But the Magpies delivered another favour to Otago at the weekend in its quest for a home semifinal and to finish as top qualifier in the Championship division of the Mitre 10 Cup.
Otago benefited from a steady procession of Hawke's Bay-bred players to Dunedin from the late 1980s to the early 2000s, such as Taine Randell, Josh Kronfeld and Stu Forster.
However, it was Hawke's Bay's effort on the field on Saturday, beating Manawatu 30-21 in Palmerston North, which gives Otago more breathing room in the hunt for a home semifinal at Forsyth Barr Stadium later this month.
Otago's 54-17 loss to Auckland on Saturday night leaves the team sitting on 29 points after eight games. It is one point ahead of Wellington, but the men from the capital have a game in hand.
Wellington catches up tomorrow when it travels to Palmerston North to play Manawatu.
Tomorrow's game is Wellington's eighth of the national provincial competition, and if it were to collect maximum points - including four-try bonus points - from tomorrow's game and hosting Taranaki in Wellington on Sunday and Waikato in the final round , it could reach 43 points.
Otago has a slightly more leisurely run into the semifinals after losing some of its early-season momentum with losses against class sides Canterbury and Auckland.
It will host Counties Manukau on Saturday before travelling to Palmerston North to play Manawatu. Bonus-point wins in both games would leave Otago on 39 points, although Counties has already shown its dangerous side with wins over Auckland and Waikato in recent weeks.
North Harbour sits third in the Championship on 19 points and Manawatu is fourth on 15 points. Both teams still have three games to play.
North Harbour's remote chances of hauling in Otago for the right to host a home semifinal do not start off well, as it travels to Christchurch for a Ranfurly Shield challenge this Friday night against Canterbury.
It then has its busy week in the last week of the round-robin games, playing Tasman at Albany on October 12 before heading up State Highway 1 to Whangarei, to play Northland four days later.
A win in Christchurch seems unlikely, and Tasman got back to form with a 15-10 win over Counties in the last round, so a tally of competition points in the early 30s is probably out of reach for North Harbour.
Manawatu's loss to Hawkes Bay makes its task to secure a home semifinal almost a pipe dream. In fact, if it incurs a loss against Wellington tomorrow, a game away at Rotorua against Bay Of Plenty could have ramifications for the fourth spot in the championship semifinals.
Bay Of Plenty has just one win to its name, but has amassed nine bonus points in its eight games to date and sits two points behind Manawatu, on 13.
A win over Manawatu might give BOP the edge for the fourth spot when it travels to Napier for its final round-robin game against Hawke's Bay on October 15, particularly with Manawatu facing Wellington, Bay of Plenty and Otago in the space of 10 days.
