• North Harbour 32 v 41 Hawke's Bay
• Manawatu 21 v 54 Tasman

I didn't watch the Tasman game, but that's not much of a surprise they have a much more expensive squad than Manawatu typically carry and have been there or thereabouts at the top of the table for a long time now.

Hawke's Bay picking up the W away from home at North Harbour where they hadn't won since 2011 is a heck of a result. Definitely didn't look like they'd get the job done for large parts of it, but once Lincoln McClutchie came on in the 2nd half they looked very solid and had a great scrum and maul. How Lincoln wasn't picked up by any SR team this year is beyond me. Also, Fakatava is (for me) currently a better halfback than Noah Hotham; the latter probably has a higher ceiling in the long run but I think its a real shame that Robertson's team decided to go with their boy than pick the better player. See the Bell over Riccitelli selection as 3rd Hooker as another example of that.