The Bay of Plenty men's team take on Taranaki tomorrow at 2.05pm as they continue on the path to the final.
They faced a fierce match against Counties Manukau with a range of permutations depending on the points difference. As it happened a four point differential wasn't enough for Counties to stay in the play. Northland finished on top of Pool D with the Bay second.
Teams knocked out on day one were: Hawkes Bay, Waikato, Southland, Poverty Bay, North Harbour, Mid Canterbury, Tasman, Counties Manukau.
The Bay of Plenty women's team will face Waikato tomorrow at 1.05pm. The team is still on the path to the championship final but they must win. Should they lose they'll only be able to contest for the Plate.
They finished third on day one behind Counties Manukau and Manawatu. Their tie tomorrow may be tough, Waikato racked up a 52-0 win over Otago on their way to second place in their pool behind competition favourites Auckland.
Knocked out from the women's competition were Canterbury and Southland.