| Home team | Counties Manukau |
| Away team | Taranaki Bulls |
| Venue | Navigation Homes Park |
| Competition | NPC |
| Kick-off time | 3:05 am (UK) 2:05 pm (NZ) |
| Watch Live in the UK | Sky Sports |
Counties Manukau vs Taranaki Bulls NPC round one preview as the sides meet at the Navigation Homes Park.
Read more match previews for all your rugby action here
Counties Manukau vs Taranaki Bulls confirmed lineups
| Counties Manukau | Taranaki Bulls | ||||
| Forwards | |||||
| Polo | 1 | Proffitt | |||
| West-Stevens | 2 | Slater | |||
| Moli | 3 | Parker | |||
| Balme | 4 | Sa | |||
| Tupou | 5 | Parate | |||
| Church | 6 | Poliko | |||
| Brash | 7 | Loft | |||
| Vuniyayawa | 8 | Boshier | |||
| Backs | |||||
| Taumeteine | 9 | Lennox | |||
| Alatimu | 10 | Clarke | |||
| Gray | 11 | Ratu | |||
| Popoali’i | 12 | Tamanivalu | |||
| Ofa | 13 | Grindlay | |||
| Makiri | 14 | Tikosolomone | |||
| Morrison | 15 | Ratumatavuki-Kneepings | |||
| Replacements | |||||
| McQuoid | 16 | Pokai | |||
| Lindenmuth | 17 | Watson | |||
| Luamanuvae | 18 | Johnston | |||
| Poloniati | 19 | Sa | |||
| Short | 20 | Walters-Hansen | |||
| Matavao | 21 | Crowley | |||
| Tupaea-Thomsen | 22 | Wiseman | |||
| Unga | 23 | Olsen | |||
Recent Form:
Counties Manukau (Home team):
| Result | Date | Competition | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 12th October 2025 | NPC Playoffs | Canterbury | 23-15 |
| Won | 5th October 2025 | NPC | Tasman | 41-49 |
| Won | 28th September 2025 | NPC | Manawatu | 48-24 |
| Won | 20th September 2025 | NPC | Auckland | 49-29 |
| Won | 14th September 2025 | NPC | Southland | 10-64 |
Counties finished the regular season in 2025 with five runs in a row but lost out to the eventual winners, Canterbury. This game was a close contest and Counties Manukau will want to get the 2026 campaign off to a similar start.
Taranaki Bulls (Away team):
| Result | Date | Competition | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 11th October 2025 | NPC Playoffs | Hawkes Bay | 26-12 |
| Loss | 5th October 2025 | NPC | Canterbury | 34-14 |
| Won | 27th September 2025 | NPC | Wellington | 39-20 |
| Won | 19th September 2025 | NPC | Hawke’s Bay | 38-24 |
| Loss | 13th September 2025 | NPC | Otago | 28-26 |
Taranaki made it to the playoffs in 2025 by winning four of their first five. Of their final eight games they lost five including their playoff against Hawkes Bay.
Counties Manukau vs Taranaki Bulls head-to-head record (last five matches):
| Date | Competition | Winner | Score |
| 30th August 2025 | NPC | Taranaki | 22-43 |
| 9th August 2024 | NPC | Taranaki | 31-15 |
| 4th August 2023 | NPC | Taranaki | 37-29 |
| 21st September 2022 | NPC | Taranaki | 25-14 |
| 1st November 2020 | NPC | Counties Manukau | 27-31 |
Taranaki have won the last four games between the sides with the last three meetings ring won by more than 15 points. Counties’ last win came in 2020.
