When Marty McKenzie nailed the conversion to put them eight points in front with five minutes left, it gave the home side enough breathing space to play without inhibition and land one last penalty to make it seem like the won a lot more easily than they did.
That they took a bonus point in the process will have cheered them no end, not only because it may prove to be crucial in the final wash up, but because it was also not the sort of night that they would have run out thinking they were going to score a lot of tries.
Conditions were difficult. The rain kept tumbling out of a foreboding sky, but it did at least fall vertically.
Still, the volume of water on the pitch made life hard enough without any wind and ball retention and handling reflected that. Neither side could really generate the momentum they were hoping for because offloading was difficult.
It was just as hard to generate width or at least it was just as hard to get on the outside of the defence when the ball went wide because the passes mostly had to be pulled into the body before they could be moved on.
Inevitably, the contest became a physical slug-fest sort of affair.
It was all about bashing up the middle and trying to dominate physically. Win the collisions and build some go-forward in the conditions, and it would most likely yield a penalty or some kind of advantage.
It was that way until the last 10 minutes when Taranaki found another gear and finished faster down the home straight.
Taranaki 30 (R. O'Neill, K. O'Donnell, L. Vaeno, R. Marshall tries; M. McKenzie 2 cons, 2 pens)
Manawatu 19 (A. Curtis try; O. Black con, 4 pens)
Halftime: 15-16.
