| Home team | Wellington |
| Away team | Hawkes Bay |
| Venue | Hnry Stadium |
| Competition | NPC |
| Kick-off time | 6:05 am (UK) 5:05 pm (NZ) |
| Watch Live in the UK | Sky Sports |
Wellington vs Hawkes Bay NPC preview as the sides meet in the final game of the first round of the competition for this year.
Read more match previews for all your rugby action here
Wellington vs Hawkes Bay confirmed lineups
| Wellington | Hawkes Bay | ||||
| Forwards | |||||
| Turnbull | 1 | Castets | |||
| O’Reilly | 2 | Thompson | |||
| Tawake | 3 | Apikotoa | |||
| Delany | 4 | Allen | |||
| Plummer | 5 | Morrison | |||
| Ropeti | 6 | Lochore | |||
| Kirifi | 7 | Flanders | |||
| Petaia | 8 | Fabish | |||
| Backs | |||||
| Henry | 9 | Fakatava | |||
| Harkin | 10 | Godfrey | |||
| Matsushita | 11 | Fomai | |||
| Palu | 12 | Ripley | |||
| Ropata | 13 | Sullivan | |||
| Filipo | 14 | Lowe | |||
| Burgess | 15 | Cole | |||
| Replacements | |||||
| Poasa | 16 | Kereru-Symes | |||
| Bean | 17 | Hay-Horton | |||
| Hewitt | 18 | Faleiva | |||
| Yanagawa | 19 | Cridge | |||
| Halalilo | 20 | Smith | |||
| Williams | 21 | Manuel | |||
| Taramai | 22 | Paenga-Morgan | |||
| Paraone | 23 | Benn | |||
Recent Form:
Wellington (Home team):
| Result | Date | Competition | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 4th October 2025 | NPC | Bay of Plenty | 26-33 |
| Loss | 27th September 2025 | NPC | Taranaki | 39-20 |
| Won | 20th September 2025 | NPC | Southland | 75-19 |
| Loss | 11th September 2025 | NPC | Northland | 43-26 |
| Loss | 6th September 2025 | NPC | Hawkes Bay | 45-19 |
Wellington lost four of their final five games last season, which left them just short of the playoffs. Their only win in that time was a huge 75-19 win over Southland. In the four times they lost conceding 33 or more points.
Hawkes Bay (Away team):
| Result | Date | Competition | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 18th October 2025 | NPC Playoffs | Canterbury | 43-19 |
| Won | 11th October 2025 | NPC Playoffs | Taranaki | 26-12 |
| Won | 4th October 2025 | NPC | Manawatu | 10-38 |
| Won | 25th September 2025 | NPC | Auckland | 45-28 |
| Loss | 19th September 2025 | NPC | Taranaki | 38-24 |
Hawkes Bay had a strong 2025 competition, but lost in the semi-finals to the eventual winners, Canterbury. They won three of their final four games including a strong win against Taranaki, who they lost to earlier in the season.
Wellington vs Hawkes Bay head-to-head record (last five matches):
| Date | Competition | Winner | Score |
| 6th September 2025 | NPC | Hawkes Bay | 45-19 |
| 5th October 2024 | NPC | Wellington | 46-28 |
| 14th October 2023 | NPC Playoffs | Hawkes Bay | 24-25 |
| 30th September 2023 | URC | Hawkes Bay | 18-20 |
| 8th October 2022 | NPC Playoffs | Wellington | 28-21 |
Hawkes Bay have won three of the last four meetings between the teams, with two very close victories in the 2023 season.
