Wainuiomata and Canterbury were the winners in the Bartercard Cup rugby league playoff series over the weekend.
Wainuiomata rose above the mud and water to topple Auckland side Glenora 18-10 for the first time in the competition.
Canterbury played catch-up football for most of their game against the Eastern Tornadoes in Christchurch
before running out 38-25 winners in what was a fast-paced, bruising encounter.
The result sets up a major semifinal showdown between Canterbury and Otahuhu in Auckland next Saturday.
A last-minute try by Wainuiomata wing Nio Luamanu, set up by a break from Ese Oti, secured victory for his team.
Luamanu slid across the drenched Wise Park turf into a crowd of spectators for his second try as the final hooter sounded, ending a highly entertaining game.
Playing in heavy rain, Wainuiomata opened the scoring with a Steve Berryman penalty, and in the 10th minute Berryman put up a bomb beside the Glenora goalposts, the ball spilled and loose forward Ian Drummond dived on it to score.
Glenora halfback Steve Buckingham responded in the 15th minute by putting a wipers kick straight into the arms of wing Aniseto Iole, who crossed out wide for a try, Buckingham adding a difficult conversion. A bomb also resulted in Luamanu's first try, midway through the first half, when the ball popped out of Glenora wing Clinton Pouesi's hands into the arms of his opposite number for Luamanu to score out wide.
Glenora came out firing in the second spell, but Wainuiomata's defence - led by Drummond, Jacob Crown and teenager David Faiumu - kept its line intact until the 67th minute when loose forward Johnathan Hughes took an inside ball and crashed over.
But Wainuiomata finished the stronger, and deservedly kept their title hopes alive.
They face the Tornadoes in the semifinals.
- NZPA
