NPC: Future All Blacks star seals incredible last-gasp comeback

Tuesday, 11 August 2026 at 02:00

byTom Sansom

By Sam Somerville

There were plenty of close contests in round 2 of New Zealand’s NPC, including a try after the hooter to win the game for Manawatū, and a win for Canterbury which saw them take the Ranfurly Shield out of Otago’s hands.

Manawatu back row Braydon Iose stole the show, with the hotly rated All Blacks hopeful grabbing a match winning try in the corner after the 80th minute buzzer had sounded against Southland.

Join the RUCK’s WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages.

Here’s a recap of the action from this week in the National Provincial Championship.

Harbour Put the Hammer Down: North Harbour 59 vs 19 Counties Manukau

It was a dominant 40-point win for North Harbour in their first home game of the season. They were explosive, agile, and determined to prove a point. Youngsters Motikiai Murray and George Reeves looked lethal, scoring their first ever NPC tries.

North Harbour got off to a hot start, scoring their first try in two minutes. Harbour scored four more tries as AJ Alatimu of Manukau was sent to the sin bin, resulting in a half-time score of 38-5.

Manukau showed more fight in the second half, but it wasn’t nearly enough to topple the home side. Manukau’s woes turned to worries in the 71st minute as Popoali’i was carted off with a serious leg injury, and Harbour scored twice more afterward to seal the winning score of 59-19. It’s two straight losses for Counties Manukau, who sit bottom of the table with a -55 PD.

NORTH HARBOUR: 59

TRIES: 9 (Gordon 3’, Melvin 17’, Murray 23’, 46’, Tu’ungafasi 30’, Barham 35’, 79’, Taylor 40+’1, Reeves 75’)

CONVERSIONS: 7 (Howell 3’, 17’, 23’, 30’, 46’, Miln 75’, 79’)

PENALTIES: 0

COUNTIES MANUKAU: 19

TRIES: 3 (Gray 13’, Moananu 52’, Church 62’)

CONVERSIONS: 2 (Alatimu 52’, 62’)

PENALTIES: 0

YELLOW CARDS: 1 (Alatimu 26’)

Waikato Maintain Perfect Start: Taranaki 32 vs 38 Waikato

Waikato kept their cool as they made it a perfect 10 points from 10 in the NPC this season. After establishing a 31-12 lead just after half-time, the Mooloos managed to avoid late drama as Taranaki clawed their way back into the game.

Taranaki opened the scoring and looked strong in the early stages of the match. Hooker Jesse Parete made a statement in his 50th appearance for the Bulls, dominating the line-out and scoring two tries as a result.

It became one way traffic towards half-time, as Waikato scored three tries in a row to distance themselves by 14 points. Their back line looked sharp, with wing Waisake Salabiau and centre Michael Naitokani scoring a pair of tries each.

Waikato’s Austin Anderson earned himself a yellow card for shoulder-to-head contact in the 78th minute, however Taranaki’s effort proved too little too late – scoring two tries and a penalty to close out the game.

TARANAKI: 32

TRIES: 5 (Tikoisolomone 4’, Parete 26’, 49’, Walters-Hansen 68’, Grindlay 74’)

CONVERSIONS: 2 (Clarke 26’, 68’)

PENALTIES: 1 (Olsen 80+1’)

WAIKATO: 38

TRIES: 6 (Salabiau 22’, 37’, Naitokani 29’, 60’, Anderson 34’, Tupaea 44’)

CONVERSIONS: 4 (Kemara 29’, 34’, 37’, 60’)

PENALTIES: 0

YELLOW CARDS: 1 (Anderson 78’)

Kirifi Moves to the Back Line: Auckland 34 vs 31 Wellington

Auckland managed a tightly contested win at home over Wellington, with Wellington coming within five metres of the game-winner. Du’Plessis Kirifi had a strong showing in his new number 12 jersey, setting up a try and earning man of the match commendations.

There was hardly anything to separate the two sides throughout the game, although Wellington had the better of the chances in the first half – establishing a 19-17 lead at half-time. After being down by eight points, Auckland took their first lead of the game through Ben Ake in the 66th minute.

Wellington responded just one minute later, then a yellow card to first five Callum Harkin in the 75th minute allowed Auckland to take control once more.

Wellington accumulated three penalties after the 80th minute, opting to go for a try rather than kick to force extra time. It didn’t work in their favour, and the Lions remain winless.

AUCKLAND: 34

TRIES: 6 (Fines-Leleiwasa 16’, Beehre 31’, Simpson 36’, 59’, Ake 66’, Ahki 76’)

CONVERSIONS: 2 (Perofeta 31’, 66’)

PENALTIES: 0

WELLINGTON: 31

TRIES: 5 (Saumaki 13’, Matsushita 25’, Poasa 34’, Ropeti 46’, O’Reilly 67’)

CONVERSIONS: 3 (Harkin 25’, 34’, 46’)

PENALTIES: 0

YELLOW CARDS: 1 (Harkin 75’)

Bay of Plenty Clasp the Win: Bay of Plenty 34 vs 31 Northland

Bay of Plenty managed to hold off Northland’s late comeback attempt in a tight-knit 34-31 win. It was a game of quick thinking and quick hands for the home side, and Nikora Broughton scored two tries on his 50th appearance for the Steamers.

Bay of Plenty had the better running of the first half, laying down a 12-0 lead by the 13th minute. Broughton’s second try was converted by Jason Robertson to give the Steamers their largest advantage of the match at 17 points.

Northland displayed brute force in the second half. Despite being shown a yellow card, the visitors scored three times to level the score at 31-31. Bay of Plenty’s Tamiro Armstrong then earned a yellow card in the 69th minute, giving Northland an opening for a grand upset.

However, the home side held their nerve as they converted a penalty and held off a late Northland lineout to secure victory.

Bay of Plenty: 34

TRIES: 5 (Robertson 6’, Broughton 12’, 36’, Mafileo 30’, Ware 51’)

CONVERSIONS: 3 (Robertson 12’, 36’, 52’)

PENALTIES: 1 (Robertson 77’)

YELLOW CARDS: 1 (Armstrong 69’)

Northland: 31

TRIES: 5 (Forbes 17’, Creighton 40+3’, Peita 44’, 69’, Rush 57’)

CONVERSIONS: 3 (Reihana 40+3’, 57’, 69’)

PENALTIES: 0

YELLOW CARDS: 1 (Creighton 47’)

Magpies Go Top of the Table: Hawke’s Bay 50 vs 19 Tasman

Nothing could stand in the way of the Hawke’s Bay Magpies as they put down 50 points against the Tasman Mako. It was a brilliant all-round performance for the home side, switching their play between tricky short-balls, set pieces, and powerful mauls.

Hunter Morrison looked lively throughout the contest, and that was signified by him opening the scoring. It was pure domination in the first half from the Magpies, scoring three tries in the first 15 minutes, and five by the end of the first half.

Tasman faced a 28-point deficit at half-time and were first to score after the break. It wasn’t nearly enough to discourage the hosts, as they added three more tries to their tally to win with a final score of 50-19. The result cements Hawke’s Bay’s place as strong contenders for the title this season.

HAWKE’S BAY: 50

TRIES: 8 (Morrison 5’, Ripley 7’, Thompson 14’, Sullivan 27’, Smith 36’, Manuel 64’, Kereru-Symes 74’, Fomai 80’)

CONVERSIONS: 5 (Godfrey 5’, 7’, 27’, 36’, 64’)

PENALTIES: 0

TASMAN: 19

TRIES: 3 (Oudenryn 23’, Irvine 58’, Kunawave 77’)

CONVERSIONS: 2 (Havili 58’, 77’)

PENALTIES: 0

Richie Mo'unga helps Reclaim the Log o’ Wood: Otago 15 vs 19 Canterbury

Canterbury have taken back the Ranfurly Shield from Otago in a thrilling battle, after losing it to them in September last year. Canterbury hooker Brodie McAlister became the third player this weekend to make his 50th appearance and score two tries, captaining his side to a well-earned 19-15 victory.

Canterbury relied on their power against an out-muscled Otago, as they scored all three of their tries from mauls off their lineouts. Jamie Hannah scored to make it a 12-3 lead for the visitors at half-time.

It was a bizarre second half for Canterbury, who lost Brodie McAlister to an HIA after he collided with the referee, before replacement hooker Manumaua Letiu was shown a yellow card moments later for repeated offside infringements. This forced a golden oldies scrum, and Canterbury had to play with 13 men for 10 minutes.

Despite the setback, Canterbury held strong against Otago’s late attempt to flip the result and now sit third on the table.

OTAGO: 15

TRIES: 2 (Casey 56’, Lopas 74’)

CONVERSIONS: 1 (Millar 74’)

PENALTIES: 1 (Millar 26’)

CANTERBURY: 19

TRIES: 3 (McAlister 16’, 67’, Hannah 40+2’)

CONVERSIONS: 2 (Mo’unga 16’, 67’)

PENALTIES: 0

YELLOW CARDS: 1 (Letiu 55’)

Manuwatū Pull off an Immense Comeback: Manawatū 36 vs 35 Southland

Manawatū provided the game of the week as they scored three tries in the last 10 minutes to shatter Southland hearts. Having faced a deficit of 21 points earlier in the second half, this was a comeback for the ages.

Southland dominated the first half of the game, with brilliant heads-up play from Jimmy Taylor allowing him to score the two opening tries and convert all three within the first half. Southland extended their lead to 28-7 shortly after the break, before the momentum began to shift in Manawatū’s favour.

Manawatū broke the Southland defensive line to score twice within two minutes and found themselves down 19-35 with ten minutes remaining. After an exquisite performance, Reece MacDonald cashed in for his second try, shortly followed by a try from Fakava. A fantastic diving effort in the corner from Brayden Iose secured a third successive try and a stunning one-point victory for the Turbos.

MANAWATŪ: 36

TRIES: 6 (MacDonald 28’, 71’, Viljoen 51’, Brown 53’, Fakava 76’, Iose 80+2’)

CONVERSIONS: 3 (MacDonald 28’, 51’, 71’)

PENALTIES: 0

SOUTHLAND: 35

TRIES: 5 (Taylor 16’, 33’, Reihana 40+2’, Taniyama 44’, Manson 64’)

CONVERSIONS: 5 (Taylor 16’, 33’, 40+2’, 44’, 64’)

PENALTIES: 0