| Home team | Waikato |
| Away team | Bay of Plenty |
| Venue | FMG Stadium Waikato |
| Competition | NPC |
| Kick-off time | 7:10 pm (NZ) 8:10 am (Uk and Ireland) |
| Watch Live in the UK | Sky Sports |
Waikato vs Bay of Plenty preview as the sides meet in the opener of rhe 2026 NPC competition in Hamilton, Waikato.
Read more match previews for all your rugby action here
Waikato vs Bay of Plenty confirmed lineups
| Waikato | Bay of Plenty | ||||
| Forwards | |||||
| Tupaea | 1 | Kumeroa | |||
| Ralph | 2 | Eklund | |||
| Dyer | 3 | Mafileo | |||
| Burr | 4 | Naitoa Ah Kuoi | |||
| Eti | 5 | Knight | |||
| Finau | 6 | Felise | |||
| Mathis | 7 | Johnston | |||
| Wrampling-Alec | 8 | Broughton | |||
| Backs | |||||
| Roe | 9 | Judd | |||
| Kemara | 10 | Cashmore | |||
| Stephens | 11 | Webber | |||
| Anderson | 12 | Paul | |||
| Naitokani | 13 | Armstrong | |||
| Salabiau | 14 | Vaenuku | |||
| Sinkinson | 15 | Forbes | |||
| Replacements | |||||
| Boyle-Tiatia | 16 | Tupou | |||
| Quinn | 17 | T Taylor | |||
| Robinson | 18 | Tukuafu | |||
| McWhannell | 19 | Palmer | |||
| Smith | 20 | Lasaqa | |||
| Laukai | 21 | Tahuriorangi | |||
| Nakajima | 22 | Hohepa | |||
| Tuivailala | 23 | Robertson | |||
Recent Form:
Waikato (Home team):
| Result | Date | Competition | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 10th October 2025 | NPC Playoffs | Otago | 44-41 |
| Won | 4th October 2025 | NPC | Northland | 25-19 |
| Loss | 28th September 2025 | NPC | Bay of Plenty | 41-5 |
| Won | 20th September 2025 | NPC | Tasman | 24-29 |
| Won | 12th September 2025 | NPC | North Harbour | 29-28 |
Waikato finished the 2025 season with playoff defeat to Otago. Their season ended with a series of games that finished closely. Their defeat to the Bay of Plenty was their only game in the last five that was decided by more than seven points.
Bay of Plenty (Away team):
| Result | Date | Competition | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 17th October 2025 | NPC Playoffs | Otago | 41-17 |
| Won | 11th October 2025 | NPC Playoffs | Tasman | 27-7 |
| Won | 4th October 2025 | NPC | Wellington | 33-26 |
| Won | 28th September 2025 | NPC | Waikato | 41-5 |
| Won | 21st September 2025 | NPC | Manawatu | 19-55 |
Waikato vs Bay of Plenty head-to-head record (last five matches):
| Date | Competition | Winner | Score |
| 28th September 2025 | NPC | Bay of Plenty | 41-5 |
| 10th August 2024 | NPC | Bay of Plenty | 21-36 |
| 12th August 2023 | NPC | Bay of Plenty | 19-15 |
| 9th October 2022 | NPC Playoffs | Bay of Plenty | 27-34 |
| 2nd October 2022 | NPC | Waikato | 35-34 |
Bay of Plenty have defeated Waikato on the last four occasions with the last Waikato victory coming in the regular season in 2022. The last two victories have been by margins bigger than two scores, while the three meetings before that were all decided by seven points or less.
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