It took an 80th-minute penalty try to clinch the game for Maniototo, the difference at the final whistle being an earlier penalty goal kicked by former Cromwell halfback and captain Ben Maxwell, who was named man of the match.
Wakatipu led 19-15 through until the final frantic few moments when Wakatipu in their desperation conceded a succession of penalties before.
In the final play of the game, the referee awarded Maniototo a seven-pointer.
Maniototo coach Ken Wills said the result followed a lot of soul-searching following the 50-22 loss to Alexandra.
"Captain Jack Wild and I asked ourselves a lot of questions after that performance," Wills said.
"If you’re not used to winning regularly, you have to dig deep.
‘‘How deep can you dig?’’
Maniototo produced what coach Wills labelled ‘‘champagne rugby’’ to score their first try, but conceded an intercept try late in the second half to allow Wakatipu to go ahead 19-15.
"That’s when we had to dig incredibly deep, and it got us home."
Maxwell is no stranger to memorable winning performances, regularly helping win Cromwell to success over the seasons as a halfback, captain and goalkicker.
Competition leaders Upper Clutha had to battle hard to overcome competition strugglers Matakanui Combined 36-27 at Omakau in what coach Alex Dickson described as an ‘‘ugly’’ performance.
Dickson lost two props before the game and struggled to get a XV on the field.
"We hadn’t played for three weeks, and it showed."
Upper Clutha eventually finished with six tries which gives them a four-point advantage in the competition following Wakatipu’s surprise defeat.
They will take on a formidable Alexandra at Wānaka on Thursday night, part of the duck-shooting round when the three premier matches are being spread across three days.
Arrowtown missed a golden opportunity to defeat Cromwell at Jack Reid Park, missing a close-range penalty attempt in the 78th minute with the scores locked at 26-26.
They had one further opportunity to triumph, with time up, but this time Meihana Schooner’s attempt from halfway fell short.
Arrowtown led 12-0 after 12 minutes before Cromwell’s powerhouse scrum saw them score a hat-trick of tries to lead 21-12 at halftime.
Cromwell went out to 26-19 midway through the second half before replacement Samisoni Ratokabula scored a barnstorming try to level things up again, allowing the teams to walk away with three championship points each.
Unlike Super Rugby, there is no golden point extra time played at premier club level.
By Bob Howitt
