Horowhenua-Kapiti Heartland rugby team will square up against last season's Lochore Cup winners North Otago in the first match of the season, following confirmation of the 2017 Mitre 10 Heartland Championship draw by New Zealand Rugby last week.
The venue for the August 26 match is still to be confirmed but HK Heartland coach Chris Wilton said the team would be looking forward to a re-match with North Otago, which denied HK a semifinal place in the Lochore Cup.
"There's a lot of desire to start the season well and beat North Otago at home."
Wilton said their vision is to win the Meads Cup.
"We talk about visions and goals. We need our players to understand the difference between the vision and the goals which are step by step, and the first goal is to beat North Otago."
Training will start in earnest after club rugby finishes early August and the new Heartland squad is selected. Wilton said they are always looking for new players.
"Having players with Heartland experience is invaluable for our union but we're also looking for new blood all the time. It's about finding that really good balance between experience and new, exciting players."
HK's performance last season had been disappointing for the squad and Wilton said he already had new strategies in mind.
"You know the old saying, if you want a different result, you have to do things differently."
Provincial rugby was first played in New Zealand more than 140 years ago.
The Lochore and Meads Cup semifinals are played on October 21 with the finals for both played on October 28.