Hawke's Bay flying high on the parks this weekend

Lologi Visinia in 2020 helps the Magpies end 37 years without a win over Canterbury. The Magpies now aim to make it three in a row over the NPC giants. Photo / NZME

It'll be a day for rugby's birds as Hawke's Bay Tui and Magpies face two big matches in Napier and Wellington this weekend.

The Tui will play an NPC Farah Palmer Cup championships division semifinal against Northland Kauri at McLean Park in Napier tomorrow starting at 11.35am, a big step in chasing promotion to the Premier competition for next season.

The punters will then have roughly 24 hours to get everything else sorted before tuning into the Hawke's Bay Magpies lads' Bunnings NPC match starting at 2.05pm on Sunday, in Christchurch.

Last year's 45-26 win was the Magpies' first over Canterbury in Christchurch since 1968, and the previous year's 20-19 win in Napier was the Magpies' first anywhere over Canterbury since 1983.

Hawke's Bay have other rugby matches this weekend, with the Saracens development side playing Taranaki Development in Taranaki, the under-19s facing their Manawatu contemporaries in Manawatu and Wairoa sub-union's first defence of the Barry Cup in Wairoa on Sunday.

The national secondary schools hockey tournament winds up with finals in Napier on Saturday, an under-15 boys' rugby tournament ends at Lindisfarne College, the second round of the Rugby League Hawke's Bay spring competition will be played at Mitre 10 Park, Hastings.

The Hawke's Bay Boxing Championships are also at the park, starting at 2pm tomorrow and midday on Sunday.