One of the closest semifinal races in the history of North Otago club rugby came to a thrilling conclusion today.
When the dust had settled, Kurow sneaked into fourth place with two bonus points, and will play table-topping Old Boys in one semifinal.
Valley will host Excelsior in the other semifinal.
Defending champion Maheno and Athletic Marist are gone, but only just.
Remarkably, the pair ended up tied on 29 points, a single point behind Excelsior and Kurow, both of whom ended up on 30 points.
The key result was at Kurow, where the home side fell 36-34 to Valley but crucially managed to get two bonus points.
Had Kurow managed only one point, that would have established a three-way tie for fourth, and Athletic Marist would likely have progressed on points difference.
Athletic did its best by beating Maheno 24-12, but technically finishes with the wooden spoon.
Old Boys beat Excelsior 26-12, and will enter the semifinals as favourites with a record of 14 wins and one loss.