Tom Christie and Sam Gilbert. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
NPC Final: Canterbury v Otago
Kick-off: 4.05pm Saturday 25 October
Apollo Projects Stadium, Christchurch
Live coverage on RNZ Sport
It's a southern classic for this year's NPC final, with Canterbury hosting Otago in Christchurch. Both sides have been very good this season and thoroughly deserve their spots in the final, with Otago looking to score the NPC/Ranfurly Shield double after taking the Log Of Wood off Canterbury last month.
The semi-finals last weekend were very similar results, with Otago beating Bay of Plenty 41-17 on Friday, then Canterbury blew past Hawke's Bay 43-19 on Saturday.
PLEASE NOTE: this game kicks off at the earlier time of 4:05pm!
Team lists
Canterbury: 1. Finlay Brewis, 2. Brodie McAlister, 3. Seb Calder, 4. Liam Jack, 5. Jamie Hannah, 6. Zach Gallagher, 7. Tom Christie (c), 8. Dominic Gardiner, 9. Louie Chapman, 10. Andrew Knewstubb, 11. Ngatungane Punivai, 12. Dallas McLeod, 13. Braydon Ennor, 14. Manasa Mataele, 15. Chay Fihaki
Bench: 16. Nick Hyde, 17. Daniel Lienert-Brown, 18. Gus Brown, 19. Tahlor Cahill, 20. Torian Barnes, 21. Tyson Belworthly, 22. James White, 23. Jone Rova
Otago: 1. Abraham Pole, 2. Nic Souchon, 3. Rohan Wingham, 4. Will Tucker, 5. Oliver Haig, 6. Will Stodart, 7. Lucas Casey, 8. Christian Lio-Willie, 9. Dylan Pledger, 10. Cameron Millar, 11. Jona Nareki, 12. Thomas Umaga-Jensen, 13. Josh Timu, 14. Jae Broomfield, 15. Sam Gilbert (c)
Bench: 16. Liam Coltman, 17. Benjamin Lopas, 18. Moana Takataka, 19. Joseva Tamani, 20. Harry Taylor, 21. Nathan Hastie, 22. Josh Whaanga, 23. Finn Hurley
Canterbury selections
Brodie Mcalister of the Chiefs. Photo: Jeremy Ward / www.photosport.nz
There's never been much sympathy outside of the province for Canterbury, but it's hard not to feel for them here. George Bell and Sam Darry will not be available because they're away with the All Blacks, despite neither having any real chance of playing against Ireland next weekend. That means Brodie McAlister comes back in at hooker and Liam Jack at lock. That moves Nick Hyde and Tahlor Cahill onto the bench, while James White returns as first five cover.
Otago selections
Highlanders' Finn Hurley scores against the Blues at Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin, 22 Feb, 2025. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Only the one change to Mark Brown's side, with Josh Timu back from injury to start at centre. That pushes Josh Whaanga to the bench, he's joined there with last weekend's try scorer Finn Hurley. There had been some concern over Hurley after he was forced from the field late in the win over BOP, but he has been cleared to play. Otago are once again captained by Sam Gilbert, in what will be his last game for the province before he leaves to take up a contract in Ireland.
Key stats
Tom Christie of Canterbury scores a try in the tackle of Joseva Tamani of Otago during the NPC and Ranfurly Shield Rugby match. Photo: Photosport
This is Otago's first trip back to the NPC final in 20 years, the last time they were there they lost 39-11 to Auckland at Eden Park. The last time they won the title was in 1998, when they beat Waikato 49-20 at Carisbrook.
While much has been made about the drought Otago has gone through, it's also the first time for Canterbury in the final since 2018. That was, incredibly, their 10th final in 11 seasons and the 2018 edition was the only one of those they lost.
Canterbury skipper Tom Christie leads the competition with 222 tackles, a record he will keep unless teammate Zach Gallagher pulls out some sort of superhuman effort as he is next one back with 185.
The last time they met
Otago 38 - Canterbury 36 (Ranfurly Shield)
One of the most memorable games of the season unfolded when these two sides met last, as part of the Ranfurly Shield's magical mystery tour of the country in 2025. Otago staged a remarkable defensive display in the last 20 minutes, thanks to two tries to Lucas Casey and Liam Coltman powering over to give them the lead, holding out Canterbury for a narrow win and famous Shield win.
What's going to happen
Both of these teams are coming in off highly productive attacking mindsets in their last few games, so it would be a surprise if Otago strayed from that at all. It's what's made their season so successful, especially since it utilises the youthful talent of Dylan Pledger - a player who is now being talked up as a future All Black.
However, if it does turn into a grind, that doesn't mean that Canterbury will entirely hold the upper hand. Otago did win their last match with a disciplined approach and set piece strike, as well as Cam Millar's accurate goal kicking.
Canterbury do possess a long range kicking option themselves in Chay Fihaki, but will be hoping their attacking weapons like Dallas McLeod, Ngane Punivai and Braydon Ennor can make sure of the result before that's needed.
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