Beaver try can’t save Waikato
Some late Stephen Donald magic couldn’t save Waikato from their inevitable fate.
The Mooloos required a miraculous swing in results in the final week of the Mitre 10 Cup to reach the semi-finals.
Waikato did what they had to beat by winning 28-24 in Wellington on Saturday night, with the Beaver touching down for a 77th minute try that secured the bonus-point victory they were after.
Damian McKenzie starred in the capital with three try assists - first an offload to Jordan Manihera, then a crossfield kick to Sevu Reece, before another brilliant offload for Donald’s match-winning score.
But Counties Manukau did a job on a weakened Canterbury outfit, who were already assured of top spot in the premiership, by winning 33-21 in Pukekohe before Waikato played, which meant the Mooloos needed an unlikely favour from lowly Southland on Sunday afternoon.
Tasman just needed one competition point against the Stags to nudge Waikato out of the top four, after their win in Wellington saw them leapfrog Auckland into fourth spot.
But the Makos made mincemeat of Southland and scored eight tries to win 56-0 in Nelson, which secured them third spot and a semi-final in Taranaki.
Canterbury will host Counties, while Waikato must reflect on falling agonisingly short at the final hurdle again.
The Mooloos have now failed to qualify for the premiership semi-finals for the fifth consecutive season.
2016 has seen improvement on last year’s brush with relegation, with five wins, one draw and four losses that’s included four Ranfurly Shield thrillers in Hamilton.
But the fourth defence against Canterbury was their last, sandwiched in between two costly losses to Counties and Northland in the space of 10 days, which meant Waikato’s promising start to the season was undone.
The Mooloos suffered the ignominy of becoming the first team to lose to the Taniwha in two years in a 48-27 defeat in Whangarei.
They responded by thumping Hawke’s Bay 46-22 in Hamilton before their trip to the capital in the final week.
Waikato should have been sitting pretty in the top four before facing Wellington, knowing just a win would secure a semi-final berth.