Crossed fingers as rain forecast for big Hawke’s Bay weekend

The Warriors on their last visit to Napier, when they played to 16,195 fans in 2023. Manly packed the former Nelson Park, in Hastings, with more than 12,500 fans for a pre-season match in 1992. Photo / Ian Cooper

Thousands of sports and events fans in Hawke’s Bay will be keeping their fingers crossed, with rain forecast for the weekend as the region enters possibly its biggest week of 2026 so far.

A MetService heavy rain watch has been forecast for Hawke’s Bay, Tararua and Manawatū from 3pm tomorrow to 2am on Saturday, and more rain is forecast during the weekend.

The warning is for heavy rain or showers with a chance of thunderstorms and localised downpours of 25-40mm an hour, especially inland.

Headlining the weekend is the pre-season rugby league match between the New Zealand Warriors and Sydney club Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, with a crowd of more than 10,000 expected at McLean Park, Napier, for Saturday’s 3.40pm kickoff.

A women’s match of 20 minutes each way between Hawke’s Bay and Bay of Plenty will start at 2pm.

It’s a particularly big weekend for Central Hawke’s Bay, starting on Saturday with Te Matatini 2027 qualifying festival Te Kahu o Te Amorangi Ngāti Kahungunu Kapa Haka Regionals from 7am-8pm at Russell Park, Waipukurau.

On Sunday, an eight-race programme at the Waipukurau Jockey Club starts with the first at 12.40pm, and features the $40,000 Wairoa Cup at 4.25pm, with Wellington Cup-winning Hawke’s Bay jockey Kate Hercock riding the top-weight.

The race meeting is the second of three cup meetings in Waipukurau during the closure of the Hastings racecourse for track renovation. The first had a capacity crowd for the Waipukurau Cup in November, and the third will be for the $120,000 Hawke’s Bay Cup on April 11.

This weekend’s events lead into the week of the February 19-22 Napier Art Deco Festival, again expected to attract thousands of visitors, among whom will be some of the 11,000 passengers from five short-stop cruise-liner visits to Napier from Monday to the end of the festival.

National weather agency MetService is forecasting some rain for Napier each day from Friday to Monday.

For the day of the rugby league, MetService is forecasting a maximum temperature for Napier of 24C with occasional rain, clearing in the morning, then partly cloudy, with southerlies developing ahead of possible heavy rain early on Sunday.

Rain is also forecast for Waipukurau on Saturday, with possible winds added on Sunday.

The Manly squad is expected in Napier late today, with a closed captain’s run scheduled for McLean Park tomorrow morning. Club legends Cliff Lyons, Steve Menzies and Kieran Foran will appear alongside Warriors great Tohu Harris and netball legend Irene van Dyk at a 5.30-8pm Friday speaking event at the park.

The Warriors have a full programme, arriving tomorrow morning and staging an open captain’s run at the park. Gates open at 1.30pm.

Doug Laing is a Hawke’s Bay Today reporter based in Napier, with more than 40 years’ experience covering sports, other events and news in the region.