The Otago Spirit have lost their Farah Palmer Cup Championship semifinal, 54-19, to the Northland Kauri in Whangarei.

The Spirit, who won the Championship last year but were denied promotion to the Premiership after a New Zealand Rugby restructure, fought back after being down 35-0 at halftime on Saturday.

Northland will meet the Wellington Pride in the Championship final next weekend, after Wellington beat the Hawke's Bay Tui 51-26 in the other playoff.

There will be no three-peat for Waikato in the Premiership after the Auckland Storm beat them 36-21 in their semifinal this afternoon.

Auckland meet either Canterbury or the Manawatū Cyclones, who play in the other semifinal in Christchurch on Sunday.

- Allied Media