Whanganui rugby: Mid Canterbury top Heartland table as semifinalists confirmed

Brought to you by Whanganui Rugby

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

On an impossibly tight top-eight points table, Whanganui had previously sat in second place after both South Canterbury and Wairarapa Bush suffered away losses in round seven, but both were back in form at home to join Thames Valley in climbing the ladder.

Just to emphasise how there was nothing between the teams in this competition, Wairarapa Bush and seventh-placed Poverty Bay finished deadlocked 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 on the table instead of their visitors, who stayed still.

South Canterbury shook off two consecutive losses by beating Horowhenua-Kāpiti 31-21 in Timaru to finish 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 as long as they beat Thames Valley on Saturday, provided then third-placed North Otago either lost or didn’t get maximum points against Mid Canterbury.

That was the 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 North Otago to sixth place behind Whanganui in the other home Lochore Cup semifinal spot.

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-Kāpiti 21; 9. King Country 15; 10. West Coast 9; 11. Buller 7; 12. East Coast 1.

Happenings

HURRICANES: Whanganui Collegiate First XV players Johnathan Solomona and Ben Bullock tasted success with the Hurricanes Under-18s after a big 47-12 win over the Crusaders U18s in Christchurch on Friday. Centre Solomona played the first half for the “Shields XV” while lock Bullock played the second half for the “Proctor XV”.

NZ UNDER 20: Expat Whanganui players Anahera Hamahona and Keira Mete-Renata have been named among 50 players to attend the New Zealand Under-20s development camp in Wellington, October 17-21. Flanker Hamahona and second five-eighths Mete-Renata were in the Manawatū Cyclones who made the semifinals of the Farah Palmer Cup Premiership, beaten 39-22 by finalists Canterbury.

POMEROY: Whanganui High School and Marist Clovers player Jasmine Pomeroy was chosen for the New Zealand Māori Under-18 Ngā Mareikura squad who played the New Zealand Barbarians U18s in Pukekohe on Friday. Pomeroy, who is of Ngā Rauru and Te Āti Haunui-A-Pāpārangi descent, was on the bench for her team, who won 24-22.