Cup semifinalists on receiving end
North Harbour will feel good about their chances of a semifinal upset in the national provincial rugby championship.
The hosts at Albany ran in 10 tries to defeat a below-strength Taranaki 64-33 in a points-fest in the final round of the Mitre 10 Cup regular season.
Harbour will meet Canterbury away in one Premiership semifinal while Ranfurly Shield holders Taranaki will want better from their first-choice lineup when they host Tasman in the other playoff encounter.
At the other end of the table, Waikato dropped out of the top flight after a 36-32 loss to Bay of Plenty in Tauranga on Saturday.
Had Waikato got up late to pip the hosts, Auckland would have experienced the drop from the top flight for the first time, but Bay of Plenty held off a late Mooloo charge.
Table-toppers Taranaki elected to send what was effectively a B side north and that benefited North Harbour and their winger Tevita Li, who scored five tries.
While North Harbour’s frontline players were having what was effectively a training run at times, the vast majority of Taranaki’s first choice XV were at home having the weekend off before their semifinal.
Tasman also had a poor lead-in to the semis as they slumped to a 52-30 beating by Counties Manukau on Saturday.
The Steelers scored eight tries to the Makos’ four in a match that meant nothing for the hosts at Pukekohe, as they were already safe from relegation and had no chance of making the semifinals.
Counties had a dreadful start to the campaign that ruled them out of a top four finish early. They were in a relegation scrap for the second half of the season and though they avoided the drop, there was enough quality in this team that they should have been pushing for higher honours.
Waikato coach Sean Botherway ’’ 100 per cent’’ wants to remain in charge despite the crushing disappointment of relegation from Premiership.
Waikato will next year be playing
in the second tier of the national provincial rugby competition for the first time since 1986.
After a promising start, the Mooloos slumped to a record seven straight defeats during a dismal campaign that equals their worst season - of two wins and eight defeats - when Waikato were last relegated from the top tier in 1985.
Botherway said dropping to the championship was hard to take but it’s no more than Waikato deserve after missing two chances to send Auckland bottom of the premiership in the last two regular rounds.
‘‘There are no other words for it. We’re collectively disappointed,’’ Botherway said.
Canterbury had opened the door for Waikato to survive by beating
Auckland 32-27 at Eden Park on Friday night.
In the Championship, Northland grabbed a place in the last four when Hawke’s Bay beat Manawatu¯ on Sunday.
A stunning Hawke’s Bay secondhalf display slammed the door shut on Manawatu¯ as the hosts in Napier won 36-31 in a match marred by two red cards.
Otago banked a bonus point 43-19 win over Southland to confirm their spot in the 2017 semifinals.
They racked up six tries to three at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on Saturday to move into third spot.
Runaway league leaders Wellington will host Northland in one semi, with Bay of Plenty at home against Otago in the other.