Hawke's Bay are likely to be without their captain Danny Lee when they host Waikato in next Sunday's Air NZ Cup quarter-final.
Lee was rushed off to hospital with a suspected broken ankle he suffered during the 31-3 win in their final round-robinmatch against Manawatu at Palmerston North last night.
Lee, obviously in agony, was stretched off in the 53rd minute and Hawke's Bay Rugby Union chief executive Mike Bishop confirmed later that their inspirational captain had been taken to hospital.
He said he was not sure of the extent of the injury but suspected a broken ankle.
The injury is a major blow to the Magpies' fine run in the competition to finish fourth after beating top teams including Wellington and defending champions Waikato in round-robin games.
Two first-half tries from flanker Karl Lowe set them up well in their last game.
Openside flanker Lowe, 23, crunched through tackles to score in the 14th and 39th minutes as the Magpies took a 20-3 lead at halftime. First five-eighth Matt Berquist had kicked two penalties and converted one of the tries, while replacement Aaden Clarke converted the other.
Clarke calmly slotted penalties in the 53rd and 62nd minutes to take the game away from the home side before lock Byrn Evans added a try in the final seconds.
Manawatu astonishingly dominated possession and territory but could not find a way to the line.
Apart from the strong Hawke's Bay defence, Manawatu often picked more difficult options and complicated their own attacks. They were also guilty of handling errors.
The home team's three points came early in the game when first five-eighth Matty James kicked a penalty to make it 3-3 before the Magpies flew away with the game.
