Champions scrape into Meads Cup
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.
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,’’ he 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 second-half 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. Defending champions Wanganui have sneaked through to the Meads Cup semifinals courtesy of the tied team formula.
Calculators and nerves of steel were needed by several coaches as Saturday afternoon unfolded.
In the end West Coast, Wanganui and Mid Canterbury all finished the Heartland Championship round-robin tied in fourth place on 26 points, but Wanganui claimed the semifinal spot courtesy of their clearly superior points differential in the round robin.
The result means Wanganui travel to Timaru this Saturday to take on South Canterbury, who finished top-of-the-table, courtesy of their 45-7 win over East Coast.
The second semifinal sees Buller travel north to take on Horowhenua Kapiti in an intriguing replay.
Horowhenua Kapiti got past Buller 30-26 on Saturday in their final game of the round-robin in Westport to finish second, with Buller hanging on to third place.
However, it took until the final game of the round robin to find out who grabbed the final spot in the Meads Cup, with kickoff times varying throughout Saturday afternoon.
First up Wanganui leap frogged North Otago into fourth after their
10-6 win over the Old Golds. The Butcher Boys’ failure to secure a four-try bonus point left their fortunes in other teams hands.
Mid Canterbury knew a win and four tries over King Country would give them a shot at making it.
The Hammers fans thought they had got the job done when they finally got past underdogs King Country 43-38 in the final few minutes in Taupo, with a man in the bin.
The formula to split two teams was based on whoever won the round-robin game, and Mid Canterbury had beaten Wanganui
40-39 in Ashburton. However, West Coast had the final say but it did not improve their own fortunes.
The Coasters secured a bonus point in their 36-26 over Wairarapa Bush in Masterton to send the tied formula to points differential and they had the worst.
Wanganui’s superior defensive record gave them a differential of
154 point, Mid Cnaterbury 51 and West Coast 8.
South Canterbury coach Barry
Matthews said he was not concerned who secured fourth spot.
‘‘All season I have said the competition has been very close, and 11 of the 12 teams could beat each other on their day,’’ he said.
The results mean North Otago, West Coast, Poverty Bay and Mid Canterbury will play off for the Lochore Cup (for teams finishing fifth to eighth).
Thames Valley and Poverty Bay also ended up tied for eighth but Poverty Bay’s 35-34 win over the Swamp Foxes mean they progressed.
The season is over for King Country, Wairarapa Bush, Thames Valley and East Coast, who didn’t manage a win.