Plenty at stake in last round of the NPC

The ninth and last round of the Men’s NPC round-robin series starts tonight. See below to see the possible semi-finals permutations across both divisions from the eight matches coming up.

Premiership

Only one thing is certain – Canterbury (40) are the top qualifiers and will host one semi-final, and if they win that then the final as well.

The interest is in the five sides vying for the remaining three places. Taranaki (32) are in the box seat and after thrashing Wellington on Sunday will be confident going into Thursday’s home clash with Auckland, but their possible fate varies massively; a bonus point win would put them in great shape to host the other semi-final (depending on what Tasman does, more on them below), while a loss without any competition points could mean a trip to Christchurch, or even missing out entirely.

Counties-Manukau (29) sit third in the standings, and face an interesting set of circumstances. First up they’ll know where they stand before they host Canterbury on Saturday afternoon with Tasman, Taranaki, and in particular Auckland having played before them. If their northern neighbours have managed less than two competition points from their last game then Counties will be in the playoffs, but anything more they will need to get something from Saturday. Other factors to consider will be how Canterbury approach it – will they play a full strength side or rest several players, and as much as they could work it who they’d prefer to play next weekend.

Auckland (28) are pretty much in virtual quarter-final territory, and nothing short of a win in New Plymouth seems likely to keep their season going. Two competition points would see them move ahead of Counties for the time being, but equally the tiebreakers are not in their favour.

Tasman (27) might sit fifth, but have several advantages. For starters they are the only Premiership side with two games remaining; Wednesday night in Albany against North Harbour, then on Sunday afternoon in Nelson against Southland with all the other contenders done for the weekend. Wins in both will see them safely through and potentially they could host the second semi-final if they do, one loss though and results elsewhere going against them would see them miss out.

Finally there’s Waikato (25) who could still crash the party. To do that though they would need both Auckland and Counties-Manukau to have lost (the latter without a bonus point), and then take the full five points against Wellington at Westpac Stadium on Saturday night.

Hawke’s Bay (15) will be playing for pride only when they host Bay of Plenty in Steamers at McLean Park, although they can also dent the Steamers’ Championship hopes (see below).

Championship

Otago (30) and Wellington (30) have already secured the two home semi-finals, with the remaining questions of who will finish top (and host the final should they progress) and who they play to be determined.

Otago travel to Palmerston North to take on Manawatu (22) on Friday night, where the home side will need to bank a win to make certain of a semi-final place or otherwise face a wait on what North Harbour and Bay of Plenty get up to. A bonus point win will ensure that promotion goes through Forsyth Barr.

Wellington needs to rebound after two awful outings when they host Waikato. While a home-semi isn’t in doubt, their chances of hosting the final depend on them leapfrogging Otago on points (as Otago holds the head-to-head tiebreaker); a loss though would put them in poor shape running into the playoffs.

North Harbour (19) can secure their place with a win over Tasman on Wednesday night, and even if they don’t they still get a second bite at it in the last game of the round-robin up the road against Northland on Sunday. Even then that won’t matter if Bay of Plenty (18) has gone down in the ‘Battle of the Bays’ to Hawke’s Bay in Napier on Saturday afternoon. If the Steamers pick up the win in that, and Harbour have lost on Wednesday then that game in Whangarei becomes a must-win for the team from the north-side of the bridge.

Southland (11) and Northland (10) will both be hoping to not end the season in the wooden spoon position.

Tiebreakers

In the event that teams are tied on the same number of competition points seeding will be determined by (in order):

• the winner of the round-robin match between the sides
• overall points difference
• number of tries scored
• number of points scored

Matches this round at a glance

• North Harbour v Tasman, North Harbour, Wednesday 7.35pm
• Taranaki v Auckland, New Plymouth, Thursday 7.35pm
• Manawatu v Otago, Palmerston North, Friday 7.35pm
• Counties Manukau v Canterbury, Pukekohe, Saturday 2.35pm
• Hawke’s Bay v Bay of Plenty, Napier, Saturday 5.35pm
• Wellington v Waikato, Wellington, Saturday 7.35pm
• Tasman v Southland, Nelson, Sunday 2.35pm
• Northland v North Harbour, Whangarei, Sunday 4.35pm

For more visit our Draws & Results section here