It was the key moment in a brutal game in which Auckland eventually run out winners 24-19, making the possibility of a home semifinal for Otago that much slimmer.
Otago fought well though, adopting a 100mph game plan, looking to keep the ball alive with offloads and quick passes. But this was negated by a steely Auckland defence which resiliently defended their line, ensuring Otago often went nowhere despite building up multiple phases.
Whether or not this defence was entirely legal is another question, as it constantly crept up over the offside line and prevented the backs from getting much going.
It was a combination of this defence and their expansive gameplan that Otago eventually fell victim to, making too many mistakes that came with trying to do too much.
Intercept passes were thrown, one of which led to a try, while another saw Otago reap the benefits of what looked very much like a hometown decision and robbed Auckland of a second.
Whilst the intent of these passes was good, they were an indication that perhaps some of the decisions were being made with little thought being given.
This was evident also in the 72nd minute, where a penalty shot well within the range of Glenn Dickson was turned down in favour of kicking for touch. A strange decision to say the least, as with the score at 24-16 a penalty would have brought it back to one score and would have allowed Otago to play for the win in the final eight minutes.
Perhaps this also was indicative of the mentality taken into the game and an inexperience causing the team to panic late in the game rather than remain patient and trust themselves to get back down into another scoring position.
At times too there were decisions made in general play that were questionable and looked to be a show of the youth of the side mixed with the open gameplan mentality. Trying to run the ball back without support was always risky, as were some of the passes thrown.
But for that, it was a gutsy performance and while it was reckless at times, you have to applaud the intent showed on attack. They looked to take the game to Auckland and made them tackle and tackle and tackle to emerge victors.
There were many showings of great running and handling from Otago, the pick of which came in their only try; some quick hands got the ball to Sam Anderson-Heather, who ran like a back to score.
Defensively Otago were strong, conceding just one try that came as a fault of the defensive line as there was little that could be done about Piutau's intercept.
They were strong in the contact areas, looking to drive Auckland back and attacking the breakdowns with ferocity. Particularly in the first half they had halfback Alby Matthewson under all sorts of pressure as he struggled to clear the ball. Consequently the backs made too many mistakes and squandered far too many chances to open up a lead.
The scrum was surprisingly good, holding up well against a much bigger Auckland pack, while the lineout improved as the game progressed.
The tight five put on perhaps their best showing of the season, all were extremely busy in open play and were responsible much of the ball Otago enjoyed in the first half. Aki Seulli had his best game in an Otago jersey, while Liam Coltman and Sam Anderson-Heather were their usual selves, showing up all over the park and throwing themselves into everything.
Tom Franklin was outstanding, making plenty of tackles and continuing to put forth a great case for a Super Rugby contract in the coming years.
Gareth Evans was the best of the loose forwards, proving effective at the breakdown, carrying strongly and showing himself to be the best lineout forward on the park.
TJ Ioane, while strong with ball in hand, made too many mistakes once again. Indeed, Auckland's first eight points came from dropped balls by Ioane. He is a player of huge potential, but needs to stamp these errors out of his game if he wants to progress to a higher level.
In the backs Fumiaka Tanaka was outstanding, providing good service and often having to deal with messy ball. Hayden Parker was his ever-reliable self, but left the field with an injury with a quarter of the game to go. The midfield was solid, strong defensively and looking industrious on attack, while the outside backs got few chances.
Otago will now have to wait to see how other games pan out to find out who they will take on in the Championship semifinal.