KEY POINTS:
Canterbury look increasingly like the only team in the same ballpark as Wellington as rugby's Air NZ Cup took on a stable appearance in week six.
Even though both teams were below their best, they tallied week-high 36-point performances away from home.
Just as the Crusaders and Hurricanes were New Zealand standard bearers in this year's Super 14, their franchise base unions are fast leaving the 12 other provinces in their wake.
Unbeaten leaders Wellington stormed home late to beat Manawatu 36-13 after trailing at halftime while Canterbury could have beaten North Harbour by far more than the 36-9 scoreline were it not for some slipshod handling.
The top four is unchanged, with Bay of Plenty and Hawke's Bay both producing solid home wins.
Third-placed Bay of Plenty farewelled departing halfback Jamie Nutbrown in style with a 31-20 dousing of Otago, having led 24-0 at halftime.
Conversely, Hawke's Bay overcame an early deficit to see off Taranaki 18-14 in the round-opener on Thursday.
The tail end of the standings is just as solid, with Counties Manukau, Northland and Manawatu still harking back to week one for their only taste of success.
However, Counties-Manukau nearly caused a boilover yesterday before going down 15-20 to Waikato in Hamilton.
Despite a patchy performance to snare just their second win, Waikato were the big mid-table improvers to sixth place.
Also climbing sharply were seventh-placed Tasman, who trumped Northland 31-10 in Whangarei in a match between two sides likely to be demoted by the New Zealand Rugby Union next year.
The other match was a gripping, if mistake-filled, Ranfurly Shield challenge which saw Southland somehow repelled 13-9 by an Auckland side still struggling for form.
The Southlanders, who clawed the score back to 6-6 with a quarter remaining, dominated the second half yet conceded the only try to Auckland winger David Smith.
Southland coach Paul Henderson, desperate his team repeat their last Shield grab 49 years earlier to the day, was left lamenting his team's inability to finish off a swag of attacking opportunities.
That included an 18-phase surge to the tryline after the final hooter.
"You want to go in there," said Henderson, pointing to his team's changing room.
"It's like a morgue."
Auckland will need considerable improvement to withstand their next challenge, from Wellington in two weeks.
The Wellingtonians must be confident of claiming the Shield for the first time since 1982, particularly given the attacking form of players like fullback Cory Jane and winger Hosea Gear.
Their biggest rivals Canterbury have settled into a quality allround style, eclipsing Harbour with five unanswered tries despite the continued absence of their key attacking back, first five-eighth Stephen Brett.
Brett was to return to the fray on Saturday but was a late withdrawal with a calf complaint.
The only other black mark was an ankle injury to promising second five-eighth Ryan Crotty which will probably sideline him for the rest of the season.
- NZPA
