North Harbour 27
Waikato 36
The shocks had to end sometime yesterday and so they did at North Harbour when the home side couldn't find the turbo charge they needed in the final quarter.
Harbour played with passion, a bit of flair and enterprise and some belief. For 65 minutes they were in it. Really in it.
It was ding-dong kind of stuff where neither side could get a roll on, which was why Harbour were never more than five points behind until Dominiko Waqaniburotu clutched Richard Kahui's pop pass and crashed over.
The big lock's try put Waikato 36-27 ahead and from there they were always going to be safe. Harbour had plenty of possession to pull off the comeback - but they didn't have the legs, nor the game-breakers.
They didn't have that necessary patience and clinical edge that is required to open little gaps into gaping holes.
Waikato are not the sort of team that can be easily broken down either. They have a bit of steel in them as well as a neat midfield and an efficient pack.
Again, as they did last week, they steadily went about their business creating opportunities and holding their shape well. They probably feel they should never have let Harbour's challenge go on as long as it did and for that they have to blame their aerial work.
Not so much the lineout, more their kick-off receipts, at which Harbour were equally erratic. Any team that doubts the importance of accurate work at kick-offs should have watched the last 10 minutes of the first half.
The game got stuck in a flurry of point-scoring as neither team could take clean ball after they had scored and immediately coughed up points.
That period damaged Harbour more than Waikato as the former capitalised with penalties, the latter landing a couple of quick tries.
One of those will sit uncomfortably in the memory of Luke McAlister. A player of his calibre knows he won't be invited on tour with the All Blacks if he drops off tackles as softly as he did when Save Tokula ran through him.
The Waikato centre has to be hit with a big shoulder and McAlister's failure to offer one allowed Tokula ran 40 metres before he threw a neat pass to Christian Lealiifano.
It was the kind of blow that could have sunk Harbour; made them think it was all over.
But they have spirit, do this crew. Heads didn't drop.
No one panicked and they didn't make the mistake of thinking they had to take major risks to find a path back.
Michael Harris kept a firm hand on the tiller and played with the composure and confidence that must surely have gone some way towards convincing Pat Lam that he need not look further than the North Shore for his other Blues' first five.
It wasn't just composure Harris offered. He made a couple of searing breaks, kicked nicely and tackled way more than any first five really should.
His efforts deserved a better result as did those of the powerful Matt Luamanu who was a handful on the charge.
Harbour seemed to have belief, just not enough of it. They are going to have to convince themselves they are good enough to win, not just go close.
North Harbour 27 (B. Afeaki, A. Fatafehi, J. Parsons tries; M. Harris 3 cons, 2 pens), Waikato 36 (B. Leonard, D. Sweeney, C. Lealiifano, D. Waqaniburotu tries; T. Renata 3 cons, 4 pens).
