NPC Stories

Psst.  The NPC is going on, not that you would necessarily know that.  SKY’s flagship program The Breakdown devoted precisely 0 seconds to it in their show last night.  But there is a lot happening with it.  Here is a brief overview.

Manawatu has won a couple in a row, including a first win at Eden Park since that memorable 4-3 win in 1980.  The storm week hammered them in the end when they went to Nelson, but you can still not take that away from them.

Wellington has now extended their longest ever winning streak since the NPC inception in 1976.  The reigning champions are still the Ranfurly Shield holders, have probably the best pack going around but tricky Hawkes Bay awaits.

Further south Otago and Southland are struggling.  But at least the future looks bright in the deep south with the feel good story of the year

Tasman really hit their straps with a thumping of a storm wearied Manawatu.  The team that didn’t like scoring a point in their recent Shield Challenge knocked up 58 against the high flying Tu.  That Ethan Blackadder can play, and they will be a factor in the playoffs..

Canterbury remain Canterbury, and had a skanky win over Taranaki over the weekend to remain in contention.  They played in Rangiora this weekend which is a talking point in itself.  The move towards smaller grounds appears to be the thing, although SKY will always demand regular games under lights. That’s a really complex one.

Hawkes Bay started the season with an amazing run of Played 4, Won 4, PD +7.  As in life, things tend to run out.  However they are still handily placed.

When Bay of Plenty can get their top team on the park, they are a good side. But a couple of big injuries mean they don’t have the depth at the moment. Blowing a big lead against Auckland in week one may come back to bite them but they have a run home where they would hope to win at least three of their remaining games which should be enough to sneak into a QF.

Once again Taranaki fans are talking their team up, but that narrow loss against Canterbury over the weekend will hurt.

Auckland has been one of the more unpredictable sides of the competition.  Beaten by Manawatu one day, running rampant the next.  They are likely to be around at the business end of the competition.  They also have a guy called Roger Tuivasa-Sheck in the backs who is going really well in this competition.  He’s one to watch.

But even more unpredictable is Waikato.  Impossible to work out what’s going on there.

All teams are missing key players but the absence of Tevita Li, Mark Telea and Bryn Gatland really seems to be hurting North Harbour.

 

So many plots and sub-plots; it’s such a shame that it’s all unfolding in the shadows.