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'Mixed bag': Mike Blair delivers honest All Blacks attack assessment
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The four top performers from round three of the Hilux NPC
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The third round of the NPC saw some landmark records established and new contenders emerge.
Hawke’s Bay stayed on top of the table with a 44-31 win over Auckland. Flanker Cooper Flanders from the 2019 Hastings Boys’ High School National Top Four-winning First XV has been a slow burn, but with two tries and 16 tackles, he has carried on his strong recent form and looks more settled and confident. Can he soar to the heights of his brother Devan Flanders?
Otago required late heroics from All Black Christian Lio-Willie and All Blacks XV winger Jona Nareki to quell Manawatu 29-27 after trailing 24-7.
There was a similarly stoic comeback from Southland to upset Waikato 32-31 in Invercargill. In just his third appearance, 19-year-old Jimmy “The Boot” Taylor landed a sideline conversion with the last kick of the game to win it for the Stags.
Canterbury retained the Ranfurly Shield 33-28 against Bay of Plenty. Even more eye-catching were the record drubbings by Northland over Taranaki 42-0 and North Harbour over Wellington 47-7.
The round ended with a five-try bonanza by winger Kyren Taumoefolau in Tasman’s 50-35 win against Counties Manukau in Pukekohe.
Who were the Performers of the week in Round 3 of the NPC?
Bryn Gordon, North Harbour
North Harbour thrashed hapless Wellington by a record 47-7 at Hnry Stadium with a direct, precise, and passionate onslaught. The 12-7 halftime scoreline didn’t reflect the visitors’ dominance. The 35-0 second half certainly did.
Hooker Bryn Gordon paved the way with an urgent and accurate display. North Harbour’s lineout secured 19 of 20 throws while Gordon made 10 tackles and 11 carries for 62 metres, the third highest of any player. Wellington missed 38 tackles, several close to the ruck where there were more holes than a crack convention.
That allowed veteran halfback Byrn Hall to toy with the defence, masterful in swift distribution and subtle changes of direction for vigorous forward carries. Out wider, debutant winger Israel Leota, ironically from Wellington, rampaged over for two tries. The 21-year-old, who is 193cm and 105kg, was with the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL.
Meanwhile, Gordon is a salt-of-the-earth professional. The Palmerston North Boys’ High School product was Northcote Senior Club Player of the Year in 2023, the same season he debuted for North Harbour and when Harbour last achieved consecutive victories and a road win, 48-29 over Manawatu in Palmerston North. Kade Banks and Tom Barham were the only surviving starters from that night on Thursday, with Gordon coming off the bench alongside future All Black Wallace Sititi.
Gordon has played 29 of the last 33 North Harbour games. In 2025, he debuted for the Blues against the Crusaders in Super Rugby Pacific. In February 2026, he played two games for the Newcastle Red Bulls in the English Premiership, covering for Italian international Hame Faiva.
North Harbour’s win was their first against Wellington in any match since a 42-34 success at Albany in 2019. Bryn Hall scored a try in that game as did All Blacks Matt Duffie (2) and Shaun Stevenson. North Harbour had last won in Wellington 40-37 in 2016, with Bryn Gatland scoring half of their points. Their biggest win previously against Wellington was 43-17 in 1994 at the Onewa Domain. At their tallest peak, North Harbour fielded 10 All Blacks, with Eric Rush (2), Blair Larsen (2), Richard Turner and Ian Jones scoring tries; Glen Osborne kicked 13 points.
In the Wellington Lions mire, Du’Plessis Kirifi, in his second appearance at second five-eighth, was again heroic in a lost cause, topping the tackle count with 22, including two try-saving interventions and two ruck turnovers as the Lions were backpedalling. On August 13, Kirifi was the top “jackaler” in the NPC despite defending in a position where he arrives at the ruck less frequently. The last time the Lions (2022 and 2024 champions) lost consecutive games at Hnry Stadium was in 2018 to Tasman 28-22 on September 29 and then Auckland 29-24 on October 4.
Marcel Renata, Northland
Northland announced themselves as semi-final contenders, demolishing Taranaki 42-0 on a record-breaking night in Whang?rei.
Northland were big improvers in 2025, winning five matches, their best showing since 2022, while holding champions Canterbury to a 19-19 draw. The Taniwha scored the most maul tries, had the most scrum penalties and conceded the least.
That trend has continued in 2026 with Auckland NPC and Blues Super Rugby winning prop Marcel Renata anchoring the tighthead side of the scrum.
While lively openside Lachie Hooper (brother of Wallaby Tom Hooper) was named man of the match for his three tries, it was 32-year-old Renata who set the tone, crushing experienced opponent and fellow Maori All Black Jarrod Profft, who has played 93 games for Taranaki and 37 for the Chiefs. The first two scrums led to Northland penalties and the hosts secured a tighthead.
Northland won 27 lineouts at 96 per cent compared to Taranaki’s nine at 67 per cent and scored three rolling maul tries. Renata, in his 64 minutes, did all the crucial unfashionable tasks with trademark efficiency and his affable smile. Hooper deflected acclaim for his individual accolade to the forwards on Sky TV afterwards.
“I just sit in the middle and let them do the work….The connection between everyone pushing through is great,” Hooper said.
Taranaki fullback Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens lamented that the performance “doesn’t resemble how much we love and care for the jersey.”
Northland’s win surpassed their previous biggest victory, against Taranaki, which was 40-11 on August 15, 1987. That day All Blacks wingers Kawhena and Fred Woodman scored tries at Okara Park.
More significantly, it was the first time Taranaki had been held to nil in 162 matches. The last had been a 27-0 loss to 2011 champions Canterbury.
The last time Northland held an opponent to nil was July 25, 2008, when they whitewashed Counties Manukau 28-0 in a friendly. Centurion David Howell converted all four tries. His son Darcy Howell came off the bench against Taranaki on Friday night.
Northland last held an opponent scoreless in an official competition match when they blanked Thames Valley 33-0 in a Division II contest on August 31, 1996. All Black Norm Berryman, Northland’s all-time leading try scorer with 71 tries in 107 games, scored twice.
You have to go back to September 3, 1980 for the last time Northland held a Division 1 opponent to zero. That was Otago at home, 7-0. Halfback and Maori All Black Steve Griffin scored the only try, with All Black fullback Ian “Magic” Dunn kicking a penalty.
Chay Fihaki, Canterbury
The most underrated winger in New Zealand? Superb under the high ball with a prodigious boot, Fihaki is deceptively elusive and came up big when it counted for Canterbury in their slender 33-28 defence of the Ranfurly Shield against Bay of Plenty.
Tied 28-28 in the 71st minute, Fihaki broke at halfway, carrying play to within five meters of the visitors’ line. The hosts recycled the ball quickly and prop Daniel Lienert-Brown fired inside to Toby Bell, a Kerikeri High School rookie who touched down for the winning try.
The win was anything but certain with eight minutes remaining, and Fihaki did his best to extinguish the stubborn Steamers. In the 78th minute, he retrieved a poor clearance at halfway, beat the first defender, and slid a kick through for Andrew Knewstubb who knocked on over the line. At least for Canterbury, they were at the right end of the field.
Earlier, a Fihaki break set up a Jona Rova try for Canterbury’s second try to make it 14-0. He also made a try-saving tackle on Bay of Plenty first-five Lucas Cashmore, who had some electric moments and scored a try.
A dozen carries for a game-high 123 meters gained, three linebreaks, nine defenders beaten, and 15 tackles represent a memorable outing.
Bay of Plenty have a sorry Ranfurly Shield record with just two wins in 26 matches. This defeat adds to the heartbreaking lore, and most cruelly, Herculean prop Benet Kumeroa made the 83rd-minute fumble that ended the game as the Steamers pressed one last time. The M?ori All Black had scored two tries and topped the tackle count with 20.
Kyren Taumoefolau, Tasman
With only 13 carries, the dashing winger scored five tries, creating a Mako record for most tries in a single match and equalling the NPC Division 1 record for the same feat.
Taumoefolau scored in the 19th, 24th, 32nd, 46th and 50th minutes with the first four efforts requiring runs of more than 25 meters. His first try involved beating multiple defenders in a confined space while the fourth came from a spectacular chip and chase.
Taumoefolau, Tonga’s youngest player at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, has doubled his Tasman try-scoring tally from eight to 16 in three games this season, carrying on his eclectic form Super Rugby Pacific with the Chiefs.
The previous record for most tries in a game by a Tasman player happened in their first season in 2006. Peter Playford scored four tries twice in wins against Canada A (48-8) and Northland (56-15). Macca Springer scored four tries in a 43-19 win over North Harbour in 2025. He also scored five for the Crusaders in their 55-33 win against the Western Force in Super Rugby Pacific in the same season.
Tevita Li was the last player to score five tries in a Division 1 NPC match for North Harbour in a 64-33 win over Taranaki at Albany in 2017. Before that, All Black Sitiveni Sivivatu achieved the feat for Waikato in their 59-11 slaying of Auckland in 2004. Auckland and All Blacks legend Terry Wright was the first player to score five tries in a 53-3 win against Manawatu at Eden Park in 1984.
Perhaps the most famous five-try performance was All Black Carlos Spencer for Auckland in a 59-18 semi-final win against Otago at Eden Park in 1996, though Waikato All Black Rob Gordon scored five tries playing Number 8 for Waikato in their 75-12 hammering of Southland in Invercargill in 1990.
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