It fought hard in torrential rain to make Saturday’s NPC Championship semifinal awkward for Taranaki.
But the class of the unbeaten Bulls won out.
They ground the Stags down, forcing them into a 19-6 penalty count and kicking their way to victory through Stephen Perofeta’s boot.
He kept the score ticking over in a 25-13 win in Inglewood, setting up a final against Otago this Saturday.
Taranaki has been the competition’s dominant team all season and started in that fashion against Southland.
It scored two tries in the first 10 minutes and looked set to pile on a big win.
Flanker Tom Florence scored the first, receiving a pass from Kaylum Boshier, who had sauntered through a gaping hole and linked to put the former Highlander into space.
Halfback Logan Crowley crossed for the second not long after, finishing a well-worked move as No 8 Pita Gus Sowakula found him on the inside, after picking off the back of the scrum.
They were the only tries Taranaki managed, though.
The Southland defence began to step up, although it conceded plenty of penalties in the process.
Despite that, Marty Banks’ boot helped the Stags into the game.
He kicked two penalties, to match Perofeta’s two, and leave the score at 16-6 at halftime.
A well-worked lineout move just after halftime drew Southland to within three.
Mike McKee took the ball cleanly 5m out from the line, before popping down to a flying Rory van Vugt.
Van Vugt tore through a gap in the middle of the lineout and stretched out to score.
It brought Southland back to 16-13, but that was as close as it got.
The wet conditions made it tough for either side to get any back play going.
Taranaki began to play the game at the right end of the park and applied pressure to Southland’s defensive line.
That brought penalties, three of which Perofeta turned into points, allowing the host team to pull away.
The Premiership final will also be an interisland clash, between Waikato and Tasman in Rotorua.
Tasman engineered an upset over Hawke’s Bay, beating the top qualifier 33-27 in Napier on Saturday.
The Mako led 25-17 at halftime through tries to new Highlanders signing Andrew Makalio, sevens veteran Andrew Knewstubb and Fijian winger Timoci Tavatavanawai.
Hawke’s Bay was on the back foot early, but clawed back ground when Jonah Lowe, Tom Parsons and Marino Mikaele-Tu’u crossed before the break.
The Magpies took the lead at 27-25 with 15 minutes remaining, lock Geoff Cridge’s try boosted by the reliable kicking of Lincoln McClutchie.
That lasted less than five minutes, an intercept try to centre Leicester Fainga’anuku and a Mitchell Hunt penalty securing the win for Tasman.
In the late semifinal, Waikato beat Canterbury 17-14 in a rather dour clash in Rotorua.
