Tasman suffered a defeat last weekend which put a dent in their playoff hopes, but they have a strong home record and are fancied to bounce back.
Key Stats - Tasman Strong at Home
- Tasman have won 3 of their last 4 home games.
- Tasman have won 5 consecutive home matches against Bay of Plenty.
- Bay of Plenty have lost 4 of their last 5 away fixtures.
Tasman have Edge
Tasman have the advantage over Bay of Plenty, with seven victories to three in ten meetings in the National Provincial Championship.
Tasman Solid at home in NPC
Tasman scored two tries, a conversion, and a penalty in the first half against Auckland last weekend, going into the break with a 15-14 lead.
The Tasman Makos could only add a converted try to their score in the second stanza, losing 24-22 to Auckland at home.
Before that, the Makos defeated North Harbour 31-29 at home, lost 50-19 away to Hawke's Bay, and defeated Counties Manukau 50-35 away and Southland 46-17 at home, respectively, lost 20-10 away to Northland and beat Wellington 42-28 at home before losing 57-33 away to Otago.
Tasman are eighth in the National Provincial Championship standings with 22 points from eight games.
Tasman's hopes of reaching the season-ending play-offs took a knock in their previous match, but they have an opportunity to return to winning ways when they face Bay of Plenty, having won five consecutive home fixtures against their opponents.
Bay of Plenty Struggles to continue
Bay of Plenty scored two tries, a conversion, and a penalty in the first half against Hawke's Bay last weekend to lead 15-5 at half-time.
The Steamers added two converted tries and a penalty to their tally in the second half to secure a 32-17 home win over Hawke's Bay.
Earlier in their campaign, Bay of Plenty lost 38-26 to Waikato away, beat Northland 34-31 at home, and lost 33-28 away to Canterbury before defeating Taranaki 28-24 at home and Auckland 22-19 away before losing 29-12 to Manawatu at home and Southland 43-12 away.
The Bay of Plenty Steamers are ninth in the NPC table with 22 points from eight matches.
Bay of Plenty will be pleased with their victory in their previous outing and must win to keep their play-off hopes alive, but their away form has been lacking, with four defeats in their last five games.
Team News
Tasman Mako
Try: Macca Springer, Lopeti Faifua, and Kyren Taumoefolau scored a try each against Auckland last weekend.
William Havili landed two conversions and a penalty in the match.
The team for Tasman will be added once it has been announced.
Bay of Plenty Steamers
Tamiro Armstrong, Josh Bartlett, Sione Tupou, and Cole Forbes each crossed the try line against Hawke's Bay last weekend.
Lucas Cashmore landed three conversions and two penalties in the match.
The team for Bay of Plenty will be added once it has been announced.