Southland gave Taranaki a scare, but could not quite pull off what would have been a remarkable NPC first-division rugby win in Invercargill.
Taranaki were 27-11 up at halftime, but the home side scraped that back to a three-point gap, before going down to their second defeat intwo matches.
Two Southland lapses in the last 10 minutes of the first half were punished by Taranaki, who picked up 14 points from them, and raced to their healthy halftime advantage with tries by Faapolou Soolepai, Craig Taylor and Daryl Lilley.
But they lost their way in the second half and failed to get a solitary point.
Southland managed two tries of their own - one either side of half time - but Taranaki's defence just held on to the end.
Taranaki had to start the match without captain Andy Slater, whose flight south on the morning of the game was delayed. He arrived late and came on for the second half.
Lilley contributed 17 of Taranaki's points with a try, two penalties and three conversions.
"He's been playing outstanding rugby for us. He has just got so much experience with Canterbury and in the Super 12," former All Blacks fullback Crowley said.
Midfield back Graeme Bond was the only player to penetrate the Taranaki defence in the second half when he ran good angles to touch down for Southland. For Taranaki, it was a good comeback from their heavy defeat by Auckland at Eden Park a week earlier.
Taranaki had shown tidy pre-season form but Auckland gave them a shakeup. Defeat at Southland may have brought their semifinal aspirations to an early end.
However, coach Colin Cooper was happy with the improvement, and also had praise for Southland's second half spirit, which at least brought them a bonus point.
