Otago's slim hopes for a home semifinal were always going to be enhanced by an encounter with one of the worst sides in provincial rugby history.
And so it proved in Whangarei tonight as Northland's porous defence shipped eight more tries and slumped to a ninth straight defeat in the ITM Cup Championship, as Otago walked away with a 54-36 victory.
The win edged Otago closer to second-placed Wellington with just this weekend's action to come, maintaining the narrow possibility of hosting a semifinal in Dunedin. Otago require a bonus-point victory over Bay of Plenty on Sunday and need Manawatu to upset Wellington, otherwise they will travel to the capital and face the Lions in the final four.
As for Northland, their place at the bottom of the standings had already been confirmed. The Taniwha now have one last chance - a trip to North Harbour on Sunday - to avoid becoming the first side since 2007 to progress through an ITM Cup campaign without a win.
Their under-fire defence will certainly be wishing for the campaign to an end, with tonight's efforts worsening their average of 42.7 points conceded this season.
It took a matter of minutes before Otago looked like they would add to all the misery, with good early continuity in attack squandered only by untimely errors. But the visitors were not to be denied for long as the wonderful running rugby of Tony Ensor sparked a scoring burst, laying tries for Michael Collins and Fletcher Smith before grabbing reward of his own.
Just when the outcome seemed decided, Shane Neville's strong drive and Dave Thomas' elusive run gave Northland faint hopes heading into halftime. But when James Lentjes and Ensor completed doubles in the second spell, that was extinguished.
Pleasingly for the home fans, though, a flurry of late tries at least saw Northland manage their first point of the season and escape further ignominy.
Northland 36 (Shane Neville, Dave Thomas, Kara Pryor, Kurt Davies, Matt Moulds, Jordan Hyland tries; Dan Hawkins con, Tyler Lansdowne 2 cons)
Otago 54 (Michael Collins 2, Fletcher Smith, Tony Ensor 2, James Lentjes 2, Kaide Whiting tries; Smith 2 pens, 4 cons)
HT: 12-27
