Taranaki will be looking to stave off relegation when they host a Wellington side gunning for a semi-final berth on Friday the 12th of October.
Wellington will be looking to secure a semi-final berth when they take on relegation-threatened Taranaki. The visitors have enjoyed a solid season in the Premiership but it will count for little if they lose this one and fail to make it to the semi-finals.
Taranaki v Wellington
Friday 12 November
Yarrow Stadium
08:35
To Win (80 Mins)
Taranaki 33/10
Draw 22/1
Wellington 2/9
Taranaki
The hosts need to pick up a win here and hope that Counties Manukau go down to Canterbury if they are to avoid the drop. The second bit of this scenario may well play out but Taranaki are going to have a tough time beating a Wellington side who need to bag the full points haul if they are to claim the final Championship semi-final berth.
The hosts won’t take a lot of encouragement from their last outing as they were beaten 41-7 by Canterbury. The loss was their seventh of the season and saw their points differential drop to -108.
Wellington
The visitors really have it all to play for here as they sit level on points with fifth-place North Harbour. There is some relief for Wellington, however, as North Harbour face a tricky final game away to an Auckland side who will be gunning for top spot on the Premiership log.
Wellington head into Friday’s encounter after back of back-to-back defeats, with the first loss seeing them go down 22-28 to Tasman and the second seeing them lose 24-29 to Auckland. They will need to arrest that form here otherwise they may well find their once-promising campaign come to a close this weekend.
Verdict: Wellington 2/9
Wellington have a very experienced squad who know how to operate under pressure. I can see them bagging the win here and advancing to the semi-finals.
