Auckland 27
Southland 13
There are crazier bets to make than Auckland going on to win the title this year.
It's not as if they set the world on fire yesterday, or even came close for that matter, but there was something about their stoicism, their gritty defence that made them look like the
kind of side who could defy logic and go all the way.
They wouldn't be deserving or even worthy winners but the point to grasp here is that Auckland are still very much in the playoffs hunt. For all their lows this season, for all that they could say 'boo' to a goose and not make it jump, they remain a threat.
Let's not forget that Southland, despite history weighing so heavily against them considering they hadn't won at Eden Park since 1939, were heavily fancied to win. The Stags are a more than useful side - they showed that again yesterday in the way they dominated possession and played with some width and courage.
All they lacked was finesse and a little bit of X-factor to break open a fiercely good Auckland defence. But they couldn't find what they needed and, for that, Auckland deserve plenty of credit.
They were a bit like the Italian football team against Southland - they defended grimly and then used the bit of star quality they had to land a few sucker punches.
The first and second blows were struck by Taniela Moa, an enigma of a player whose offerings are so mixed it's impossible to know whether he's an All Black waiting or on his way to the Super 14 draft.
His first act of the game was to hurl a wild pass across his own 22 that left Chay Raui in all sorts of trouble. His next two significant contributions were tries, the second of which was a little bit special. He saw that Southland were not defending behind the ruck so he hopped over the top and took off, dummied a chip ahead and rounded Glen Horton at a canter and flopped over. It was a brilliant piece of opportunism yet Moa sprinkled his game with dropped balls and dopey options. What to do with him?
Surely the Blues must retain him, put him in their protected 24 and work, work, work with him to alleviate some of the obvious flaws in his game.
He doesn't leave his feet when he tackles and his concentration lapses too easily. It's all fixable and if he trims down a touch and reduces his error count, then there is a pretty handy player in there.
It was Peter Saili'i who delivered the third punch when he showed an impressive fleet of foot to blast through a hole in Southland's drift defence and sprint 50m to touchdown. Saili'i is another with obvious qualities hidden under erratic decisions and clumsiness.
"It was by no means a perfect game," said Auckland coach Mark Anscombe. "But our attitude and our defence were greatly improved and I think that was the difference. Also, I don't think you can underestimate the difference two established stars make. Neither Jerome [Kaino] nor Johnny [Afoa] do much talking but they set standards. I thought Jerome was superb on defence."
Kaino was indeed a big presence in the tackle - both with and without the ball. It was his strength and ability to stay on his feet that set up Moa on the cusp of halftime.
Afoa, too, showed up well around the paddock, which he was quite chuffed with given the energy he had to expend dealing with Southland's Jamie Mackintosh in the scrums. "Jamie's a good player but I felt we handled him pretty well today and we also took down their ball runners."
Southland's frustration was obvious, particularly as there were so many parallels last year when they blew a golden opportunity to leave Eden Park with the Ranfurly Shield.
Mackintosh couldn't put his finger on why it is that the Stags don't quite play as well as they could in Auckland.
"It was a big game and we buggered it up," was his view. "I think any team that loses two games in a row has an edge and Auckland had that today. We have a couple of home games now against Tasman and Taranaki and they are huge."