Bay beware, it’s the unlucky 13th

Thank goodness New Zealand Rugby has ended 11 years of a two-division NPC format.

Just a third of the way through the nine-week regular season in 2022, this competition looks to be as wide open as any in recent times.

With all teams fighting it out for the one trophy, plenty have put up their hands, and also put them down, in what has been an exciting and unpredictable start.

Here’s Stuff’s talking points ahead of the round-four action:

Will it be unlucky 13 for Hawke’s Bay?

After two away games last week, Hawke’s Bay put the Ranfurly Shield back on the line against North Harbour in Napier tomorrow.

The Magpies clung on to the Shield against a fast-finishing Counties Manukau a fortnight back (following two pre-season outings with it on the line against Heartland Championship sides) to equal the 12 defences they managed in their last reign in 2014-15.

The last time a Shield tenure went longer was Canterbury’s 15-game effort in 2004-06.

And who was that one ended by? None other than North Harbour, whose 21-17 victory at Jade Stadium marked the first time in the province’s history they had got their hands on the prized Log o’ Wood.

The brilliant Bryn Gatland

If North Harbour are to end another Shield run and break their own 15-year drought, they have a captain and playmaker with the requisite temperament and skill to guide them there.

Bryn Gatland might just be the best first five-eighth going around at this level. Sure, there’s a few out there with a touch more X-factor, but for all-round No 10 quality, it’s hard to go past the 27-year-old, who delivers at a premium level every year for his province.

Coming off something of a breakthrough year with the Chiefs, Gatland plays with such game-smarts and knows just how to unleash his very dangerous outsides, while his goalkicking is so often a thing of beauty – illustrated no better than last weekend’s nine from nine effort in the win over Tasman.

All Blacks watch

A flurry of All Blacks were fed back into round three of the competition following the national side’s arrival back from South Africa.

We won’t see so many this weekend as most have re-joined the squad to prepare for the Rugby Championship test against Argentina in Christchurch tomorrow night, but there are still a few worth keeping an eye on.

Lock Brodie Retallick is ahead of schedule in his return from a broken cheekbone, suffered in the third test against Ireland in Wellington on July 16, and if he got through contact sessions this week, would turn out for Hawke’s Bay in the Shield challenge.

Tighthead props Nepo Laulala (knee) and Ofa Tuungafasi (neck) both missed the trip to the republic and will turn out for a second successive week for Counties Manukau and Northland, respectively.

After two outings with Northland, midfielder Jack Goodhue is now gone, with surgery to his troublesome knee, but it would pay to keep an eye on Brad Weber (Hawke’s Bay) and Damian Mckenzie (Waikato), who will be wanting to impress Ian Foster and earn recalls at some stage this year.