Waikato destroyed Canterbury in the first half with a power-packed brand of rugby and remained resolute against the home side's inevitable second-half stirring.
If coach Chris Gibbes could have scripted the perfect start, it would have looked a lot like the two minutes Waikato put together on the way to a 7-0 lead. The visitors kicked off, won the restart, shifted it left, right, then left again before blindside flanker Toby Smith barrelled over from close range. Stephen Donald kicked it from wide out.
The next five minutes weren't bad either. Similar swift movement and crunching engagements ending this time with Toby Lynn muscling over. The only difference was Donald shanked the kick.
There was only one team in it. Powerhouse No 8 Alex Bradley was turning yardage into mileage offthe back of the scrum and when stationed wider, while halfback Tawera Kerr-Barlow was pullingthe strings at the base.
It was no surprise when Tim Mikkelson crossed for Waikato's third try in 11 minutes.
Canterbury were in danger of being embarrassed on their own ground, but started salvaging some pride once they managed to get their hands on the pill.
After a couple of close calls, Nasi Manu got the benefit of the TMO's doubt, before a long-range effort capped off by Kahui stretched the lead again.
The second half was never going to match the first for thrills - it never came close.
Just a penalty apiece, but Waikato were safe in the knowledge their four-try bonus point would let them leapfrog Canterbury into third on the table, with just Bay of Plenty and Taranaki ahead of them.
Canterbury can take heart from their relatively soft fixture list to wrap up the tournament, but even so the defence of their title is getting more tenuous by the game.
Wellington 43 Northland 19
Sparked by returning All Blacks Hosea Gear and Cory Jane, Wellington ran out six-try winners over Northland in Wellington.
With a vastly improved defensive effort and good work at the set piece, Wellington played with pace and width to run in three tries in each half for a much-needed bonus point win.
The win moves them on to 16 points with Auckland, leaving Southland on the bottom of the premiership with 15.
Jane was a constant threat, breaking the Northland defensive line before combining with captain Jeremy Thrush to set up a wave of Wellington attacks.
Gear's pace also provided options, and his strength saw Wellington attack the Northland line with venom close in as well as out wide.
The result was a vast improvement from Wellington's last two games - a 40-20 loss to Hawke's Bay and a humiliating 32-0 loss to Bay of Plenty, when their leaky defence conceded 10 tries.
Early errors from Northland gifted Wellington a surfeit of possession, and they made the most of it.
Wellington led 43-12 with 20 minutes remaining but Northland stole a consolation try in the 72nd minute when centre n Jared Payne snared an intercept as Wellington tried to move the ball wide once too often.
- additional reporting NZPA
