Shock win keeps Dunedin’s Ben Miller at Bishopscourt on Saturday.
HAS Dunedin found a way to claw its way back into contention?
A shock 4714 win against Southern has provided the Sharks a playoff lifeline.
Taieri dealt Kaikorai’s semifinal prospects a blow with a thrilling 4640 win and moved into second place.
University added to its lead at the top of the standings with a 5924 win against Zingari-Richmond, while Green Island edged AlhambraUnion 2017.
Harbour had a bye and slipped back to third place.
Taieri .................................. 46 Kaikorai .............................. 40
Taieri snapped a threegame losing streak but it had to score nearly 50 points to overcome a desperate Kaikorai at Bishopscourt.
The Eels seemed hell bent on making it tough for themselves. Experienced second fiveeighth Kori Rupene gave away a penalty try and spent 10 minutes in the bin for slapping down a pass when Kaikorai had a clear overlap and would have scored.
Hardworking loosie Josh Brown also had a stint behind the posts for foot tripping.
Then there were two intercept tries early in the second half which gave Kaikorai a twopoint lead.
But Taieri first fiveeighth Brodie Flannery had a wonderful day with the boot, drilling five conversions and two penalties in a 16point haul.
Those two penalties got his side back in front with about 20 minutes remaining. The backs did the rest.
Underrated winger Glen Beadle was on the end of the simple set piece move and reached over in the tackle to score in the corner.
Then impressive centre Matt Whaanga crashed over close to the ruck to score his second try and put the game out of reach.
Kaikorai did not give up, though. Hooker Sam Wyber brushed aside two tacklers and got an off load away to Sean Jansen, who scored.
Then Kaikorai was awarded a second penalty try from a monster scrum right at the end of the game. That was enough to grab a second bonus point and hold on to fourth place.
Dunedin .............................. 47 Southern ............................ 14
Dunedin is not done yet.
The Sharks scored 33 unanswered points in the second half to upset Southern 4714 at Bathgate Park.
Earlier this month Dunedin was thumped 6310 by University and a place in the semifinals looked a remote possibility.
But suddenly the team is back in contention. It will need to win its remaining games against Harbour and Green Island and that will not be easy.
It will also need Kaikorai and Southern to lose their remaining matches.
But there is hope and the way Dunedin played in the second half, albeit against an understrength Southern side, it would be a threat if it made it.
The game was locked 1414 at the break. But Dunedin had blown a few opportunities and took more momentum into the second half.
Its midfield combination of Isaiah Duncanson and Zac HarrisonJones created havoc and the gaps started opening up pretty regularly.
Highlanders lock Alex Ainley was dominant and his second row partner Mark GrieveDunn put in another very solid shift.
The set pieces were fairly even but Dunedin was hitting the rucks harder and was able to pin Southern in its own territory for long periods in the second half.
No 8 Kyle Harris had a strong game for the Magpies, while Duncanson was the standout for Dunedin, followed closely by Ainley.
Green Island ...................... 20
AlhambraUnion ................. 17
Green Island ought to start the campaign to ditch bonus points now.
The club will look back at this season and wonder what would have been possible with a few more bonus points.
It posted its sixth win this season with a 2017 win against AlhambraUnion at the North Ground.
Just the three tries, of course. Those fourtry bonus points have been hard to come by for the club.
Still, six wins represents a pretty good season for a team which has struggled in the past.
Either side could have won a tight fixture.
An Alex Barnsley penalty was ultimately all that separated the teams.
The honours up front were shared, although the Green Island pack got better as the game went on.
AlhambraUnion will lament a yellow card for talented loose forward Ben Tuiomanufili. He got 10 minutes for a high tackle midway through the second half. During his absence Green Island scored to take what proved to be an unassailable 2017 lead.
AlhambraUnion was a little guilty of trying to get the ball wide to sevens star Vilimoni Koroi too early and when other options would have been more prudent.
But when Koroi got the pill in his hands he was very dangerous and went in for one try.
Green Island hooker JakeLane Fowler and flanker Brett Kingsbury were strong in loose play and second fiveeighth Delany McKenzie proved hard to tackle.
University ........................... 59
ZingariRichmond ............. 24
This fixture has not always ended well for ZingariRichmond.
Two years ago University humbled the Colours 1370 at Montecillo.
The homes side enjoyed close to parity up front, so there was to be no repeat of that lopsided encounter.
Still, University was superior on the flanks and when it got the ball wide it was able to run in some pretty nice tries.
Out of favour Highlanders utility back Matt Faddes scored two of his team’s nine tries.
University led 315 at the break but ZingariRichmond played some decent rugby in the second 40 minutes and ran in three more tries to nab a fourtry bonus point.
That point will not shift it off the bottom of the standings. It has had that position cemented for some time.
But the home team played with pride and veteran No 8 Chris Bell dotted down twice.
Highlanders winger Tevita Nabura looked dangerous when he ran the ball.
University centre Thomas UmagaJensen was arguably the best on display. He showed some nifty footwork and ran some good angles.
University lock Ben Reidy connected with some hard tackles and kept busy at ruck time.
The win took University to 61 points and increased its buffer at the top of the standings to 13 points.