| Home team | Canterbury |
| Away team | Auckland |
| Venue | One NZ Stadium |
| Competition | NPC |
| Kick-off time | 8:10 am (UK) 7:10 am (SA) |
| Watch Live in the UK | Sky Sports |
Canterbury vs Auckland NPC preview as the 2025 Champions begin their title defence in their first ever game in the One NZ Stadium.
The game is also highly anticipated as it marks the return of Richie Mo’unga to New Zealand rugby.
Read more match previews for all your rugby action here
Canterbury vs Auckland confirmed lineups
| Canterbury | Auckland | ||||
| Forwards | |||||
| Brewis | 1 | Fusitu’a | |||
| McAllister | 2 | Viken | |||
| Ainsley | 3 | Ta’avao | |||
| Cahill | 4 | Cribb | |||
| Hannah | 5 | Beehre | |||
| Gardiner | 6 | Clark | |||
| Kellow | 7 | Hainsworth-Fa’aofo | |||
| Barnes | 8 | Nofoagatotoa | |||
| Backs | |||||
| Chapman | 9 | Arscott | |||
| Knewstubb | 10 | Perofeta | |||
| MacDonald | 11 | Tito-Harris | |||
| Rova | 12 | Ahki | |||
| D McLeod | 13 | Taele | |||
| Punivai | 14 | Vai | |||
| Fihaki | 15 | Simpson | |||
| Replacements | |||||
| Letiu | 16 | Pole | |||
| Ponini | 17 | Ake | |||
| Calder | 18 | Tu’ungafasi | |||
| Jack | 19 | Cordukes | |||
| F McLeod | 20 | Baker | |||
| Belworthy | 21 | Fines-Leleiwasa | |||
| Mo’unga | 22 | Spencer | |||
| Latu | 23 | Basson | |||
Recent Form:
Canterbury (Home team):
| Result | Date | Competition | Opponent | Score |
| Won | 25th October 2025 | NPC Playoffs | Otago | 36-28 |
| Won | 18th October 2025 | NPC Playoffs | Hawke’s Bay | 43-19 |
| Won | 12th October 2025 | NPC Playoffs | Counties Manukau | 23-15 |
| Won | 5th October 2025 | NPC | Taranaki | 34-14 |
| Draw | 28th September 2025 | NPC | Northland | 19-19 |
Canterbury capped off a fantastic 2025 season with the NPC trophy as they defeated Otago in the final. They had won eight out of 10 in the regular season and drawn one.
Auckland (Away team):
| Result | Date | Competition | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 3rd October 2025 | NPC | Otago | 17-51 |
| Loss | 26th September 2025 | NPC | Hawke’s Bay | 45-28 |
| Loss | 20th September 2025 | NPC | Counties Manukau | 49-28 |
| Won | 14th September 2025 | NPC | Manawatu | 52-29 |
| Won | 6th September 2025 | NPC | Tasman | 21-29 |
Auckland finished the season with just two wins, both of which came in a row in the first half of September last year. They lost all the others in the 10 game season. In seven of their eight defeats in the season they conceded more than 30 points and conceded 45 or more in each of the last three games.
Canterbury vs Auckland head-to-head record (last five matches):
| Date | Competition | Winner | Score |
| 9th August 2025 | NPC | Canterbury | 19-15 |
| 24th August 2024 | NPC | Canterbury | 21-27 |
| 6th October 2023 | NPC Playoffs | Canterbury | 29-24 |
| 9th September 2023 | NPC | Auckland | 36-29 |
| 23rd September 2022 | NPC | Canterbury | 38-20 |
Despite a period of relative dominance for Canterbury winning three in a row and four of the last five, each of the last four games have been decided by one score or less.
