Chay Fihaki of Canterbury enjoyed an impressive afternoon in the win over Bay of Plenty. Photo / Getty
Chay Fihaki of Canterbury enjoyed an impressive afternoon in the win over Bay of Plenty. Photo / Getty
Canterbury and Tasman locked up the final two NPC Premiership semifinal spots today, ensuring the winners of five of the last six titles can add another to that tally.
Canterbury leapfrogged Bay of Plenty into the playoffs with a 40-28 victory in Christchurch, while Tasman did likewise to Wellington with a 34-22 win in Blenheim.
After three straight losses had threatened to leave them outside the top four for a second straight season, Canterbury will now head north to tackle Waikato in next weekend's semifinals.
The red and blacks today enjoyed a spirited warm up for that match, eventually outlasting a determined Bay of Plenty side playing their third match in eight days.
The hosts enjoyed supremacy in possession, field position and at the set piece, but led only 24-21 at the break and let the Steamers stay in touch until the final minutes.
It looked like it would be a much more comfortable afternoon when tries to Chay Fihaki and Dallas McLeod put Canterbury 14-0 up inside seven minutes.
But Bay of Plenty hit back through Leroy Carter and Peni Lasaqa, before McLeod completed a double and Waisake Naholo dotted down to finish a wild first half.
The second was much more restrained and unfortunately for Bay of Plenty, after Lucas Cashmore had given them an early lead, it was Canterbury in control.
Naholo's second put the hosts in front for good, though it wasn't until the 72nd minute that they could breathe easily, as Fihaki completed an impressive match with a 55-metre penalty.
Tasman, meanwhile, survived a serious scare to see off Wellington. After watching the Mako score the game's first four tries and take a 27-7 lead into the break, the home crowd withstood a nervy second spell as the Lions threatened an improbable comeback.
Tasman's Mitchell Hunt is hit from both sides during the win over Wellington. Photo / Getty
Tasman started fast and romped to a 24-0 lead in 26 minutes, finding success twice in the lineout drive through Quentin MacDonald and Jacob Norris before Leicester Fainga'anuku picked off an errant pass and Levi Aumua added a fourth.
Wellington had enjoyed more ball than the scoreline suggested and, after Taine Plumtree opened their account, they began to cut out the errors and translate positive play into points.
Jackson Garden-Bachop kickstarted the revival early in the second half and Tyrone Thompson's try from a lineout drive pulled the visitors within five points with five minutes to play.
But having to go the length of the field from the final play, Garden-Bachop's attempted chip went straight to Anton Segner, who waltzed over to secure the bonus-point win.
Tasman, bidding to win three straight Premiership titles, now have the tough ask of visiting table-topping Hawke's Bay in next weekend's semifinals.
Tasman 34 (Q MacDonald, J Norris, L Fainga'anuku, L Aumua, A Segner tries; M Hunt 3 cons, pen) Wellington 22 (T Plumtree, J Garden-Bachop, T Thompson tries; A Morgan 2 cons, pen) Halftime: 27-7
Canterbury 40 (C Fihaki, D McLeod 2, W Naholo 2 tries; F Burke 3 cons, 2 pens, C Fihaki pen) Bay of Plenty 28 (L Carter, P Lasaqa, L Cashmore tries; L Cashmore 2 cons, 3 pens) Halftime: 24-21
