Canterbury have been champions 7 of the last 8 years and have scored 88 points in their opening 2 games of the season

Northland have played 3 games in 8 days

Canterbury welcome back a number of All Blacks to their match day squad

Northland have the unenviable task of hosting Canterbury in the Mitre 10 Cup. The home side have struggled at the start of the season with 3 straight losses while their crossover opponents have earned 2 very impressive bonus points wins