Waikato vs Wellington Predictions - Waikato to make it two from two in NPC

Simon Lewis

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Last updated: 2 hours ago

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Simon Lewis 2 hours ago

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Wellington, current NPC champions, had a poor start losing 33-15 at home to Canterbury.
Waikato aims to break their four-match losing streak against Wellington.
Minor changes expected in Waikato's lineup after a close win against Auckland.

Waikato won their opening NPC match last weekend against Auckland. (Getty Images)

Waikato vs Wellington Predictions

After a horrific showing at home last weekend, Wellington are underdogs this time around. I am backing Waikato to break the four-match losing streak to these opponents by covering the -2.5 handicap.

Waikato vs Wellington Predictions
Head to Head
Waikato Form
Waikato Team News
Wellington Form
Wellington Team News

Waikato won their opening NPC match last weekend against Auckland.
Wellington are the defending NPC champions.
Wellington lost 33-15 at home last weekend.
Wellington have won their last 4 matches against Waikato.

Head to Head

Wellington have won their last four matches against Waikato, however, three of the four were at home. Last season, Wellington came away with a narrow 29-24 victory on home soil.

Waikato Form

Waikato made it to the semi-final of the NPC last season. They finished seventh on the table with five wins and five losses in 10 games.

Going into the semi-final against Taranaki away, Waikato were huge underdogs. They, however, put in a superb performance, winning 16-15 away from home.

While they will hope for a better round robin campaign, one feels they would be satisfied with another semi-final berth. Waikato won their round one fixture 36-25 away to Auckland. It was a cracking game that could have gone either way.

Waikato Team News

Waikato were far from perfect in round one, but they would have gained a lot of confidence from that narrow win. I expect minor changes to their side.

Wellington Form

Wellington come into the 2025 NPC as the defending champions. They defeated Bay of Plenty in the final last season.

Over the course of the round robin stage, Wellington won eight of their 10 games, finishing top of the table. They cruised through the quarters and semi’s.

However, despite once again being among the favourites, Wellington made a horror start last weekend. They lost their round one fixture 33-15 at home to Canterbury.

Wellington Team News

Wellington are likely to ring the changes for Saturday’s clash after some players just didn’t produce the goods last weekend.

Verdict

Waikato v Wellington

Waikato will be full of confidence after a very good win last weekend. I am backing them to win again and cover the -2.5 handicap.

Waikato -2.5

Handicap

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