Taieri and Dunedin live to fight another battle in the final of the Dunedin premier club championship next weekend.
The two teams were also the finalists last year, when Taieri won the banner thanks to a last-minute penalty goal by Hayden Parker.
Both teams survived stiff challenges in the semifinals at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Saturday.
Dunedin beat University A 36-33 and Taieri downed Southern 38-28 after two dramatic games before 2500 spectators.
There was a similar pattern in both games, as Dunedin and Taieri both had substantial early leads whittled away in the second spell.
Dunedin captain Sam Anderson-Heather was relieved when the final whistle blew.
''That was one hell of a battle out there. Varsity really took it to us,'' he said.
''There were moments when I thought we wouldn't get there.''
He called on higher powers for help when fullback Liam Edwards lined up his fourth and decisive penalty late in the game.
''It was about time we got one of them,'' he said.
''I was praying to the man upstairs that it would go over and it did.''
Edwards scored two tries and kicked five goals to score 21 points and take his tally for the season to 149.
It was Dunedin's 14th win on the trot since losing to Kaikorai 19-8 in the fifth game of the season.
The best Taieri player was centre Kieran Moffat, who scored three tries and is the leading try-scorer in the premier competition with 17.
Dunedin 36
University A 33
Dunedin captain Sam Anderson-Heather seized the moment with a decisive burst inside the student 22m when his team faced defeat.
Dunedin had surrendered a 28-13 halftime lead and allowed the students to get on top. University A had scored 20 unanswered points in the second spell and led 33-28.
Anderson-Heather knew something special was needed to get Dunedin back into the game.
He looked up and, seeing only two props blocking his path to the line, he squeezed through a gap between them.
When caught, he unloaded to flanker Hugh Blake, who sent out a long pass to dynamic fullback Liam Edwards, who was screaming for the ball.
He scored in the corner to even the scores at 33-33, with 12 minutes left.
Edwards made an important contribution to the win by scoring two tries and kicking five goals from nine attempts to score 21 points.
His most important goal came with five minutes left when he kicked the penalty that took Dunedin back into the lead.
The moments of the game belonged to hooker Anderson-Heather, No 8 Gareth Evans and Blake, the old hands in the Dunedin team, who inspired the pack to hang on to the ball with the pick and go.
It was this go-forward ball from Dunedin that deprived the students of possession and shut them out of the game.
Dunedin started the game strongly and scored three tries and 21 points in the first 22 minutes to lead 21-0.
Dunedin dominated the scrums, lock Mark Grieve-Dunn took lineout ball off student throws, and the loose forwards dominated the break down.
Two of Dunedin's first-half tries came from scrum pressure close to the line. Anderson-Heather and Will Henry were formidable in the front row.
University's comeback was sparked by lock Sione Teu, who grabbed the ball when the students were awarded a penalty 5m out and drove himself over the line.
He was backed in the pack by No 8 Paul Grant, hooker Sam Sturgess and tighthead prop Tama Tuirirangi.
The best student back was fullback Faasiu Fuatai, who has grown in confidence since returning from the under-21 world cup.
He was dangerous with the ball and teamed efficiently with first five-eighth Guy Schwikkard and centre Matt Faddes, as the student backs attacked from all parts of the paddock.
Dunedin 36 (Liam Edwards 2, Rowan McKenzie, Ashton Tuck, Brad Weber tries; Edwards 4 con, pen), University A 33 (Akihito Yamada, Matt Faddes, Sione Teu, Sam Sturgess tries; Guy Schwikkard 2 con, 3 pen). Halftime: Dunedin 28-13.
Taieri 38
Southern 28
Taieri centre Kieran Moffat stamped his mark on the game by scoring three tries in the first half with decisive running.
The game could not have been scripted better for the Eels as they came out firing to score four tries in the first 28 minutes to lead Southern 25-0.
It was textbook rugby by Taieri. It played with width, spread the ball wide to the left and then back to the right as it probed for gaps. Its ball retention and decision-making was outstanding.
Moffat ran decisively on angled runs and was difficult to stop inside the red zone.
The other key Taieri back was first five-eighth Hayden Parker, with his astute tactical kicking and the length of his pass that gave space for the outside backs to create gaps in the Southern defence.
The link play and spot tackling by flanker Willis Scott was outstanding and he acted as an extra back.
No 8 Charlie O'Connell was Taieri's best lineout jumper and ran the ball strongly. His steady leadership was significant when Southern started to close the gap.
Southern tightened its game and had 25 minutes of dominance as it closed the gap to two points, 25-23, midway through the second half.
It was back to traditional Southern-style rugby as the forwards gained control and shut Taieri out of the game.
No 8 Sam Crompton scored when he drove to the line after a 5m scrum, prop Warren Moffat after a series of forward drives inside the 22m and second five-eighth Hanipale Galo when he used his strength to dash through inside the 22m.
The other two players to stand out during this period were tighthead prop Mike Mata'afa and lock Tom Franklin.
In the last 20 minutes Taieri got its hands on the ball again and stretched its lead to nine points when wing Shannon Young scored after a series of raids inside the 22m.
Hayden Parker sealed the win with two late penalty goals. He kicked five goals from eight attempts and was the most successful goal-kicker in the two semifinals.
Taieri 38 (Kieran Moffat 3, Shannon Young, Henry Parker tries; Hayden Parker 2 con, 3 pen), Southern 28 (Hanipale Galo, Sam Crompton, Warren Moffat, Marc Minnaar tries; Ben Patston con, 2 pen). Halftime: Taieri 25-10.
