The four NPC performers of the week ahead of quarter-finals

The quarter lineup has been settled in the NPC, with Counties Manukau winning their fifth consecutive match to jump past Northland into eighth place. Canterbury got back on track with a hat-trick from a Japan-bound lock. Otago heaped more misery upon Auckland, and the New Zealand national women’s champions were crowned. 

Who were the performers of the week in Round 10 of the NPC?

Cam Millar (Otago)

Otago delivered a record-breaking performance, overwhelming Auckland 51-17 at Auckland Grammar School. This result marked Auckland’s eighth loss in ten games during 2025.

Visiting first five-eighth Cam Millar outscored the entire Auckland team, contributing 24 points through five conversions, three penalties, and a try. His goal-kicking was faultless while he executed a charge down, regaining possession and sprinting over 60 meters while completely blindsiding his opponent, Rico Simpson.

Millar’s performance was assured, authoritative, and at times mercurial, setting a new record for individual points scored for an Otago player against Auckland. He surpassed Glen Dickson’s previous record of 22 points from Otago’s 32-22 victory over Auckland at Eden Park in 2011.

Millar has developed an exciting partnership with halfback Nathan Hasitle, who doubled the number of passes made by his opponent in this game and made 19 runs, providing a diverse attack that complemented Otago’s aggressive forward play.

Outside of Millar, Thomas Umaga-Jensen has played 16 games over the last two years, more than he had in the previous three combined. The former Scots College prodigy finally appears to be free of the injuries that have hindered his promising career.

In 2024, Millar made headlines by scoring 27 points for the Highlanders in a Super Rugby Pacific victory against the defending champion Crusaders.

For some historical perspective, in the NPC era, Otago has only managed to defeat Auckland 16 times out of 58 encounters. Prior to this match, Otago’s biggest victory margin against Auckland was just 17-6, which they achieved during their inaugural NPC title-winning season in Dunedin in 1991. In that match, Jamie Joseph scored a try, and Greg Cooper added 13 points, while Auckland suffered just their third defeat in 90 matches from 1987 to 1991.

In 1949, Otago triumphed over Auckland 16-5, scoring four tries to two, successfully defending the Ranfurly Shield for the 17th and final time during their historic tenure between 1947 and 1949. This period was under the guidance of legendary coach Vic Kavanagh, who produced 11 All Blacks alone for the ill-fated 1949 tour of South Africa, inculding the redoubtable captains Kevin Skinner and Ron Elvidge.

Adam Brash (Counties Manukau)

Counties lost their first five matches but have surged into eighth place and secured a playoff fixture in Christchurch against Canterbury after winning their next five games. In the last decade, Counties have only achieved five wins in a season three times. The Steelers have been strengthened by the regular availability of former All Blacks and 2024 Blues Super Rugby winners Dalton Papali’i and Hoskins Sotutu. However, in their recent 49-41 victory against Tasman in Nelson, it was openside flanker Adam Brash who stole the spotlight.

The local builder, Steeler #802, scored three tries and led the tackle count with 21, helping Counties defeat Tasman for the first time since 2017. In the corresponding match last season, they were thrashed in Pukekohe, 48-3.

Brash’s three tries showcased textbook openside flanker play. For his first two tries, he ran excellent support lines and capitalised on strong buildup work from his colleagues. His hat-trick was completed with a chargedown that surprised both the Mako and Brash himself.

Brash, the first Counties player to score a hat-trick against Tasman, is a product of the Bombay Rugby Club, which has won the McNamara Cup senior championship eight times, and is known for producing notable players like former All Blacks captain Andy Dalton. The 26-year-old debuted for Counties in 2022 and has played 38 out of a possible 41 games since then.

Counties won five games in a row for the first time since they were in Division II in 1993. Counties won the NPC in 1979 with nine successive victories and a 14-2 record for the season.

Zach Gallagher (Canterbury)

In grotty Christchurch conditions, Canterbury overpowered Taranaki 34-14 to secure top spot for the playoffs, and allay fears their campaign isn’t falling apart after stumbles in the past fortnight against Northland and Otago.

Gallagher achieved a contender for the ugliest hat-trick in NPC history with three brutal thrusts in congestion from close range. Those efforts were a metaphor for Canterbury’s cold, clinical precision in a slog in which they led 22-7 at halftime and were in no danger of losing.

Gallagher also contributed a dozen tackles, a turnover, but most crucially, six lineouts as Canterbury reduced the Bulls’ lineout to rubble. Canterbury won 15 of their 16 lineouts while Taranaki operated at an abysmal 56%.

Meanwhile, Gallagher, who’d only scored one try in his previous 33 appearances for Canterbury, is bound for Toyota Verblitz in Japan at the end of the season. He ranks inside the top ten of the NPC for most tackles made.

Waikato Women 

Waikato successfully defended their Farah Palmer Cup Premiership title, winning it for the third time since 2021 with a gripping 19-13 victory over Canterbury in Hamilton.

Despite losing their captain and flanker, Mia Anderson, to a Head Injury Assessment (HIA) midway through the first half, Waikato showed resilience against a determined Canterbury, who nearly secured a late victory. Replacement winger Fia Laikong sprinted toward the corner flag but was stopped by a desperate tackle from Black Ferns XV fullback Kaea Nepia, who had earlier converted a crucial sideline try by winger Shyrah Tuliau-Tua’a.

Waikato’s victory was largely a tribute to the strength, experience and industry of their forwards. Toka Natua, Grace Houpapa-Barrett, and Chyna Hohepa have each played more than 50 matches for the province, an unusual feat in the women’s game.

Hooker and former Black Fern Houpapa-Barrett scored 11 tries in 2024 and 10 in 2025, including one in the final, bringing her total to 34 tries in 59 games for Waikato. This achievement made her the province’s all-time leading try scorer, surpassing two-time Black Ferns World Cup and Olympic Sevens gold medalist Stacey Waaka. Additionally, lock Leomie Kloppers scored just her second try in 46 games for Waikato.

Waikato lost its first game of the season against Auckland but remained unbeaten thereafter. Eight of the last nine encounters between Waikato and Canterbury have been decided by fewer than seven points, with Waikato holding a 5-4 advantage in those matchups. Waikato is the first team to successfully defend the Premiership title since Canterbury achieved the feat in 2020. Since 2021, Waikato’s record stands at 29 wins and seven losses.

Quarter Finals

Friday: Otago (2) v Waikato (7)
Saturday: Bay of Plenty (3) v Tasman (6), Hawke’s Bay (4) v Taranaki (5)
Sunday: Canterbury (1) v Counties Manukau (8)