Northland vs Otago NPC semi-final preview: Lineups and predictions

Home team	Northland
Away team	Otago
Venue	Semenoff Stadium
Competition	NPC Semi-final
Kick-off time	7:10 am (UK) 7:10 pm (NZ)
Watch Live in the UK	NPC YouTube Channel

Northland vs Otago NPC semi-final preview as the sides meet at the Semenoff Stadium. Northland finished second in the regular season and Otago finished third meaning that the final venue is not in their hands as it will be at the One NZ Stadium if Canterbury win their semi-final.

Read more match previews here

Northland vs Otago confirmed lineups

Northland			Otago
Forwards
Fono		1		Lopas
Mullan		2		Bell
Renata		3		Ma’u
Goodhue		4		Stodart
Craig		5		Tamani
Forbes		6		Haig
Hooper		7		Casey
Peita		8		Lio-Willie
Backs
Nock		9		McClea
Reihana		10		Millar
Rush		11		Nemec-Vial
Pasitoa		12		Te Hiwi
Evans		13		Nareki
Murray		14		Broomfield
Trainor		15		Hurley
Replacements
Hutchings		16		Coltman
Ryan		17		Wingham
Botha		18		Takataka
Holwell		19		Irving
MacEwan		20		Elton
Renton		21		Lam
Creighton		22		Pellegrini
Salmon		23		Whaanga

Recent Form:

Northland (Home team): 

Result	Date	Competition	Opponent	Score
Won	9th October 2026	NPC Playoffs	Tasman	26-21
Won	2nd October 2026	NPC	Southland	14-28
Loss	26th September 2026	NPC	Counties Manukau	19-22
Won	19th September 2026	NPC	Wellington	28-52
Won	12th September 2026	NPC	Waikato	34-17

Northland booked their place in the NPC semi-final after a win over Tasman, which saw the game come down to an exciting conclusion in the final play. They got off to a poor start and found themselves 14-0 behind after 21 minutes. The five minutes before halftime were massive, and two tries in the five minutes saw Northland go into the break 14-12 behind. The second half was tightly contested, and Northland took the lead just after 50 minutes through Terrell Peita. Ricki Heremaia added another try with just under 10 minutes to go to make the score 26-14 and leave the Taniwha a few defensive sets away from a place in the next round. Tasman would score with a few minutes to go, but the five-point gap was enough to keep the gap between the sides. 

Otago (Away team): 

Result	Date	Competition	Opponent	Score
Won	10th October 2026	NPC Playoffs	Hawke’s Bay	50-14
Won	1st October 2026	NPC	Auckland	45-42
Loss	26th September 2026	NPC	North Harbour	32-21
Won	17th September 2026	NPC	Counties Manukau	21-50
Won	11th September 2026	NPC	Tasman	57-33

Otago booked their place in the semi-final of the NPC with a huge win over Hawke’s Bay. In total, they scored seven tries while conceding two. Three of these tries came in the first half, with a kicked penalty on the stroke of half-time to take them into the break at 24-7. 

Another try would come shortly after the break, and Hawke’s Bay would score a penalty try while Tamani would end up in the sin bin. With the deficit now at 15 points, the next score was crucial for Otago with 14 players. Otago would score while down to 14 and would score two more goals to seal the game 50-14.

Northland vs Otago head-to-head record (last five matches):

Date	Competition	Winner	Score
5th September 2025	NPC	Otago	29-10
4th October 2024	NPC	Otago	28-31
10th September 2023	NPC	Otago	30-15
15th October 2021	NPC	Otago	13-24
20th November 2020	NPC Playoffs	Northland	12-32

Otago have won the last four meetings between the sides, stretching back to the 2020 playoffs where Northland picked up victory. The last two matches in Northland have finished with a margin of victory of 11 points or less for Otago.

Predictions

• Northland victory by less than 14 points.
• 10 tries or more in the game.