Southland win final Carisbrook clash
Otago's Carisbrook farewell match ended in disaster for home side, as neighbours Southland spoilt the party by winning 19-12.
Otago weren't even rewarded with a try for their efforts, while Southland ran in three in the first half to set up a historic win in the famous ground's final fixture.
Excellent play from Robbie Robinson, Scott Cowan and Josh Bekhuis in particular allowed Southland to stamp their authority on the match, while meekly lost possession ruined any hope of an Otago revival.
Manawatu threw the form book out of the window by fighting their way to a 15-10 victory of their neighbours Taranaki in Palmerston North.
Taranaki went in search of a fourth consecutive win in the NPC, but Manawatu continually turned the ball over and never allowed Taranaki a solid attacking platform.
Manawatu won a tighthead scrum near the end of the match only to be denied an almost certain try threw a costly error by Scott Waldrom, before wing Asaeli Tikoirotuma went round the outside to score the match-winning try.
Otago 12-19 Southland
The scorers:
For Otago
Pens: Dickson 3
DG: Parker
For Southland
Tries: Robinson, Hardie, Cowan
Cons: Wilson 2
Teams:
Otago: 15 Ben R Smith, 14 Joe Hill, 13 Ben Atiga, 12 Glenn Dickson, 11 Buxton Popoali'i, 10 Tony Brown, 9 Sean Romans, 8 Andrew Stead, 7 Adam Hill, 6 Gareth Evans, 5 Tom Donnelly (captain), 4 Daniel Ramsay, 3 Kees Meeuws, 2 Jason MacDonald, 1 James McGougan.
Replacements: 16 Liam Coltman, 17 Pieter van der Merwe, 18 Rob Verbakel, 19 TJ Ioane, 20 Johnny Legg, 21 Hayden Parker, 22 Jayden Spence, 23 Scott Manson.
Southland: 15 Robbie Robinson, 14 Kade Poki, 13 Kendrick Lynn, 12 Matt Saunders, 11 Glen Horton, 10 James Wilson, 9 Scott Cowan, 8 Elliot Dixon, 7 Tim Boys, 6 John Hardie, 5 Alex Ryan, 4 Josh Bekhuis, 3 Chris King, 2 Jason Rutledge, 1 Jamie Mackintosh (captain).
Replacements: 16 David Hall, 17 Nick Barrett, 18 Ben Nally, 19 Tom Chamberlain, 20 Sonny Rangitohereri, 21 Scott Eade, 22 Tim Cornforth, 23 Michael Peterson.
Referee: James McPhail
Manawatu 15-10 Taranaki
The scorers:
For Manawatu
Tries: Tietjens, Tikoirotuma
Con: Cruden
Pen: Cruden
For Taranaki
Try: Hayward
Con: Barrett
Pen: Barrett
Teams:
Manawatu: 15 Nehe Milne-Skudder, 14 Asaeli Tikoirotuma, 13 Johnny Leota, 12 Frank Bryant, 11 Junior Tomasi Cama, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 James Oliver, 7 Doug Tietjens, 6 Nick Crosswell (captain), 5 Michael Fitzgerald, 4 Fraser Stone, 3 Ma'afu Fia, 2 Rob Foreman, 1 Grant Polson.
Replacements: 16 Bryn Templeman, 17 Jared Brock, 18 Reece Robinson, 19 Hamish Gosling, 20 Karl Bryson, 21 Dan Kelly, 22 Craig Clare, 23 Peni Kaufusi.
Taranaki: 15 Kurt Baker, 14 Andre Taylor, 13 George Pisi, 12 Jayden Hayward, 11 Frazier Climo, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Tyson Keats, 8 Ben Souness, 7 Scott Waldrom, 6 Chris Walker, 5 Craig Clarke (captain), 4 James Broadhurst, 3 Shane Cleaver, 2 Mahonri Schwalger, 1 Carl Carmichael.
Replacements: 16 Laurence Corlett, 17 Michael Bent, 18 Jason Eaton, 19 Blade Thomson, 20 Brett Goodin, 21 Jack Cameron, 22 Willie Rickards, 23 Timo Tutavaha.
Referee: Nick Briant