After 18 rounds and two semifinals, Dunedin premier club rugby is right back where it left off last season, with Taieri and University A contesting the final.
Taieri thumped University A 51-6 a year ago but the students should offer more resistance this time around.
They had a confidence building 35-33 win over Harbour in the semifinal at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Saturday, scoring four tries to three in a cracking game.
Taieri overcame an unlucky Southern 25-21 in the earlier semifinal at the same venue. But the Eels did it mostly through the boot of Josh Casey rather than dazzling attack.
In the Gainsborough Shield (bottom six), Kaikorai beat Zingari Richmond 19-17 and Alhambra Union beat Green Island 15-12. Pirates defaulted to Dunedin.
University A 35
Harbour 33
Never turn down a penalty in front, right? Wrong.
University A did. The students could have thrown over a second penalty in the opening exchanges of their semifinal against Harbour but opted for a quick tap.
They swung the ball wide to flanker Jack Wolfreys, who crashed over in the tackle of Aleki Morris. Suddenly, it was 8-0 and the Hawks had been given a wake up call.
University A had come to play. The fourth place qualifier had appeared as if it might miss out on a semifinal berth earlier in the season, but it got back into title contention mostly through its attacking brand of rugby.
With Harbour supposedly having more muscle up front, University A again settled on an attacking game plan and it worked well.
Harbour replied with three penalty goals and University A added two before it scored a second, perhaps fortunate, try.
The ball was ripped free by Harbour, and it is quite common for a play like that to be ruled a knock on.
But the whistle stayed silent and the ball fell nicely for fullback Sam Aitken, who passed to centre Matt Faddes and he galloped down the left wing to score.
The Hawks responded with an attack down the left wing and chipped ahead.
University A first five eighth Fletcher Smith had it covered but the ball popped out of his arms and towards Sio Tomkinson. He gathered the ball in and scored.
Lock Josh Dickson helped his side put the mistake behind it. Following a good build up, he reached through a ruck to score.
Trailing 28-16 at the break, the Hawks emerged with more vigour. Impressive halfback Tala Fagasoaia's crafty reverse flick found left winger Sala Halaleva, who muscled his way through heavy traffic to score.
Then, following a long siege, Fagasoaia ducked under two defenders to score. Fullback Logan Allen slotted both conversions and a penalty to give Harbour a 33-28 lead.
The game appeared to have slipped away from University A but Smith made up for his earlier blunder. He carried the ball hard to the defensive line, got his arms through the tackle and offloaded to Faddes, who had about 5m to run and scored under the posts.
The conversion gave University A the lead and the students held on for just over 10 minutes to win.
Taieri 25
Southern 21
Josh, Josh and Josh. If your name was Josh, chances are you played a starring role in the opening semifinal.
Magpies winger Josh Gordon scored all three of Southern's tries and got very close to a fourth. Mostly he just had to catch, carry and dive, and that was down to some wonderful attacking play by Southern first five eighth Josh Ioane.
But Taieri's Josh Casey ultimately made the most telling contribution. He slotted four first half penalties to help keep his side in touch at halftime, and added two more and a conversion in the second half in a flawless display of goal kicking.
The 21 year old first five-eighth landed seven from seven and has now extended his season tally to 295 points, 35 more than the previous highest season total.
The Magpies dominated the first half, scoring three tries, and they mostly kept their discipline when Taieri mounted a comeback in the second spell.
They can count themselves unlucky with the number scrum penalties they conceded. From the sideline, it was clear Southern had the more powerful scrum. But all that go forward often resulted in a penalty or a free kick to Taieri.
None of that would have mattered had Southern goal kicker Bryce Hosie had a better day. He cut a forlorn figure at the end of the game. He had kicked well all year, but his form deserted him.
He missed all three conversions - two of them from the sideline - and four of his six penalty attempts.
Taieri lost the services of flanker James Lentjes for 10 minutes midway through the first half for a shoulder charge on Mika Mafi. While he was off, Southern added two tries.
Lentjes made amends in the second half when he reached over to score following a long build up. Taieri enjoyed a lot more possession in the second half and Southern had to defend for long periods, dispelling the myth the team lacks fitness.
For the most part, Southern held its nerve, but it gave up two soft penalties in the final five minutes.
Ben Patston, who had presumably come on to kick for goal if Southern got a late opportunity, got himself offside at the ruck.
Casey drilled the penalty to give Taieri a 22-21 lead and added a further three points when halfback Josh Walden conceded another penalty at the ruck.
Kaikorai 19
Zingari-Richmond 17
As the mercury plummeted at Montecillo, the Kaikorai forward pack turned up the heat and took control for a hard fought victory over Zingari Richmond.
Replacement lock Sean Johnstone helped fuel desire in the Kaikorai pack, with his ability to run the ball up, while helping to reduce Zingari's commanding territorial advantage.
The Kaikorai front row trio of Jonah Aoina, Lachlan Landels and George Hendry keenly contested ball at the breakdown.
Aoina scored a try early in the second half, to set Kaikorai up for victory, while backs Logan Moore, Sean Conner and Mitchell Purvis gave the Zingari midfield defence plenty of work.
Zingari players had licence to express themselves through the interchange of forwards and backs. Lachie Moore was just one player to shine when, playing out of his customary backline position, he ran the ball up from No8.
Alhambra Union 15
Green Island 12
A last minute penalty by fullback Rhys Morgan gave Alhambra Union a narrow win in a scrappy bottom of the table clash at the North Ground.
Accurate goal kicking by first five eighth Sam Ellis gave Alhambra Union a 9-0 lead at the break. He kicked four goals from six attempts.
A rejuvenated Green Island team scored the only tries of the game and had the better of the second half.
Aggressive driving play and pick and go by the forwards led to both tries. No8 Sam Finau used his strength to power over the line for the first and counterattacking fullback Jack Wilson scored the second to level the scores with just five minutes left.
Flanker Jackson Hemopo had a strong game in the tight and veteran lock Jamie Waller made seven clean takes in the lineout.
Powerful prop Scott Manson was the best Alhambra Union forward. He was backed by lineout specialist Michael Colville. Caleb Gray was a busy halfback.
