Waikato27 Northland19
So that's five in a row for Waikato and, if they weren't totally convincing, they did graphically show how defence can be offence.
The killer blow in this match came after an almost perfect assault by a committed Northland pack on the Waikato line. Leading 19-15, the Northland forwards drove, retained possession and recycled. A try looked inevitable - if they kept it in the forwards.
They didn't. The forwards thinned out a bit, the ball was spun wide and tremendous rush defence from Waikato shook the Northlanders. Centre Jackson Willison made a spot tackle, the ball squirted free and the counter-attack saw flanker Jack Lam put the flying fullback Sosene Anesi away for his second try after a movement of 90 metres.
It was a 14-point try and Waikato ran the match down from there - and they should not be criticised too much for finding this match difficult.
It's not easy playing a team like Northland. Second to bottom, they should have been no more than a speed bump on Waikato's smooth road to the semifinals. Waikato came into this match with four wins in a row and a whole lot of momentum which should have carried them home comfortably.
Nuh-uh. Northland can be exasperating. They can commit blunders commensurate with their lowly position but, in the next breath, can blitz the enemy with rugby of sublime quality.
Like the try that they worked from a set piece not long before the 30-minute mark last night. The Waikato faithful were packing the cow bells back into the boxes marked 'for Auckland' - for the final showdown on Saturday - after a slick first try to the pacy Anesi.
Northland had been working away - a dropped ball here, a squittered pass there, some enterprising play from nowhere - and were staying in the game courtesy of some flawless goalkicking by Lachie Munro. But that first try to Anesi, worked into a hole by a sweet pass from Willison, seemed as if it would put the rugby world securely back on its normal axis.
But the next real movement of the game saw Northland skipper and fullback Jared Payne burst onto an inside pass. He linked with No 8 Cameron Eyre and some efficient passing involving second five Derek Carpenter and evergreen first five David Holwell saw winger Damien Fakafanua over in the corner for as polished a try as you'd see anywhere.
With Waikato rattled and giving away penalties, Munro cheerfully banged over the kicks and he racked up 14 points in the 19-10 halftime lead.
Waikato steeled themselves, the scrum began destroying the Taniwha set piece and hooker Aled de Malmanche stopped trying to cut out the middle man by throwing the lineout ball directly to the halfback.
First five Stephen Donald nearly breached the defences just before halftime, but some brave Northland resistance held them out.
Waikato had to score first in the second half and they did. From a ruck, de Malmanche pushed off a prop, crunched through Eyre's tackle and then accelerated.
Twenty metres later, three Northland tacklers were still trying to get to him and he scored in a tackle after a solo run of power and speed. Then came that match-winning defence by a desperate backline and Anesi's runaway try. Northland battled away but they had done their dash and were held in their own territory for the last 15 minutes, time enough for winger Dwayne Sweeney to notch the vital bonus-point try against a visibly wilting defence.
Waikato did enough - enough to demonstrate what a handful they will be for Auckland in the potential semifinal qualifier on Saturday.
Waikato 27 (S. Anesi 2, A. de Malmanche, D. Sweeney tries; S. Donald 2 con, pen), Northland 19 (D. Fakafanua try; L. Munro con, 4 pen). Halftime: 10-19.
What happens next
* Canterbury, Wellington and Hawke's Bay seem set for the Air New Zealand Cup semifinals, while Southland, Auckland and Waikato look set to contest the final berth next week.
* Southland, after a fine season of consistent contention, face the unpleasant possibility they could miss the finals. They play Canterbury in the season's final Ranfurly Shield challenge on Thursday night and, although upsets are not unknown when a team like Canterbury has comfortably won the round-robin phase (even if they lose the next match), a Southland victory would be a real turn-up.
* That leaves the southerners vulnerable to the fast-finishing Waikato team and/or Auckland. Waikato play Auckland in a likely winner-takes-all meeting on Saturday, after Auckland meet cellar-dwellers Counties-Manukau today.
* The Bay boys aren't home and hosed either. Hawke's Bay play Northland in Whangerei and, after a gutsy display against Waikato last night, an upset at Okara Park is not beyond the realms of possibility.
* Hawke's Bay do, however, have the comfort of a much better points differential than Auckland or Waikato, should it come down to that.
* This week's matches: Canterbury vs Southland, Northland vs Hawkes Bay, Tasman vs Wellington, Manawatu vs North Harbour, Otago vs Counties Manukau, Waikato vs Auckland, Bay of Plenty vs Taranaki.
