Three teams were all able to leapfrog Steelform Whanganui into the coveted Meads Cup semifinal spots after a dramatic final round robin in the 2025 Bunnings Warehouse Heartland Championship on Saturday.

On an impossibly tight Top 8 points table, Whanganui had previously claimed second place because both South Canterbury and Wairarapa Bush suffered losses in Round 7, but both were back in form at home to join Thames Valley in climbing up the ladder.

Just to emphasise how much there was nothing between teams in the competition, Wairarapa Bush and seventh placed-Poverty Bay finished deadlocked 24-24 at fulltime in Masterton, and when the home team scored five minutes into extra time for the 29-24 win, they got to finish in fourth place instead of their visitors, who stayed still on the table.

South Canterbury shook off two consecutive losses by beating the Bill Osborne taonga holders Horowhenua-Kapiti 31-21 at home in Timaru to finish in second, which as the last Heartland match of the round to be completed was also when the axe officially fell on Whanganui’s Meads Cup semifinal hopes.

Whanganui had been aware they did not necessarily need to also get a bonus point just so long as they beat Thames Valley on Saturday, provided then-third place North Otago either lost or didn’t get maximum points either against Mid Canterbury.

That was only part of the weekend that went right, as undefeated Mid Canterbury now head into the playoffs with complete confidence after a big 47-7 win in Ashburton, which consigned their Hanan Shield challengers North Otago to sixth place behind Whanganui in the other home Lochore Cup semifinal spot.

In the games between the also-rans, West Coast ended their controversial season on a high, defending the Rundle Cup against neighbours Buller 34-11 in Westport, while 2024 Lochore Cup champions King Country will look back on a season that might have been after beating wooden-spooners Ngāti Porou East Coast 73-14 in Ruatoria.

Final Placings:

1. Mid Canterbury 40 points; 2. South Canterbury 29*; 3. Thames Valley 29: 4. Wairarapa Bush 28; 5. Whanganui 26*; 6. North Otago 26; 7. Poverty Bay 25; 8. Horowhenua-Kapiti 21; 9. King Country 15; 10. West Coast 9; 11. Buller 7; 12. East Coast 1.

*South Canterbury finish ahead of Thames Valley and Whanganui finish ahead of North Otago by virtue of winning the game between the teams played during the Round Robin.

Meads Cup Semifinals:

Mid Canterbury vs Wairarapa Bush, Ashburton; South Canterbury vs Thames Valley, Timaru.

Lochore Cup Semifinals:

Whanganui vs Horowhenua Kapiti, Cooks Gardens; North Otago vs Poverty Bay, Oamaru.
 

By Jared Smith