A draw, but Auckland must feel happy

A determined Ben Atiga steps out as Auckland come back to overcome a 19-point deficit against Waikato. Phil Walter / Getty Images

Auckland 22 Waikato 22

If Auckland win the national championship, the big question might turn out to be, what did Stevie say at halftime?

The halftime in question was at Eden Park on Saturday night. Waikato led 19-0 and Auckland seemed to be toast.

So what did the captain and former All Black halfback say to his team who, despite buckets of possession, looked dead and buried against the hard heads from down the motorway?

Steve Devine, it seems, was blunt. Coach Pat Lam referred to being "outpassioned" by Waikato. Devine went for the jugular.

"We didn't show up in the first half," he said. "The country boys had come to the big smoke and were all over us.

"We spoke about fixing it three times out there and it wasn't fixed. Some words were said [at halftime], it was fixed and we were able to play our footy."

The result was a four-try binge in the second half as Waikato, down to 14 men for a vital 10 minutes when 12 points were scored after captain Steven Bates was put in the sin bin, lost their focus.

Auckland could have won it, which at halftime looked as likely as snow on Christmas Day. But as if they'd woken up from a nightmare, Waikato finished the better of the two and had Jono Gibbes and the outstanding Liam Messam go close at the lefthand corner in the dying moments.

Judged on Saturday night, before a dreadful 12,000 crowd, Auckland's future is in good shape.

The backline contained new faces, sandwiched by Devine and fellow former All Black, centre Ben Atiga, who spent more than half the match at fullback after Brent Ward departed with a lump on his head.

So pencil in names for the future such as Lachie Munro, who overcame a couple of early points-conceding blunders to show real running and passing talent, and David Smith.

Smith scored the try of the night from 60m, with a run, chip, re-gather and sprint away solo job which put Auckland in front for the first time 17 minutes from the end.

Other teenage backs, including Roimata Hansell-Pune and Benson Stanley, had their moments too.

"I'm really rapt with those guys," Lam said. "It was a big cauldron to go into against Waikato, then 19-0 down, and they all stepped up."

Certainly their progress will be aided by the experience. But other, older heads also deserve plaudits.

Andrew Blowers, switched with Jerome Kaino to No 6, was again strong and involved and Kurtis Haiu was just about Auckland's only reliable source of lineout ball.

Brad Mika, on for the second half, got Auckland moving after Munro's crafty little dink ahead was expertly gathered by Kaino, leaving Mika the final 20m run to the line.

Waikato coach Warren Gatland has had better nights, but he did not believe his players were guilty of dropping their guard at halftime.

His aim was to take five points, get to the top of the table and stay there over the next fortnight. That would have secured home games for as long as Waikato stayed alive in the Air New Zealand Cup.

Instead, the second-half reversal left Gatland felling gutted. 'We conceded 12 points with Steven in the bin and that was the game."

He didn't dispute the yellow card, given by referee Chris Pollock in the 49th minute. But he probably wouldn't have been averse to giving Pollock a pair of glasses.

Auckland got seven penalties to none in the first half. For all their talk of focusing on their discipline, the rule book is almost as complex as an airliner's construction manual, and they're no more on-field angels than most teams to have trodden the turf.

By scoring four tries, Auckland got a bonus point as well as splitting four with Waikato.

So the Aucklanders are where they want to be, in control of their own quarter-final fate.