Waikato 34
Auckland 13
KEY POINTS:
The failure of the weather gods to deliver the first dry weekend since May won't have dampened spirits in the Waikato. It can rain all it likes - the Mooloo men are back in business.
Well, possibly. They are certainly closer to it after hammering Auckland in a
performance that was more about guts and hard work than flair and polish.
When a team have lost their way - as Waikato have - the road to redemption has to start with sweat. There was plenty of that last night.
The forwards put it about. There was no soft belly exposed at the collision and Waikato will be quietly delighted they got the upper hand against an Auckland pack that contained three of the current All Black squad.
They will also be delighted at the way they didn't drop the intensity of their rush defence and the composure they found on attack when they really needed it.
It was crisp passing and then superb timing from Sosene Anesi that created the first try.
It was a little bit of luck and quick thinking from Stephen Donald that was behind the second and then good awareness and speed from Sione Lauaki that secured the game midway through the second half.
The final emotion for Waikato was more relief than elation because they needed to find something extra after starting the season so catastrophically.
It was just plain wrong that a union with their resources should be languishing near the foot of the table, unable to beat the relegation candidates elect.
Lauaki, as much in need of a turnaround in fortune as the side as he was playing for, sprung into the kind of dynamic form he's been spectacularly short of producing for the All Blacks this year.
Maybe he knew he needed a big effort to have any chance of ever playing a test again. Or maybe this is more his level. Whatever, he cranked things up, making some powerful surges with the obligatory legion of defenders clinging to his every limb.
The thing with Lauaki, though, is that even at his worst, he can make some impressive headway. That's not so tough when you are 120kg and capable of getting up to speeds that would have old ladies scared.
What's critical is the length of time between bursts - it's a bit like counting the gap between the lightning strike and the roar of the thunder - the shorter the gap, the bigger the havoc being wreaked.
Lauaki has to be on top of his workrate to be truly effective and there were still prolonged periods without a decent sighting of him.
The break he made to set up Callum Bruce's game-clinching try was his first witnessed act of the second half. It would be interesting to hear him account for his whereabouts between minutes 40 and 55.
It's a massive pity that Lauaki can't vacate his body and rent it out to Liam Messam. The Waikato captain has the high octane workrate missing in Lauaki.
He carried the ball superbly last night, made some big hits around the fringes and led from the front. The only thing he supposedly lacks is some bulk.
And that perception he's too small has to be challenged. He didn't appear to be too small when he bundled over blue jersey after blue jersey.
There was no question he played with more energy and presence than Daniel Braid, the man most likely to start this week's All Black test against Samoa at openside.
To be fair to Braid, there wasn't much he could do as part of an Auckland side that was horribly lacking in conviction, accuracy and aggression.
There was too much wild passing from the backs, too much kicking and, worse still, too much inaccurate kicking.
Taniela Moa at halfback was the only visitor who played as if he hadn't given up the ghost. He was his usual bristling self and backed his ability to make yardage round the fringes.
His energy wasn't infectious and Auckland looked disinterested for much of the second half and, as a consequence, Joe Rokocoko was never really given an opportunity to get into the game.
The big wing is hoping to make an All Black return for the end of year tour. He'll have to get into his stride quickly because, on this showing, Auckland's involvement in this competition will be nowhere near as long as they would like.