Hawkes Bay vs Taranaki Predictions - Hawkes Bay to avenge 2023 final defeat against Taranaki

Ralph Staniforth

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Last updated: 18 Sep 2024

Ralph Staniforth 18 Sep 2024

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Hawkes Bay vs Taranaki: NPC rematch of 2023 final.
Hawkes Bay looking to recover from two consecutive losses.
Taranaki, defending champions, need a strong performance to stay in contention.

Expired

Hawkes Bay looking to recover from two consecutive losses (Getty Images)

Hawkes Bay vs Taranaki Predictions

This is a repeat of the 2023 NPC final, a match Taranaki won by three points at home. This should be very tight again, but after two losses, I am backing the hosts to bounce back and take the win.

Hawkes Bay vs Taranaki Predictions
Head to Head
Hawkes Bay Form
Hawkes Bay Injuries & Team News
Taranaki Form
Taranaki Injuries & Team News

Hawkes Bay have won 5 of their last 7 matches.
Hawkes Bay have lost their last 2 matches.
Hawkes Bay lost by 45 points last weekend.
Taranaki lost their last match.
Taranaki are the defending champions.

Head to Head

Hawkes Bay have won three of their last five matches against Taranaki, however, the last two have gone in Taranaki’s favour. Last season, Taranaki won 22-19 at home in the NPC final.

Hawkes Bay Form

Hawkes Bay have started to stumble after opening their season with five successive wins. They were top of the table but have now dropped to fourth after two defeats in a row.

Last week, Hawkes Bay produced a shocking display out of nowhere, losing 50-5 to Waikato away. The week before, the Bay lost 25-24 at home to Tasman.

Prior to that, Hawkes Bay beat Northland, Southland, North Harbour and Canterbury.

Hawkes Bay Injuries & Team News

After a shocking performance last weekend, expect plenty of changes to the Hawkes Bay side.

Taranaki Form

Taranaki are down in sixth place on the NPC table with four wins from six matches. They are on 20 points, seven behind their opponents.

The time has come for Taranaki, as defending champions, to start getting some big results if they want to defend their crown. Last week, Taranaki suffered a 33-20 defeat at Bay of Plenty, a match they would have expected to be much tighter.

Prior to that, Taranaki had beaten Otago and Waikato in tight matches.

Taranaki Injuries & Team News

Taranaki are in a decent spot, but they need to get a couple of wins in a row to get within striking distance of the top four. I don’t expect too many changes to the side that lost last week.

Verdict

Hawkes Bay v Taranaki

I am backing Hawkes Bay to cover the -2 handicap in this NPC clash.

Hawkes Bay -2

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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 seven years he has interviewed numerous top rugby and cricket players and coaches in South Africa.

Ralph has been betting on sports for the last ten years. He’s knowledgeable on numerous topics including football, rugby, cricket, tennis and golf.

He supports Manchester United (football), Cheetahs (rugby), Knights (cricket) and has a newly found appreciation for Dominic Thiem on the tennis courts.