North Harbour vs Manawatu Predictions - Bonus point win tipped for North Harbour

I am backing the hosts to cover the -18 handicap against a Manawatu side which has struggled this season.

North Harbour have won their last four matches against Manawatu. Last year, North Harbour won 48-29 away from home.

North Harbour are having a strange season by all accounts. They are ninth on the table with just one win from five matches, above two sides who have won twice.

This is mostly down to the fact that North Harbour have picked up seven bonus points, the equal most in the competition to date. In round one, North Harbour were thrashed by Taranaki, but they then got a four-try bonus point against Hawkes Bay in defeat, lost to Bay of Plenty by only four points and beat Waikato 43-29 at home.

The last two games have been unfortunate. North Harbour lost 36-33 at home to Counties Manukau and 36-32 at Auckland. Both of those fixtures could easily have turned into victories.

North Harbour will be desperate for the win here and a bonus point to boot. I don’t see them making too many alterations from the team that featured last weekend.

Manawatu ware enduring an atrocious season, and it is hard to see where they are going to get a result. They are bottom of the table having lost all five games.

With just two table points up to this point, Manawatu have a -124 points difference which tells the story of their season thus far. Last weekend, Manawatu shipped 68 points against Bay of Plenty.

While it is true that Manawatu have also lost a few close games, most teams have used this fixture to rest top players.

Manawatu have been chopping and changing their side regularly as they search for some form. The truth is, they just don’t have the quality and depth to compete.