KEY POINTS:
AIR NZ CUP
North Harbour 22 Auckland 29
Auckland remain on course for the quarter-finals but are attempting to get there in a vessel that will need to be patched up quickly so that it remains sea-worthy.
There they were yesterday, cruising ever so nicely with a big lead and 20 minutes to stretch it, when they just about sank to defeat.
Harbour could barely believe their luck. They were waiting for the door to be slammed in their face, for their local rival to show no mercy, and what they got instead was a free pass back into the game.
At 29-3 Auckland should have been running riot. Instead, they lost captain Ben Atiga to the flu bug he had been carrying all week and Taniela Moa to injury and became guilty of the most basic errors.
They started kicking the ball out on the full. They dropped passes, ran up blind alleys and lost virtually all confidence without those two critical leaders on the field.
It was as if every drop of confidence drained from Auckland was transferred directly to Harbour, with the home side playing their best 25 minutes of the season.
They were helped no end by a shocking decision by the touch judge who failed to see that Jack McPhee's chip kick bounced out in the build-up to Harbour's second try.
"It's a hard job these guys have," said Auckland coach Shane Howarth. "I can't see what's wrong with having these guys a bit more accountable. If the ref said he got it wrong that he made a mistake that would be okay. We are fighting for our lives."
There must have been some higher force watching, though, because the balance of good luck was redressed when Jimmy Gopperth came to take the conversion. The Harbour first five had started his run up when he was impeded by a sideline TV operator.
If the kick had gone over, it would have made for an especially testing last five minutes as it would have put Harbour only five behind and they were running hot at that stage.
By coming up short, they lost any chance of making the knockout rounds, leaving coach Wayne Pivac to comment that the season now will effectively be judged on how many players win Super 14 contracts.
Gopperth has committed to the region, having been at Harbour on loan and will be in the frame to make the Blues. Pivac also thought Malakai Ravulo at openside had been an unsung hero.
As for Pivac himself, he has ruled out applying for the Auckland job and said his decision to not seek reappointment at Harbour next year was driven by the desire to do something new.
"I have been coaching at this level for 10 years and I feel I need a fresh challenge, he said. I am under contract here until the end of the year so that gives me a bit of time to see what opportunities [there are] for me both in rugby and outside rugby."
Howarth also said he was unlikely to apply for the Auckland job as he wanted to focus on his role as assistant at the Blues.
He also wants to finish this campaign strongly and believes that if Auckland can produce the form they showed in the first 55 minutes yesterday for the remainder of the season, they will be a dangerous side.
He's probably right. Auckland will welcome back their All Blacks this week and for periods against Harbour they were sharper than all season.
Some of the support work of the loose forwards was impressive, particularly Dean Budd, who looks like the kind of athlete who could mature into a high-quality blindside.
Onosai'i Auva'a was full of running and David Smith was at his electric best. There are flaws to Smith's game but he's a crowd pleaser, the kind of guy who makes everyone sit up.
A win against Northland will see Auckland safely into the last eight and, from there, they could be like the Warriors and take the playoffs by storm having only just scraped in.
North Harbour 22 (J. York, N. Tuitavake, J. McPhee tries; J. Gopperth 2 cons, pen Auckland 29 (D. Budd, D. Smith, T. Moa, S. Haukinima tries; B. Atiga 2 cons, pen; I. Toeava con)
