North Harbour vs Bay of Plenty Predictions - Bay of Plenty set to get back to winning ways in NPC

Ralph Staniforth

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Last updated: 3 hours ago

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Ralph Staniforth 3 hours ago

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Bay of Plenty favored to win despite recent losses.
North Harbour lost all opening matches this season.
Bay of Plenty to make key player changes for the match.

Bay of Plenty backed to dominate against North Harbour (Getty Images)

North Harbour vs Bay of Plenty Predictions

Bay of Plenty have lost their last two games in the NPC but are clear favourites to win away from home against North Harbour. The visitors rested a lot of players last week and paid the price, so I’m backing them to bounce back at full-strength with a win by more than 14.5 points.

North Harbour vs Bay of Plenty Predictions
Head to Head
North Harbour Form
North Harbour Team News
Bay of Plenty Form
Bay of Plenty Team News

North Harbour have lost their last 4 matches.
North Harbour have conceded 35+ points in their last 4 matches.
North Harbour have lost their last 4 matches by 13, 22, 14 & 24 points.
Bay of Plenty have lost their last 2 matches.
Bay of Plenty have won their last 4 matches against North Harbour.

Head to Head

Bay of Plenty have won their last four matches against North Harbour. When they met last season, it was a tight contest with North Harbour losing 24-20 away from home.

North Harbour Form

North Harbour have made an atrocious start to the NPC, losing all four of their opening matches. They have a single bonus point to show for their efforts.

The signs were there in round one already when North Harbour lost 38-25 to Manawatu, a team that finished bottom in 2024. They then suffered a home loss to Taranaki before losing 36-22 away to Hawkes Bay.

Last week, back on home soil, North Harbour struggled again, losing 43-19 to Tasman. While they have played three of the top teams in the opening four rounds, performance must seriously improve if they are to get off that bottom spot.

North Harbour Team News

North Harbour have gone through their squad in the opening four rounds and have yet to find solutions. With four defeats on the bounce, they will target this home fixture.

Bay of Plenty Form

Bay of Plenty started the season well but have since drifted. They have won two and lost two of their games and find themselves in seventh place on 11 points.

The 2024 NPC runners-up thrashed Tasman 37-7 in round one before seeing off Counties Manukau 29-22 away from home. They then lost 21-7 at home to Canterbury.

Last weekend, inexplicably, Bay of Plenty went down 30-25 at home to Southland. They rested quite a few players and paid a heavy price.