Pink Batts Heartland Championship 2015 draw released

Two night games will feature in this year’s Pink Batts Heartland Championship, which kicks off on Saturday 22 August.

New Zealand Rugby has today released the finalised draw, which promises another rousing season of heartland provincial rugby.

Wairarapa Bush will test their new lights and new artificial turf at Trust House Memorial Park in Masterton in Week 2, when they host 2014 Lochore Cup finalists North Otago.

Also playing under new lights at Taupo’s Owen Delany Park will be King Country as they take on East Coast in the final round of pool play in Week 8.

Both night games are scheduled for 7:30pm kick off times.

Meads Cup champions Mid Canterbury start their new campaign at home in Ashburton taking on neighbouring rivals South Canterbury, while Lochore Cup champions Wanganui head south to Levin to face Horowhenua Kapiti in their 2015 season opener.

In other Week 1 action, last year’s Meads Cup finalists Buller host King Country in Westport, neighbours East Coast and Poverty Bay square off at Whakarua Park in Ruatoria, North Otago take on the West Coast in Oamaru and Thames Valley and the Wairarapa Bush brush off their cobwebs in Paeroa.

The eight-week competition will be followed by semifinals on 17 October, with the Meads Cup and Lochore Cup champions decided on 24 and 25 October respectively.

Click here to view the full Pink Batts Heartland Championship 2015 draw.