All Blacks returning for final round-robin stage of Bunnings Warehouse NPC

· ALLBLACKS.COM
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Sixteen members of the All Blacks Lipovitan-D Rugby Championship squad will represent their Provincial Unions in the final round-robin stage of the Bunnings Warehouse NPC this weekend.

George Bower will be available for Otago when they travel to Semenoff Stadium to face Northland on Friday. Saturday’s four Bunnings Warehouse NPC matches will also each feature at least one of the Rugby Championship squad, with Dalton Papali’i and Cam Roigard available for Counties Manukau when they are hosted by Manawatu at Massey University; Southland and North Harbour having Ethan de Groot and Mark Tele’a at their service when they meet in Invercargill; Billy Proctor set to bolster Wellington when they take on Hawkes Bay at Sky Stadium; and Samipeni Finau available for Waikato to face All Blacks teammates George Bell and Sam Darry in the Canterbury team.

A further seven players are available for Sunday’s two matches, Tasman vs Taranaki and Auckland vs Bay of Plenty. Tasman will have Ethan Blackadder, Noah Hotham and David Havili ready to help defend the Ranfurly Shield for the last time this season, while Stephen Perofeta is eyeing a return from his calf injury to assist Taranaki's Shield challenge. Pasilio Tosi is set to play for Bay of Plenty and both Harry Plummer and Patrick Tuipulotu are available for Auckland.

The list of All Blacks from the Lipovitan-D Rugby Championship squad playing for their provincial teams is as follows - all matches live and exclusive on Sky Sport:

Friday 4 October

Northland v Otago – Semenoff Stadium, Whangarei, 7.05pm
Otago: George Bower

Saturday 5 October

Manawatū v Counties Manukau – Massey University, 2.05pm
Counties Manukau: Dalton Papali’i, Cam Roigard

Southland v North Harbour – Invercargill Rugby Park, 4.35pm
Southland: Ethan de Groot
North Harbour: Mark Tele’a

Wellington v Hawkes Bay – Sky Stadium, Wellington, 4.35pm
Wellington: Billy Proctor

Canterbury v Waikato – Apollo Projects Stadium, 7.05pm
Canterbury: George Bell and Sam Darry
Waikato: Samipeni Finau

Sunday 6 October

Tasman v Taranaki – Trafalgar Park, Nelson, 2.05pm
Tasman: Ethan Blackadder, Noah Hotham and David Havili 
Taranaki: Stephen Perofeta

Auckland v Bay of Plenty– Auckland Grammar School, 4.35pm
Auckland: Harry Plummer and Patrick Tuipulotu
Bay of Plenty: Pasilio Tosi

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