50. The NPC prepared several surprises. In the end, defending champions Canterbury, who won more games than any province between 1976 and 2026, qualified for the top-of-the-table play-offs.
Does this mean that the red and black are boringly winning their 16th title? Despite five straight wins, they will face strong opposition from Taranaki. Taranaki last beat Canterbury Aug. 28 (40-26) and have won three straight games, scoring more than 50 points in each.
North Harbour, which had a few scoring problems, had a chance to usurp Canterbury for first place. Do they have stage fright? Huge improvers and runners-up from 1994 could not beat ninth-placed Bay of Plenty.
Tasman are another team hitting hot form with a record holder on the wing. Can the Mako win a third title in their 20th season?
Auckland, Wellington and Waikato suffered heavy city losses. meanwhile, Counties Manukau showed the Steelers’ nerve to resist Hawke’s Bay and relax in the summer with the Ranfurly Shield.
Scores (first home): Otago: 45, Auckland: 42, Southland: 14, Northland: 28, Manawatu: 12, Canterbury: 22, Counties Manukau: 12, Hawke’s Bay: 7, Waikato: 33, Tasman: 50, P. Baylent: 66, Taranayki 38, North Port: 21.
Who were the performers of the week in the final round of the NPC regular season?
Kyren Taumoefolau (Tasman)
With tries in the 31st, 54th, 62nd and 79th minutes, Kyren Taumoefolau surpassed Terry Wright and Brendan Laney’s record for most tries in a single NPC Division 1 season.
Taumoefolau has scored 18 tries in 10 games, surpassing the old mark of 15 set by Wright for Auckland 1984 and Laney for Otago 1998 Both sides won the championship. Wright scored two tries in a 50-4 win against Waikato at Eden Park. Laney kicked two goals in Otago’s 49-20 win against Waikato in the final at Carisbrook in Dunedin.
Taumoefolau has scored at least one try in eight games in 2026. His first two attempts to break the record were routine finishes, as was his fourth, a last-minute walk. His third, latching on to a deliberate deflection from fellow winger Macc Springer and beating four defenders in a tight space, was pure class. Taumoefolau also provided the final pass for David Havili’s try.
It was a tough night for Waikato, conceding 50 points against Tasman for only the second time since the Mako were formed in 2006. In Nelson 2013, Tasman beat Waikato 64-28 with Marty Banks scoring 24 points and Liam Squire (All Black) hitting two threes. The most points Waikato have conceded at home in an NPC game is 58 by Canterbury in 2014. Canterbury fielded 11 current or future internationals in a 31-point game that included two tries from Waikato halfback Brad Webber (All Black).
The last player to score four tries against Waikato in the NPC was Kade Banks, who achieved the feat in a 43-29 win by North Harbour at Albany 2024 Late All Black Norm Berryman scored four tries for New Zealand Harlequins in Waikato’s biggest ever defeat, 96-25 in 1995.
Joe Dadman (Otago)
The Fijian international lock has signed for Highlanders until 2028 and, on his performance against Auckland, appears to be a valuable acquisition.
He sparked an Otago revival with a big run for a try when the hosts were 21-7 down and outplayed. Later, his shortside carry drew a high penalty that allowed Cam Millar to kick the winning penalty in extra time.
Tamani was a constant presence with 15 tackles, a fumble and nine turnovers, ranking in the top five in each category for his team. He’s athletic, physical and busy, essentially a fourth down forward. He played 40 games for Fijian Dura in the Super Rugby Pacific.
Meanwhile, “clutch” Cam Millar has a habit of hitting big shots. Kicked the penalty to win Otago in the quarter-final against Waikato last year and did it again dose in Super Rugby Pacific 2026 in the Highlanders’ first-round win over the Crusaders.
Auckland arguably played their best game of the season, but electric performances from Stephen Perofeta and Cody Vai were not enough to prevail.
It is the first time in the NPC that Otago have beaten Auckland three times in a row and the 45 is their highest score against Auckland in Dunedin, surpassing their 37-33 win in 2013 when Hayden Parker scored 22 points.
Auckland scored 42 points in a loss once before. In 2003, they were defeated 46-42 Wellington despite 11 current or future internationals on their roster. Thomas Waldrom and Ross Fillipo scored two tries each for the Eden Park winners, who were later beaten 41-29 by Auckland in the Wellington final.
Auckland’s biggest loss was 43 points in their thrilling one point loss Northland 2001, also at Eden Park. In that game, James Arlidge, an Auckland loanee who later played for Japan, converted the last try of Rupeni Caucaunibuca. Jason Shoemark, who now coaches the Hastings Boys High School First XV, scored two tries. Auckland scored 35 in a one-point loss to Hawke’s Bay in Napier in 2024. Harry Godfrey converted from the side after Ben O’Donnell’s try from the last game.
It has been another poor season for Auckland, who have won just nine of 34 matches since beating Canterbury 36-29 at Eden Park in 2023. At the very least Auckland can take heart in the development of young New Zealand under-20s Ric Simpson and Caleb Woodley. The line worked efficiently, the second most reliable in the NPC. Hooker Nathaniel Pole and missed forward Che Clark played strongly.
Adam Brash (Districts Manukau)
Standing on a dusty gravel track with both hands clumsily in his pockets, Adam Brash shared the Ranfurly Shield with his Bombay Rugby Club, an event which the county’s social events showed more insolent rather than the subject.
Any hesitation was overturned on Saturday by tireless outdoor battles. Twenty moves was typical for one of the most reliable defenders in the NPC.
The first of only three tries in the game was as spicy and hectic as Bombay in the subcontinent. Ten phases, quick hands and a crumbling Magpies defense on the edge saw Brash play an inside pass from Samoan international Alamanda Motuga, who made 23 tackles.
Brash has played 49 of the last 52 county games, including all 21 wins, and scored 13 tries. His whole-hearted approach is quintessential NPC rugby.
#Limp Lions: The Wellington Lions they are so uniquely bad that the facts speak for themselves. Division 1 NPC teams that will lose every game in one season
1977: Marlborough, 0-8*
1990: Southland, 0-10*
1993: Hawke’s Bay, 0-8
1994: Taranaki, 0-8
1995: Southland, 0-8
1996: King Country, 0-8*
1998: Northland, 0-9
2003: Northland, 0-9
2004: Northland, 0-9
2005: Northland, 0-9
2015: Northland, 0-10*
2017: Southland, 0-10
2018: Southland, 0-10
2022: Manawatu, 0-10
2026: Wellington, 0-10
*I did not achieve a single point in the league table.
Northland (1976), Hawke’s Bay (1978), Southland (1999), Manawatu (2006), Counties Manukau (2007) also failed to win a match but managed a draw.
Northland lost 30 consecutive games in Division I between 2002 and 2006, but won the annual promotion game, which ended in 2006. Southland lost 27 consecutive games between 2016 and 2019. They lost every game in 2017 and 2018 both seasons within a few points of Wellington.
Wellington conceded 502 points in ten games. None of the above all-time losers have conceded that many, nor have they conceded 50 or more points in a single game five times or 60 three times. Inflation, argued the charitable soul. However, the Lions have leaked 76 tries this season, more than any of these fighters and a single-season record for the province in the NPC. The previous worst was 49 tries in 10 matches in 2014 and 2025. The Lions have scored four or more tries in five games. It’s as academic as a far-right blogger trying to get involved in the launch of Nicky Hager’s latest book at Unity Books.
Wellington lost 12 consecutive games, an all-time Union record, failing to win a game in a season for the first time since 1884. That year they played just one game against New Zealand, losing 0–9 before New Zealand’s tour of Australia. New Zealand in 1884 was the precursor to what we know today as All black people. In fact, it was the first official All Blacks team.
The Lions have lost nine straight road games and six straight road games, both records.
Wellington won the NPC in 2024, shortly after a Union record 21-match winning streak that included a rare tenure in the Ranfurly Shield. As of 2025, Wellington’s record is three wins in 20 games. They scored 560 points and conceded 839 points.
Before the last 52-28 home loss to Northland, head coach Trent “Party Starter” Reneta said, “The results tell us where we are, not where we’re going. There’s been a lot of internal growth.”
