Heartland Championship: New Zealand Rugby slaps West Coast with $5000 fine over player eligibility breach

West Coast huddle during their 2024 Heartland Championship Lochore Cup final against King Country. Photo / Photosport

A South Island Heartland Championship rugby union has been sanctioned by New Zealand Rugby for a breach of player eligibility rules – its third offence in 15 years.

New Zealand Rugby (NZR) yesterday confirmed West Coast Rugby Union (WCRU) breached competition regulations following an investigation into player eligibility.

The investigation found that one player representing the union in the Heartland Championship did not meet the minimum requirement of club games played – and the statutory declaration submitted ahead of the season was found to be inaccurate.

“The Heartland Championship is an important part of grassroots rugby in New Zealand. It’s vital that the teams in this competition are representative of the communities they represent,” NZR’s general manager of community rugby Steve Lancaster said.

He said based on information available to NZR, the importance of eligibility rules to the integrity of the competition, and previous breaches by the union, NZR had imposed a financial penalty of $5000 and a 15 competition point sanction for the 2025 Heartland Championship.

“The union has accepted this.”

Lancaster told the Herald that players must play a minimum of four games for a club affiliated with the Heartland Championship union they intend to represent to be eligible.

“I won’t be commenting on the specifics of this situation, to protect the player’s privacy as much as possible, but I will say the number of club games the person played was taken into consideration in determining the points deduction.

“When notified, West Coast RU admitted to this breach and the player was stood down while a formal investigation was undertaken.”

He said banning the union for the remainder of the season was not considered by NZR.

WCRU CEO Josh Costello told the Herald it was “heartbreaking” that poor decisions off the field would impact the final outcome for the union.

“Player eligibility regulations are set in place to ensure a fair competition, and we have breached this. We have fully accepted the outcome of this investigation and now we want to move forward. Right now, our focus is on the last three games of the season.”

Through the opening five rounds of the Heartland Championship, West Coast had won three games and notched up 17 competition points to sit in fourth place on the ladder.

With the 15-point sanction imposed, WCRU would fall to 10th on the ladder – two spots off last place.

“I will be arranging for a review to be completed so I can understand how this happened, and we can take further action, if needed, so this doesn’t happen again,” Costello said.

“I can’t speak to the previous instances where our union has breached the regulations, but I’m committed to making sure we make the changes needed to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

It is the union’s third player eligibility breach in 15 years.

In 2018, WCRU fielded an ineligible player through the opening four rounds of the Heartland Championship. The union was initially fined $4000 by NZR, but was instead stripped of six competition points following an NZR appeal council decision.

WCRU was also fined $2500 and stripped of five competition points in 2010 after knowingly fielding an ineligible player under another player’s name.

“I think we have a great team of players. They have been playing well, and we were in a great position on the table. They will be disappointed, but I am sure they will do their best to get over the line for the last few weeks of the regular season,” Costello said.

Benjamin Plummer is an Auckland-based reporter for the New Zealand Herald who covers sport and breaking news. He has worked for the Herald since 2022.