Heartland top six unchanged

The order may have changed but the same three teams who held the top spots in each of the Heartland Championship rugby pools last weekend have held on to qualify for the top six Meads Cup.

After the final round of pool matches on Saturday, Wairarapa Bush, with an unblemished record, North Otago and Mid Canterbury finished on top of pool A and Wanganui, South Canterbury and Horowhenua Kapiti topped pool B.

Horowhenua, who were second to Wanganui last week, fell to third place behind South Canterbury after a last-minute penalty from Brendan Clark saw them lose 21-22 to Thames Valley.

Buller, West Coast and East Coast from pool A and Thames Valley, Poverty Bay and King Country from pool B will go into the Lochore Cup.

Current points will carry over into the second phase of matches and, in both competitions, teams will play only against the three teams they had not met in the pool rounds.

The top four in each will qualify for their respective semifinals.

Like Wairarapa Bush, Wanganui were also unbeaten in pool play but had a draw. They both had 21 points each and Wanganui are ranked No 1 in the Meads Cup through superior scoring differential.

The top six in order: Wanganui (21 points, pool B), Wairarapa Bush (21, A), North Otago (20, A), South Canterbury (14, B) Horowhenua Kapiti (12, B) and Mid Canterbury (10, A).

The bottom six: Thames Valley (10, B), Poverty Bay (9, B), Buller (9, A), King Country (6, B), West Coast (6, A), East Coast 6 A).

- NZPA