| Home team | Counties Manukau |
| Away team | Tasman Makos |
| Venue | Navigation Homes Stadium |
| Competition | NPC |
| Kick-off time | 6:05 am (UK) 5:05 pm (NZ) |
| Watch Live in the UK | NPC Youtube |
Counties Manukau vs Tasman Makos NPC preview as the sides meet at the Navigation Homes Stadium in round three of the competition.
Counties have had a disappointing start to the season and sit bottom of the league table, without a point. Tasman have one win so far and sit on five points.
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Counties Manukau vs Tasman Makos confirmed lineups
| Counties Manukau | Tasman Makos | ||||
| Forwards | |||||
| Adams | 1 | Coxon | |||
| West-Stevens | 2 | Asiata | |||
| Polo | 3 | Sykes-Martin | |||
| Ngatai-Tafau | 4 | Leepien | |||
| Tupou | 5 | Shalfoon | |||
| Motuga | 6 | Lee | |||
| Brash | 7 | Scott | |||
| Church | 8 | Lowe | |||
| Backs | |||||
| Taumateine | 9 | Hotham | |||
| Rainsford | 10 | W Havili | |||
| Tuitama | 11 | Taumoefolau | |||
| Ofa | 12 | D Havili | |||
| Makiri | 13 | N Sauira | |||
| Gray | 14 | T Sauira | |||
| Morrison | 15 | Hewitt-Smart | |||
| Replacements | |||||
| Moananu | 16 | Irvine | |||
| Lindenmuth | 17 | Heywood | |||
| Moli | 18 | Mafi | |||
| Poloniati | 19 | Faifua | |||
| Short | 20 | Hemopo | |||
| Matavao | 21 | Thornalley | |||
| Alatimu | 22 | Grant | |||
| Molia | 23 | Pacey | |||
Recent Form:
Counties Manukau (Home team):
| Result | Date | Competition | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 6th August 2026 | NPC | North Harbour | 59-19 |
| Loss | 1st August 2026 | NPC | Taranaki | 5-20 |
| 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 |
Counties Manukau have had a disappointing start to the season with heavy defeats to Taranki and North Harbour. They will be aiming to pick up their first point of the competition as they welcome Tasman. They conceded nine tries in their defeat by North Harbour, a number they will not be looking to recreate anytime soon.
Tasman Makos (Away team):
| Result | Date | Competition | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 8th Auguts 2026 | NPC | Hawkes Bay | 50-19 |
| Won | 31st July 2026 | NPC | North Harbour | 31-29 |
| Loss | 11th October 2025 | NPC Playoffs | Bay of Plenty | 27-7 |
| Loss | 5th October 2025 | NPC | Counties Manukau | 41-49 |
| Won | 26th September 2025 | NPC | Southland | 38-55 |
Tasman started the season with an impressive win in round one over North Harbour, before a heavy loss to Hawkes Bay in round two. After three early tries conceded there was no way back into the game and they went on to concede a total of eight.
Counties Manukau vs Tasman Makos head-to-head record (last five matches):
| Date | Competition | Winner | Score |
| 5th October 2025 | NPC | Counties | 41-49 |
| 24th August 2024 | NPC | Tasman | 3-48 |
| 17th September 2023 | NPC | Tasman | 27-17 |
| 12th September 2020 | NPC | Tasman | 24-41 |
| 6th September 2019 | NPC | Tasman | 0-36 |
Counties Manukau won a barnstorming 80-point game last season against Tasman, but Tasman had won five in a row before that in a run stretching back to 2018. Last season’s game was the first to be decided by fewer than 10 points since 2016.
