Wellington's unbeaten run in the Mitre 10 Cup has come to an end after being stunned by Tasman in Blenheim today.
The table-toppers in the Championship had opened the season in impressive fashion, attacking in sparkling fashion while putting together a perfect four-from-four record, but they were helpless as theMakos rallied from a significant deficit to revive their own campaign.
Last year's beaten finalists, Tasman had begun the year with losses to Canterbury and Manawatu, showing signs off life in a win over Waikato last weekend and taking a giant leap forward at Lansdowne Park today.
Trailing 21-13 at the break after Wellington had run in three first-half tries, Tasman's hole had increased to 15 points with 30 minutes remaining. But the Makos suddenly took command of the cross-over match, with spectacular tries to fullback Will Jordan and winger James Lowe followed by another to first five-eighth Mitch Hunt.
Hunt then converted his own try to give the home side some breathing room and complete a personal haul of 22 points in a standout performance, leaving the visitors to console themselves with two bonus points when winger Losi Filipo crossed late.
That return was however enough to increase Wellington's lead over the inactive Northland at the top of the Championship standings, with Otago moving into third place after thrashing Hawke's Bay later in the afternoon.
The southern side last enjoyed a victory over the Magpies in Napier in 1993 but broke that drought in some style, exploding for four tries in a 20-minute blitz early in the match to seize complete control.
By the time the carnage was over, Otago had scored nine tries to record the province's highest score since 2003, with fullback Fletcher Smith celebrating his late promotion into the starting XV by grabbing a hat-trick and finishing with 34 points.
