Loss consigns Wanganui to Lochore semis

Despite switching back to fullback and setting up two tries, Steelform Wanganui's Ace Malo could not save his team from an historic defeat to West Coast on Saturday.

It proved a weekend for the history books across the Pink Batts Heartland Championship's final round robin games.

On a Saturday where 11 of 12 teams were still on contention for one or both Cup semifinals, West Coast's victory over Wanganui was just their second in 16 matches, going back over the last 28 years.

Misery loves company and as well as missing out on a Meads Cup semifinal, Buller could not even secure a home Lochore Cup match this coming weekend as Mid Canterbury confirmed their status as the top side in the regular season, scoring four tries to two in Westport to win 31-13.

Wanganui's two points was unable to improve their sixth position while Buller crashing out opened the door for South Canterbury to lift themselves to the top of Lochore Cup playoff contention, after an extraordinary game against an East Coast outfit with nothing to lose.

South Canterbury prevailed 47-36 in a free-flowing match where 12 tries were scored in Ruatoria.

The boilover of the round was Thames Valley upsetting Wairarapa Bush 23-15 in Paeroa, lifting themselves to fourth spot in the Lochore Cup while consigning the previously table-topping Bush to a trip to Oamaru to face North Otago in the Meads Cup semifinals.

The North Otago team did what proved beyond Wanganui as they recovered from two early season losses to win six straight matches, although they were really made to work for it at home by Horowhenua Kapiti coming from 22-11 down at halftime to win 27-22.

Poverty Bay have had a year to forget, but they earned some consolation by travelling to Te Kuiti and holding off King Country 19-18, denying the home team a Lochore Cup semifinal berth after they begun 2013 so positively with a victory over Wanganui at Cooks Gardens.

Wanganui must now look to become the third union, after Wairarapa Bush and North Otago, to win both the Meads and Lochore Cup trophies in the Championship.