Bay of Plenty vs Hawke's Bay Betting Tips - Hawkes Bay set for NPC win at Bay of Plenty

Ralph Staniforth

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Last updated: Thu 17 Sep 2026 02:05

Ralph Staniforth 3 hours ago

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Hawke's Bay leads NPC table, winning 6 of 7 matches.
Bay of Plenty struggles, losing 4 of last 7 and languishing in 10th place.
Hawke's Bay favored to win due to superior form and consistency.

Hawke's Bay to come out on top against Bay of Plenty in NPC clash(Getty Images)

Hawke's Bay eventually lost their last game after winning all season, but should bounce back against a Bay of Plenty side struggling to get any momentum.

Key Stats - Bay of Plenty Inconsistency
Narrow Lead for The Bay
Bay of Plenty Struggling to get any momentum
Bay of Plenty Starting Lineup
Hawke's Bay Finally Lost
Hawke's Bay Starting Lineup

Key Stats - Bay of Plenty Inconsistency

Bay of Plenty has lost 4 of their last 7 matches.
Bay of Plenty lost 43-12 to the Southland Stags in their previous match.
Hawke's Bay has won 6 of their last 7 matches.
Hawke's Bay lost 31-24 to North Harbour in their previous match.
Hawke's Bay has won 2 of the last 5 matches against the Bay of Plenty.

Narrow Lead for The Bay

It is 3-2 in favour of Bay of Plenty in thier last five games against Hawkes Bay.

Bay of Plenty Struggling to get any momentum

Bay of Plenty were defeated by the Southland Stags 43-12 in Round 7 of the NPC at Rugby Park Stadium in Invercargill, after trailing 17-12 at the break.

Bay of Plenty scored first with a drive to the line from Seuseu Naitoa Ah Kuoi, converted by Riley Hohepa, only for Southland to respond with a converted try.

Bay of Plenty retook the lead with a try by Rory van Vugt, but couldn't sustain their attacking pressure once Southland turned up the intensity, and they collapsed in the second half, giving up 26 unanswered points.

Bay of Plenty has had a mixed run of form in their 2026 campaign, losing four of their last seven matches. Bay of Plenty lost to Waikato (38-26), beat Northland (34-31), lost to Canterbury (33-28), before beating Taranaki (28-24), and Auckland (22-19), and losing to Manawatu (29-12) and Southland (43-12).

Bay of Plenty are 10th in the NPC table with 17 points after seven matches of the 2026 campaign.

Bay of Plenty Starting Lineup

Starting XV: 1 Josh Bartlett, 2 Sione Tupou, 3 Solomone Tukuafu, 4 Seuseu Naitoa Ah Kuoi, 5 Kalin Felise, 6 Joe Johnston, 7 Veveni Lasaqa, 8 Nikora Broughton, 9 Richard Judd, 10 Lucas Cashmore, 11 Rory van Vugt, 12 Joe Webber, 13 Tamiro Armstrong, 14 Regan Ware, 15 Cole Forbes.

Replacements: 16 Taine Kolose, 17 Tevita Mafileo, 18 Filipe Vakasiuola, 19 Aisake Vakasiuola, 20 Aidan Spratley, 21 Charlie Sinton, 22 Riley Hohepa, 23 Viliami Lea.

Hawke's Bay Finally Lost

Hawke's Bay's unbeaten streak was shattered by North Harbour in a top-of-the-table clash, losing 31-24 during Round 7 of the NPC at McLean Park in Napier.

Hawke's Bay were down 12-10 at the break after initially opening the score with a try from Nic Benn. Hawke's Bay dominated the early stages of the second half. Centurion Geoff Cridge celebrated his 100th NPC match with a try, followed quickly by a Folau Fakatava try, both converted by Harry Godfrey, giving Hawke's Bay a commanding 24-12 lead with just 20 minutes remaining.

Hawke's Bay suffered from poor discipline, receiving a yellow card in the second half, which severely hampered their defence late in the game, with North Harbour scoring 19 unanswered points in the last 11 minutes.

Hawke's Bay has been in top form this season, winning six of their last seven matches. They beat Wellington (52-33), Tasman (50-19), Auckland (44-31), Manawatu (59-17), Southland (36-21), Otago (35-24), and lost to North Harbour (31-24).

Hawke's Bay are top of the NPC table with 32 points after seven matches of the 2026 campaign.

Hawke's Bay Starting Lineup

Starting XV: 1 Clement Castets, 2 Jacob Devery, 3 Josh Smith, 4 Tom Allen, 5 Geoff Cridge, 6 Frank Lochore, 7 Sam Smith, 8 Cooper Flanders, 9 Folau Fakatava, 10 Harry Godfrey, 11 Darby Lancaster, 12 Anaru Paenga-Morgan, 13 Bailyn Sullivan, 14 Nic Benn, 15 Will Cole.

Replacements: 16 Kianu Kereru-Symes, 17 Hadlee Hay-Horton, 18 Manahi Goulton, 19 Hunter Morrison, 20 Patrick Mauga, 21 Connor McLeod, 22 Lukas Ripley. 23 Zarn Sullivan.

Verdict

Bay of Plenty v Hawke's Bay

Hawke's Bay is favoured to win on the road due to their superior league position and consistency.

Hawke's Bay -12.5

Handicap

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Ralph is a passionate sports journalist and coach based in Cape Town. Find his coverage across the biggest rugby union and cricket events as well as South African soccer and tennis.

Ralph is from South Africa and studied Sports Science post school at ETA (Education Teachers Academy) in Cape Town.
He has always had a great passion for sport and this led him into the world of sports journalism, while coaching on the side.

Since 2012 Ralph has worked as a journalist and covered many topics from business to sport.

Over the last decade and more, he has interviewed numerous top rugby and cricket players and coaches in South Africa.

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