Wakatipu and Cromwell Goats will contest the final of the Central Otago premier club competition at Queenstown on Saturday after qualifying in totally different ways.
While the Goats clung on by their fingertips to deny a reborn Maniototo side, winning 24-19 at Cromwell, Wakatipu blitzed unbeaten Upper Clutha 44-15 at Wanaka, a result no-one saw coming.
Wakatipu had drawn with Upper Clutha 32-32 on its previous trip across the Crown Range and had demonstrated throughout the season a freakish talent for scoring tries.
Upper Clutha appeared to have all the qualities necessary to withstand any challenger, but it came seriously unstuck on Saturday.
Coach Garry Hape felt that having a week off had not helped, but he was dismayed with his team’s ill-discipline, his team losing the penalty count 15-5.
You can’t win rugby matches infringing like that," he said.
Upper Clutha scored the first try through trusty fullback Milan Martinovich, and hung in at 10-8 approaching halftime. But it lost the next 35 minutes 34-0.
Gifted Wakatipu second five Rube Peina made the difference in the first half, scoring two cracking tries to give his side a 17-8 advantage.
Upper Clutha created a great scoring opportunity itself in the final minutes of the half, but botched the opportunity. From then on it was all doom and gloom for the home side.
The first ominous signs in the second half were when Wakatipu blew the Upper Clutha scrum apart twice.
Then followed a sequence of essentially solo tries, as centre Danny Kayes, halfback James Valentine and replacement Mike Rewi all scored without a hand being laid on them.
Wakatipu coach Brett Anderson said Upper Clutha’s rush defence had unsettled his side on its previous visit, so this time it had concentrated on moving the ball wider, which had paid off.
Maniototo, the most improved team in the competition, staged a storming comeback against Cromwell Goats at Anderson Park but missed winning, or at least taking the game into extra time, by a matter of centimetres, eventually losing 24-19.
The Goats were all class in the opening 30 minutes, opening up a 17-5 lead into the breeze.
They extended this to 24-5 with about 30 minutes remaining before the Maggots suddenly exploded into life.
Fullback Doug Smith produced several scintillating runs, and second five Jack Wild spread alarm among the home supporters.
A try to winger Tom Johnstone made it 24-12 then one to flanker-captain Pete O’Malley took it to 24-19 with four minutes left.
Back came the Maggots. With 60 seconds on the clock, veteran centre Quinton Smith charged for the line only to be held up centimetres short.
To the immense relief of the Goats supporters, their team retained possession till the final whistle sounded, meaning Cromwell will have the opportunity to complete a hat-trick of titles Queenstown, where they nosed out Wakatipu 33-31 in the qualifying final.
-- Bob Howitt
