NPC Round 1 Recap: Richie Mo'unga returns to New Zealand rugby
Sam SomervilleMonday, 03 August 2026 at 21:00
By Sam Somerville
New Zealand’s National Provincial Championship (NPC) kicked off to a thrilling start last week, with eleven of the fourteen teams earning at least a bonus point. Here’s a recap of the first-round action.
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A Game of Two Halves: Waikato 38 vs 26 Bay of Plenty
Waikato stormed into the first match of the new season with a rapid start, bundling over the line within three minutes and recording a 35-0 scoreline over the visitors by half time. Tony Kemara certainly showed his quality by converting a perfect five of five tries and scoring one himself.
Waikato’s defence seemed to tire in the tail-end of the game, allowing Bay of Plenty to put some of their quality on display. They snatched a bonus point in the dying moments of the game, thanks to two late tries from substitute Veveni Lasaqa.
Whilst it looked unlikely that Bay of Plenty would retaliate for quite some time, they gave the hosts a great test of strength in the second half, pushing the match to a thrilling final score of 38-26.
WAIKATO: 38
TRIES: 5 (Stephens 2’, Salabiau 13’, Sinkinson 22’, Kemara 26’, Mathis 39’)
CONVERSIONS: 5 (Kemara 2’, 13’, 22’, 26’, 39’)
PENALTIES: 1 (Anderson 72’)
BAY OF PLENTY: 26
TRIES: 4 (Forbes 55’, Hohepa 57’, Lasaqa 78’, 80+2’)
CONVERSIONS: 3 (Hohepa 55’, Robertson 78’, 80+2’)
PENALTIES: 0
A Tight Contest sees Tasman Victorious: Tasman 31 vs 29 North Harbour
After finishing bottom of the competition last season, North Harbour’s young squad exploded out of the gates with an early try and almost 90% possession within the first ten minutes. They were on the brink of doubling their advantage before mistakes slipped into their play, allowing Tasman to respond.
North Harbour looked more settled towards the latter stages of the first half, before more unfortunate turnovers combined with exquisite runs from the opposition saw Tasman a 19-15 lead into half time.
The second half was much more of a tennis match, with the sides exchanging large territory gains and tries, all the while Tasman held their advantage, and Kyren Taumoefolau scored a hattrick.
A North Harbour try in the 65th minute made it a two-point game at 29-31 with 15 minutes to play, but Tasman held their own at home to deflect a looming upset.
TASMAN: 31
TRIES: 5 (Marfell 11’, Taumoefolau 36’, 40+3’, 62’, Roberts 47’)
CONVERSIONS: 3 (Havili 11’, 40+3’, 63’)
PENALTIES: 0
NORTH HARBOUR: 29
TRIES: 4 (Barham 4’, 65’, B. Gordon 20’, L. Gordon 49’)
CONVERSIONS: 3 (Howell 20’, 49’, Miln 65’)
PENALTIES: 1 (Howell 29’)
Taranaki Quash Their Hosts: Counties Manukau 5 vs 20 Taranaki
Taranaki piled on the pressure in the opening stages of this match against Counties Manukau, unable to make anything of it until the 16th minute when Tikoisolomone found the try line.
The second breakthrough came for Taranaki in the 26th minute. It was a scrappy game from both sides throughout the first half, with both sides having their fair share of opportunities.
Counties Manukau’s chance arrived as Taranaki’s tight-head prop, Marika Parker, was on the receiving end of a yellow card for reaching into the ruck from the side. They were unable to take advantage of having an extra man, resulting a 10-0 Taranaki lead at half-time. Counties managed to score only once, soon after the restart.
Taranaki kicked back into gear as Sam Clarke displayed some lovely footwork to score the side’s third try. Clarke converted and later scored a penalty to seal the game for the visitors at a final score of 20-5.
COUNTIES MANUKAU: 5
TRIES: 1 (Tupou 46’)
CONVERSIONS: 0
PENALTIES: 0
TARANAKI: 20
TRIES: 3 (Tikoisolomone 16’, Lennox 26’, Clarke 57’)
CONVERSIONS: 1 (Clarke 57’)
PENALTIES: 1 (Clarke 66’)
YELLOW CARDS: 1 (Parker 34’)
Otago Dominate Southern Derby: Southland 14 vs 41 Otago
Otago were firing on all cylinders as they took on their Southern rivals in Invercargill. They found themselves up 24-0 by the 24th minute as the situation began to look dire for Southland on one of their most important days on the calendar.
Despite Southland breaking through to the try line soon before half-time, Otago showed no signs of slowing as they made it 29-7 at the break. After the restart, Lucas Casey provided the try of the night as the flanker sprinted 80 metres to score at the other end.
Along with their ferocious attack, Otago full back Sam Nemec-Vial made a try-stopping tackle on two separate occasions, even winning a turnover on one of them. It was certainly a night to remember for the visitors, who now find themselves top of the NPC standings with their convincing 41-14 win.
SOUTHLAND: 14
TRIES: 2 (Halaholo 33’, Taylor 56’)
CONVERSIONS: 2 (Taylor 33’, 56’)
PENALTIES: 0
OTAGO: 41
TRIES: 7 (Broomfield 8’, Lucas 14’, Timu 17’, Casey 24’, 48’, Lio-Willie 37’, 52’)
CONVERSIONS: 3: (Millar 14’, 24’, 52’)
PENALTIES: 0
Offensive Brilliance: Canterbury 38 vs 31 Auckland
Canterbury started quickly in front of their 16,000 home fans, taking just four minutes to find the try line before adding a second soon after. Auckland responded with two tries in three minutes to level the score at 14-14.
The momentum began to shift in Auckland’s direction after half-time as Perofeta converted a penalty before scoring a fantastic try, earning Auckland their first lead of the game at 31-26.
In the 52nd minute, Richie Mo’unga made his return to New Zealand rugby, stepping onto the field to an eruption of applause to make his first NPC appearance since 2020. It was a slow start for Mo’unga, who dropped a high ball and failed to convert a try that would give Canterbury the lead with twelve minutes remaining.
In the 78th minute, it was no other than Richie Mo’unga to score Canterbury’s match-winning try, resulting in a full-time score of 38-31.
CANTERBURY: 38
TRIES: 6 (Cahill 4’, Gardiner 12’, Kellow 24’, Rova 29’, Hannah 67’, Mo’unga 78’)
CONVERSIONS: 4 (Knewstubb 4’, 12’, 24’, Mo’unga 78’)
PENALTIES: 0
AUCKLAND: 31
TRIES: 4 (Hainsworth-Fa’aofo 18’, Tito-Harris 21’, Beehre 34’, Perofeta 59’)
CONVERSIONS: 4 (Perofeta 18’, 21’, 34’, 59’)
PENALTIES: 1 (Perofeta 56’)
Northland Find a Second Gear: Northland 40 vs 14 Manawatu
Manawatu took the scoresheet first in this match, and for a moment it looked as though Northland could lose their fourth consecutive opening NPC match. The first half remained thoroughly even.
Northland stole the lead on the stroke of half-time, thanks to some quick thinking from Rivez Reihana, who scored and converted his own try to make it 21-14.
Manawatu were no match for Northland after the break. Northland wingers Brady Rush and Nathan Salmon found their spark, as they scored three tries between them in the second half resulting in a final score of 40-14.
Manawatu had a second half to forget as they failed to score again, turning a 7-point deficit into a 26-point blowout.
What looked to be a close contest at half-time quickly turned into a display of brilliance from the hosts, who sit second in the standings after the first-round NPC rugby.
NORTHLAND: 40
TRIES: 6 (Salmon 12’, 59’, Murray 32’, Reihana 39’, Rush 43’, 77’)
CONVERSIONS: 5 (Reihana 12’, 32’, 39’, 43’, 77’)
PENALTIES: 0
MANAWATU: 14
TRIES: 2 (Woods 8’, Tofa 35’)
CONVERSIONS: 2 (MacDonald 8’, 35’)
PENALTIES: 0
Try Mayhem: Wellington 33 vs 52 Hawke’s Bay
After a weekend of fast starts, Hawke’s Bay took the liberty of scoring the quickest try of the round, in under two minutes. It was a sign of things to come as the Magpies swiftly conjured a 26-0 scoreline.
Wellington showed glimpses of a turnaround, scoring two tries towards the end of the half and forcing a Hawke’s Bay yellow card. This didn’t stop the Magpies, as they tallied on their fifth try of the half to make it 31-14 at the break.
The second half was certainly more of a contest, but the margin proved too much for Wellington to overcome. The sides took turns scoring up until the final whistle, where Hawke’s Bay emerged victorious 52-33.
Being the last match of the round, these two teams clearly wanted to make a statement. Combining for thirteen tries and 85 points, the action in Wellington certainly didn’t disappoint.
WELLINGTON: 33
TRIES: 5 (Henry 28’, Palu 34’, Kirifi 67’, Matsushita 73’, Burgess 80+1’)
CONVERSIONS: 4 (Harkin 28’, 34’, 67’, 73’)
PENALTIES: 0
HAWKE’S BAY: 52
TRIES: 8 (Fakatava 2’, Morrison 8’, Fomai 15’, Cole 20’, Thompson 38’, Castets 44’, Lowe 69’, Manuel 75’)
CONVERSIONS: 6 (Godfrey 2’, 8’, 15’, 44’, 69’, 75’)
PENALTIES: 0
YELLOW CARDS: 1 (Fomai 33’)
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