2016 Heartland Championship
The 2016 Heartland Championship, known as the 2016 Mitre 10 Heartland Championship for sponsorship reasons, was the eleventh edition of the Heartland Championship, a rugby union competition involving the twelve amateur rugby unions in New Zealand. The tournament included a round-robin stage in which the twelve teams played eight games each and then the top four advanced to the Meads Cup semifinals, while fifth to eighth advanced to the Lochore Cup semifinals. In both of these knockout stages the top seeds played at home against the lowest seeds, the second highest seeds played at home against the third highest seeds and the final had the higher seed play at home against the lower seed.
Law changes
The New Zealand Rugby Union decided to implement new law changes for the Heartland Championship for 2016. These law changes involved a new points scoring system:- 8 pts for a penalty try ;
- 6 pts for a try;
- 2 pts for a penalty, conversion or drop goal.
Teams
| Team | Super Rugby partner | Hometown | Home stadium | Capacity | |
| Buller | Crusaders | Westport | Victoria Square | 5,000 | |
| East Coast | Hurricanes | Ruatoria | Whakarua Park | 3,000 | |
| Horowhenua-Kapiti | Hurricanes | Levin | Levin Domain | 6,500 | |
| King Country | Chiefs | Taupo | Owen Delany Park | 20,000 | |
| Mid Canterbury | Crusaders | Ashburton | Ashburton Showgrounds | 5,000 | |
| North Otago | Highlanders | Oamaru | Whitestone Contracting Stadium | 7,000 | |
| Poverty Bay | Hurricanes | Gisborne | More FM Rugby Park | 18,000 | |
| South Canterbury | Crusaders | Timaru | Alpine Energy Stadium | 12,000 | |
| Thames Valley | Chiefs | Paeroa | Paeroa Domain | 3,000 | |
| Wairarapa Bush | Hurricanes | Masterton | Trust House Memorial Park | 10,000 | |
| Wanganui | Hurricanes | Wanganui | Cooks Gardens | 15,000 | |
| West Coast | Crusaders | Greymouth | Rugby Park | 6,000 |
Ranfurly Shield challenges
Three Heartland Championship teams, Thames Valley, King Country and Wanganui challenged Waikato for the coveted Ranfurly Shield. Thames Valley last challenged for the Ranfurly Shield in 2014 against Counties Manukau, whereas both King Country and Wanganui last challenged for it in 2012 against Taranaki.The first challenge came from Thames Valley in June, when the Swamp Foxes succumbed 83–13 to Waikato. In July the holders retained their Shield in a 55-to-nothing victory against King Country. The last Heartland Championship challenge for 2016 saw Waikato defeat Wanganui 32–12 in Cambridge.
Standings
| Meads Cup qualification | |
| Lochore Cup qualification |
In the case of a two-team tie on points the ranking of teams is decided by:
- the winner of the round robin match between the two provinces; then
- highest point difference; then
- most tries scored; then
- a coin toss.
- the province with the most wins against other tied provinces in the Round Robin; then
- if two teams remain tied they shall be ranked according to the criteria listed above, but if more than two teams remain tied, they shall be ranked according to criteria to only.
Regular season
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Finals
Semifinals
;Meads Cup;Lochore Cup
Finals
;Meads Cup;Lochore Cup