| Home team | Southland |
| Away team | Waikato |
| Venue | Invercargill Rugby Park |
| Competition | NPC |
| Kick-off time | 3:05 am (UK) 2:05 pm (NZ) |
| Watch Live in the UK | NPC Youtube |
Southland vs Waikato NPC round three preview as the sides meet in Invercargill. Waikato have won both of their games with a bonus point and sit on 10 points.
Southland are yet to pick up a win and are sitting on two points from bonus points in their losses.
Read more match previews for all your rugby action here
Southland vs Waikato confirmed lineups
| Southland | Waikato | ||||
| Forwards | |||||
| Sexton | 1 | Tupaea | |||
| Henderson | 2 | Boyle-Tiatia | |||
| Latu | 3 | Dyer | |||
| Dunshea | 4 | Tucker | |||
| Aho | 5 | Eti | |||
| Fischli | 6 | Finau | |||
| Withy | 7 | Jacobson | |||
| Toleafoa | 8 | Lauaki | |||
| Backs | |||||
| Shearer | 9 | Roe | |||
| Miliaina | 10 | Kemara | |||
| Vaihu | 11 | Lewai | |||
| Gregory | 12 | Anderson | |||
| Gualter | 13 | Naitokani | |||
| Reihana | 14 | Salabiau | |||
| Taylor | 15 | Sinkinson | |||
| Replacements | |||||
| Salanoa | 16 | Ralph | |||
| Barrett | 17 | Quinn | |||
| Fidow | 18 | Kautai | |||
| Halaholo | 19 | Smith | |||
| Lepionka | 20 | Brown | |||
| Hughan | 21 | Mathis | |||
| Nonu | 22 | Nakajima | |||
| Augustine | 23 | Leuila | |||
Recent Form:
Southland (Home team):
| Result | Date | Competition | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 9th August 2026 | NPC | Manawatu | 36-35 |
| Loss | 1st August 2026 | NPC | Otago | 14-41 |
| Loss | 3rd October 2025 | NPC | North Harbour | 15-14 |
| Loss | 26th September 2025 | NPC | Tasman | 38-55 |
| Loss | 20th September 2025 | NPC | Wellington | 75-19 |
Southland’s losing run continued with a devastating one-point loss to Manawatu. The Stags were 25-19 ahead with 15 minutes to go, but conceded three tries in the last 10 minutes to lose by a point.
Waikato (Away team):
| Result | Date | Competition | Opponent | Score |
| Won | 7th August 2026 | NPC | Taranaki Bulls | 32-38 |
| Won | 30th July 2026 | NPC | Bay of Plenty | 38-26 |
| 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 |
Waikato have started the season strong with two impressive wins, scoring 38 points in each game. Their win away to Taranaki was impressive, despite the scoreline being by such a narrow margin. They had a particularly impressive first half and after 60 minutes had a 38- 17 lead. Taranaki scored two tries late and a penalty in the final play to move within losing bonus point territory.
Southland vs Waikato head-to-head record (last five matches):
| Date | Competition | Winner | Score |
| 31st August 2025 | NPC | Southland | 10-25 |
| 29th September 2024 | NPC | Waikato | 14-38 |
| 6th August 2023 | NPC | Waikato | 21-29 |
| 14th September 2022 | NPC | Waikato | 54-24 |
| 4th October 2020 | NPC | Waikato | 9-10 |
Southland pulled off a surprise win against Waikato last season, but Waikato had won the seven meetings before that, with Southland’s last win over Waikato coming in 2010.
