The Counties Manukau Steelers will have plenty of soul searching ahead of them after falling to their fourth straight loss in the Premiership.

Waikato ended a forgetful ITM Cup season on a positive note last night, beating Bay of Plenty 29-12 to consign the Steamers to the competition's wooden spoon.

Substitute Latiume Fosita stepped off the bench to hand Northland an nail-biting win over Bay of Plenty in Tauranga tonight.

Hawkes Bay deserved to retain the Ranfurly Shield with a convincing second defence led by halfback Chris Eaton and first five-eighths Ihaia West.

Auckland coach Paul Feeney must be a master of the halftime team talk, though he probably wishes his oratory skills were less essential.

Auckland need more of the second-half commitment which saw them steal victory from Wellington when they face Bay of Plenty in today's crossover clash in Rotorua.

Manawatu's ITM Cup campaign just keeps getting better.