Darry Worthington previews the second round of the Bunnings NPC.
Friday 11 August
Counties 26/10 | Draw 25/1 | Hawkes Bay 3/10
Counties Manukau and Hawke’s Bay open up proceedings in Friday’s solitary game.
The two sides experienced contrasting fortunes in Round 1 with Hawkes Bay beating North Harbour 23-21 courtesy of a 73rd minute Lincoln Mcclutchie penalty, while Countes went down 37-29 to Taranaki. Counties showed a lot of fighting spirit in that defeat scoring two late tries. They were unable to take anything from the game, however, as they missed out on a losing bonus point by just a solitary point.
I’m going with the underdogs here. They looked rather good at times last week and if they can string 80-minutes together they may just walk away with the points.
Verdict: Counties
Saturday 12 August
Bay of Plenty 86/100 | Draw 22/1 | Waikato 96/100
Over to Saturday’s opener which will see Bay of Plenty take on Waikato in Tauranga.
The hosts head into this one off the back of a rather disappointing defeat as they went down 30-32 to big guns Auckland in a hotly contested affair. Having taken a 17-3 lead into the break and then having extended that to a 24-3 lead just after half-time, Bay looked good for the win. They would then get loose on defence shipping a handful of tries – with the last coming in injury time – that saw them go down 30-32.
Waikato had a better start than their opponents for this weekend as they beat minnows Southland 21-29. It was far from a polished performance against the stags but Waikato will certainly take the opening day victory.
If they can sort out their defensive issues, then the hosts should take this one.
Verdict: Bay of Plenty
Otago 9/4 | Draw 25/1 | Wellington 36/100
Wellington will be looking to make it two wins from two starts when they take on Otago at Forsyth Barr in Saturday’s second fixture.
The visitors got their campaign off to a solid old start beating Manawatu 6-22. While the Lions were far from flash with ball-in-hand during their opener, there were mitigating circumstances with the pitch being extremely greasy. They should be a lot better on attack this weekend especially with a slick deck and a week of competitive rugby under their belts.
Otago had a rather poor start to their 2023 season going down 27-15 to Tasman. After a dour first half, Tasman moved through the gears despite Otago’s best efforts to slow them down. Otago were unable to and Tasman ended up winning the game comfortably.
They were far from vintage last weekend but I expect a far more polished performance from Wellington’s finest this time around.
Verdict: Wellington
Tasman 64/100 | Draw 25/1 | Auckland 5/4
The pick of this weekend’s action is next up with two of the tournament favorites, Tasman and Auckland, squaring off in Canterbury.
The visitors had a very slow start to their opener against Bay of Plenty but managed to turn things around in the second half with a handful of tries and a dramatic late conversion seeing them to a two-point win over a solid Bay of Plenty outfit.
Tasman had an easier time of it in Round 1 as they kept Otago at arm’s length throughout their fixture and eventually claimed a 12-point victory.
Both these teams are stacked with attacking talent and with weather conditions looking good, we may well see a lot of pints in this one. My money is on Tasman coming out on top in a high-scoring thriller.
Verdict: Tasman
Southland v Northland
Odds TBA*
It’s south island v north island next up with the Southland Stags taking on Taniwha at Rugby Park.
The two sides suffered defeats in Round 1 with Southland going down 21-29 o Waikato, while Northland went down 11-43 to Canterbury. Southland will be the more pleased side following their defeat as they showed a lot of promise against a solid Waikato outfit. Northland, on the other hand, will have taken very little out of a heavy defeat to what in fairness was a stacked Canterbury outfit.
With a bit of rain forecast for this one and both sides not renowned for their attacking prowess, I reckon this one will be a rathe low-scoring affair. My money is on Southland grinding out a narrow win here.
Verdict: Southland
Sunday 13 August
North Harbour 26/10 | Draw 22/1 | Canterbury 3/10
North Harbour will be looking to stop what looks to be a rampant Canterbury outfit when the two sides square off at Onewa Domain this Saturday.
The hosts suffered a heartbreaking narrow defeat to Hawke’s Bay last weekend with a late penalty seeing them go down 23-21. And while they’ll be somewhat pleased having clamed a losing bonus point from the fixture, they will know that the game was there’s and that they threw away three points.
While North Harbour could only take a point from their game, Canterbury managed to grab the full five-point haul claiming a 11-43 victory over Northland. I personally expected a slower start to the campaign from the ‘Cantabs but their vastly talented side was firing on all cylinders from the offset.
I would be very nervous if I was part of the North Harbour coaching staff. Canterbury looked ruthless last weekend and they won’t take their foot off the pedal this weekend.
Verdict: Canterbury (-)
Manawatu v Taranaki
Odds TBA*
Log-leaders Taranaki will play their third game in the space of nine days when they take on Manawatu in the final weekend fixture.
The visitors have enjoyed a great start to their season beating Counties 37-29 last Friday and following that up with a 13-28 win over Northland in the midweek fixture. They also managed to rest a couple of key players for that midweek game so fatigue shouldn’t be a real issue for them.
While their opponents have gone two from two, Manawatu are yet to win a game going down 6-22 to Wellington in their opener. They managed t nullify their opponents attack in the first stanza of the fixture but poor discipline cost them in the second half and allowed Wellington to run away with the game.
I’m on the visitors going three from three here. While they haven’t blown any teams away yet, they have looked a solid outfit who know how to manage a fixture.
Verdict: Taranaki
