Manawatu's rugby coach says his side has taken a lot of confidence from their away win over provincial giants Canterbury on the weekend.
Manawatu posted one of three shocks in the opening round with their 25-24 win in Christchurch.
Northland opened the round with a surprise home victory over Waikato and Counties Manukau wound up the weekend by defeating last year's unbeaten champions Auckland by 11 points at Pukekohe.
Dave Rennie says the win was important for Manawatu's self-belief and hopefully the team now understands they can do well in the competition.
