Wakatipu and Arrowtown will contest the final of the Central Otago Premier rugby competition after Wakatipu beat reigning champion Maniototo 19-11 and Arrowtown scored a last-minute 21-17 win over Clyde-Earnscleugh.
At the Queenstown Recreation Ground, the home side got off to a slow start despite being camped in Maniototo's half for most of the first 20 minutes.
It took three blown tries to spark Wakatipu into action and it did from a Nathan Reid break resulting in a Danny King try. The midfielder crashed through and offloaded to King who scampered 25m to open the scoring.
Charlie Hore got Maniototo on the board with a penalty goal soon after, before Wakatipu captain Regan Pearce kicked a long drop goal, the first of three in the match from the first-five, to take his side into the break with a 10-3 lead.
The match then tightened up considerably, both sides fighting to gain ascendancy. Wakatipu fullback Tony Farley kicked a penalty goal and Pearce two more drop goals while Maniototo replied with a second penalty to Hore and then a try to centre Sean Becker.
However, Wakatipu had its crucial eight-point lead and was not about to surrender it despite being under huge pressure at times.
Loose forwards Marcus Balchin and Jake Lawrence had outstanding games for the home side and Richie Stevens had a big game at halfback.
The game was marred by a couple of serious injuries to Wakatipu players that could effect preparation for the final this weekend.
