Playoffs spot now within reach for Turbos

The Manawatu¯ Turbos are not only in the playoff hunt in provincial rugby, but now have a chance for a home semifinal.

Three wins on the trot, coupled with losses for some of their key rivals, has seen the Turbos draw level on points with Otago in second on the championship table.

The win over Southland saw them equal their win record from 2016 and exceed their 2015 effort.

The kicker for Manawatu¯ is that they have one game in hand over the rest of the division.

Wellington, on 37 competition points, cannot be touched at the top of the Championship ladder.

But Otago (21), Manawatu¯ (21), Northland (20) and Bay of Plenty (18) remain locked in a battle for the other three places.

One win from their remaining three matches, which includes the dreaded double-header week of matches on a Wednesday (Taranaki in New Plymouth) and Sunday (Hawke’s Bay in Napier) next week, should be enough to ensure they are in the semifinals.

Two wins from their remaining matches may be all it takes to grab second spot on the table, which would ensure they avoid Wellington in the semifinals.

With Bay of Plenty set to face Otago in Dunedin on Friday and Waikato, who will be desperate to avoid relegation from the premiership, in Tauranga on October 14, it is possible the Turbos could advance to the semifinals without another win. But limping into the top four would not inspire confidence.

The side has two major matches to target in Counties Manukau and Hawke’s Bay.

Counties Manukau have been locked in a relegation battle in the premiership and do not have a good track record in Palmerston North. While Hawke’s Bay’s sole win this season has been over Southland in week one.

There is also the possibility of catching out Taranaki on October 11 as they eye a home semifinal in the premiership and could be tempted to rest some players in a gruelling double-header week.

Regardless of how well they have set up their semifinal run, the Turbos can ill afford to take their eyes off the wheel.