All Blacks bench players return to NPC
- Dave Worsley
- Sep 17
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 23
Eight NPC teams will welcome back members of the current All Blacks squad when round 8 kicks off this Friday, with thirteen players released to play for their provincial teams.
Josh Lord, who has been providing injury cover in the All Blacks Rugby Championship squad, is available for Taranaki when they play Hawkes Bay on Friday night.
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Cam Roigard will return from his foot injury to play for Counties Manukau on Saturday, against All Blacks teammates Caleb Clarke and Rieko Ioane who will be available for Auckland.
Wellington and Waikato will welcome back three All Blacks each. Ruben Love, Kyle Preston and Peter Lakai will join Wellington when they host Southland, while Anton Lienert-Brown, Luke Jacobson and Samipeni Finau are available for Waikato when they travel to Blenheim to take on a Tasman side that will include Leicester Fainga'anuku in its ranks.
Props George Bower and Pasilio Tosi will also get a run, with Bower joining the Otago side to challenge Canterbury for the Ranfurly Shield, and Tosi bringing some power to the Bay of Plenty pack when they play Manawatu on Sunday.
The list of All Blacks playing for their provincial teams is as follows:
Friday 19 September
Taranaki v Hawkes Bay – Stadium Taranaki, 7.10pm
Taranaki: Josh Lord
Saturday 20 September
Counties Manukau v Auckland – Navigation Homes Stadium, Pukekohe, 2.05pm
Counties Manukau: Cam Roigard
Auckland: Caleb Clarke, Rieko Ioane
Wellington v Southland – Porirua Park, 2.05pm
Wellington: Peter Lakai, Kyle Preston, Ruben Love
Tasman v Waikato – Lansdowne Park, 7.10pm
Tasman: Leicester Fainga'anuku
Waikato: Samipeni Finau, Luke Jacobson, Anton Lienert-Brown
Canterbury v Otago – Apollo Projects Stadium, 4.35pm
Otago: George Bower
Sunday 21 September
Manawatu v Bay of Plenty – Porirua Park, 4.35pm
Bay of Plenty: Pasilio Tosi