersAshburtonNgati Porou East CoastChiefsRuatoriaNorth OtagoHighlandersOamaruPoverty BayHurricanesGisborneSouth CanterburyCrusadersTimaruThames ValleyChiefsCoromandel, Paeroa, Te Aroha, Thames, WaihiWairarapa BushHurricanesMasterton West CoastCrusadersGreymouth WhanganuiHurricanesWhanganui

Standings

Regular season

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Round 8

H – Hanan Shield fixture T – Bill Osborne Taonga fixture

Finals

In the Meads Cup the top placegetter plays at their home ground against the fourth team while the second placed team plays at home against the third. In the Lochore Cup the fifth placegetter plays at their home ground against the eighth team while the sixth placed team plays at home against the seventh. The winning semi-finalists then meet in the respective finals for each Cup, played at the home-ground of the team ranked highest in the regular season.

Bill Osborne Taonga

Since 2022 Heartland teams have played for challenge trophy, named after 16-test All Black Bill Osborne and based on similar rules to the Ranfurly Shield played for by National Provincial Championship teams.

Horowhenua-Kapiti started the 2026 season as the holder of the Bill Osborne Taonga having secured it by beating King Country 46-36 in September 2025 and subsequently defending it against West Coast and Wairarapa Bush

2026 Challenges

King Country won the Taonga off Horowhenua-Kapiti in the 1st Round with a 45-41 win at Levin.

King Country then defended it against:

Thames Valley 48-29 South Canterbury 55-22 East Coast 52-10.

Ian Kirkpatrick Medal

Since 2022, at the end of each season a Heartland Championship Player of the Year is chosen and awarded this medal named after former All Blacks captain Ian Kirkpatrick.

The previous season's Ian Kirkpatrick Medal winner was Keanu Taumata the Poverty Bay flanker and co-captain. The other finalists were Declan McCormack (Mid Canterbury) and Sam Walton-Sexton (Wairarapa Bush).

2026 Heartland Championship

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