Waikato stun Auckland to make Cup semis
A shock win for Waikato clinched them a Premiership semifinal spot in the Farah Palmer Cup.
Waikato defeated Auckland for the first time on Saturday in a 43-34 thriller in Auckland to jump into third and will face Canterbury in one national provincial women’s rugby semifinal, while table-toppers Counties Manukau will host Auckland in the other semifinal.
Rina Paraone and Karli Faneva scored two tries apiece as Waikato held on to their 28-12 halftime lead by outscoring the hosts seven tries to five.
Counties sealed top spot by shutting out Manawatu 48-0 on Saturday in Palmerston North, which eliminated the hosts from the playoff equation as the victors ran in eight tries.
Canterbury also got among the points as they defeated Wellington 55-34 in Christchurch to seal second spot after the round-robin and a home semi.
Black Ferns star Kendra Cocksedge scored 25 points for Canterbury, with two tries, six conversions and a penalty, while Lucy Anderson and Corrina Whiley each dotted down twice for Canterbury - as did Ayesha Leti-Liga
and Jackie Patea-Fereti for the beaten side.
Tasman made some history by scoring their first win in the history of the competition, beating Hawke’s Bay 24-12 at home in the Championship on Saturday.
Yesterday, Otago beat North Harbour 34-8 in the Championship division to give them home advantage against the same opposition in the playoff match to find who will play leaders Bay of Plenty in the Championship final.