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It took Maniototo 76 minutes at Molyneux Park on Saturday to complete the inevitable — a desperate victory over Alexandra that has secured them the fourth qualifying spot in the Central Otago premier club rugby competition.
It is the third year in a row that Maniototo, top-heavy with farmers who progress gently into a rugby season, have snared fourth spot by winning their final qualifying game.
As in 2024 and 2025, Maniototo will again take on top qualifier Upper Clutha at Wanaka while Cromwell and Wakatipu will meet in the other semifinal at Anderson Park.
Maniototo’s record this season makes for quite astonishing reading.
They lost six of their first seven games, including taking a 50-19 pounding from Alexandra.
But they finished up winning four of their last five matches, denying Alexandra a semifinal spot with a try to man-of-the-match prop Matt Sullivan in the dying stages of Saturday’s contest.
Alexandra had led throughout but could not deny Maniototo’s late try as they drove across from an attacking lineout.
It was Sullivan’s fifth try of the season, including three in the final three matches against Matakanui Combined, Wakatipu and Alexandra, games that had to be won.
Defending champions Upper Clutha edged out Wakatipu at Queenstown on Friday 13-8 to overtake Cromwell at the top of the table, oddly the same score they defeated them by at Wanaka back in May.
On a challenging surface the game was mostly contested in midfield and produced only three tries, two of them to Upper Clutha.
The penalty that Oliver Stirling landed brought up a century of points for the season, a tally that includes 11 tries.
Lock Sam Masterton took out Upper Clutha’s man-of-the-match award.
Arrowtown overwhelmed Matakanui Combined 47-8 at Jack Reid Park, after finding themselves 7-8 down at halftime.
A rev-up from coach Aidan Winter changed things dramatically, Arrowtown scoring six tries in the second half, three of them going to midfielder Max Brown, giving him a haul of seven in the last four matches. — Bob Howitt