Room for drama in weekend matches

The Super 12 franchise bases hold down the top five spots in the NPC first division, but any of them could find themselves in the bottom half after this weekend's matches.

The tight nature of the competition means dramatic rises and falls on the table are still possible three rounds out from the semifinals.

The biggest change could be a Ranfurly Shield shift, with Wellington hoping to beat Canterbury where challenges from Taranaki and Waikato have failed this month.

Wellington coach John Plumtree has tried to keep his relatively young team calm before the feature match, after their expansive style came alight in a 48-20 thrashing of Taranaki last weekend.

In-form North Harbour can take a temporary lead if they beat Taranaki with a bonus point at home tonight.

Bay of Plenty and Southland will be hard to beat at home in games against Auckland and Waikato respectively.

However, the struggling Northland side will need a huge turnaround in form if they are to beat Otago at Whangarei. To give the second division more exposure, North Otago and Hawkes Bay will play the Sunday match, instead of two first division teams, this weekend.

The Oamaru clash is the match of the round, with Hawkes Bay - the only unbeaten side in all three NPC divisions - coming off a bye, while North Otago are fresh from thrashing neighbours Mid Canterbury last week.

Counties Manukau can virtually book a semifinal berth if they beat Marlborough at Pukekohe.

Masterton hosts a table-topping third division clash tomorrow, with Wairarapa Bush and South Canterbury battling for potential home advantage in the semifinals.

- NZPA

NPC points table