Hawkes Bay will play Auckland at Eden Park on Saturday night after pulling off a thrilling, come-from-behind quarter-final victory over defending champions Waikato in Napier yesterday.
Second five-eighths Sam Giddens provided the last-gasp heroics after a rampaging Waikato third quarter had overturned a10-point halftime deficit and threatened to end the Magpies' dream season.
Turning with a stiff breeze behind them, Waikato rattled on 24 points after the break and led by 11 with 10 minutes remaining before Giddens split them open to lay on a try for replacement fullback Israel Dagg.
With the clock ticking down, Giddens sliced through again, this time finishing next to the posts himself to end Waikato's season. Auckland coach Pat Lam spent the early part of the match having a barbecue outside with his family and had been told that Waikato had forged a big lead.
But he made it to a TV screen in time to watch the frantic finish and was impressed by Hawkes Bay's resolve.
"It was a great effort from those guys," Lam said.
"They've had a great season and now they are in the semis. It's all go now. We know who we are playing, so we can get in a good, solid week of preparation."
Lam said there was no contingency plan for All Blacks to return to their provinces for the final stages of the championship and he wasn't sure whether it was a possibility. "I have no idea. There was no plan for them being back from the World Cup this early so I don't know what is going to happen with those blokes.
"Obviously the whole country is disappointed but, for us, we have a job at hand and we want to get into it."
Waikato's reign as national champion was ultimately ended by the flimsy midfield defence that has dogged them all season.
It looked like it would be overcome when Jackson Willison added a second-half try to his eighth-minute opener and Stephen Donald and Liam Messam also crossed.
But the Magpies were still in touch thanks to first half tries by stand-in halfback Chris Eaton and wing Zac Guildford and four Matt Berquist penalities, including two booming long-range efforts.
Hawkes Bay upped the ante in the final 10 minutes and Waikato crumbled under the pressure.
Canterbury play Wellington in Christchurch on Friday night in the other semifinal.
