A desperate last few ends helped the Kia Toa team win the fours on the countback at the regional final of the New Zealand club champion of champions fours at the Logan Park greens on Monday.
The Kia Toa team of Wayne Youngman, Richie Kerr, Dave Hanson and Sean O'Neill lost its last game to Les Morrison's Clinton team 9-15.
But it was enough to win the round robin competition from the Wanaka four of Lowell Croft, Bill Hodge, Edgar Allison and Tom Malcolm.
Both teams had three wins, a loss and a draw, but Kia Toa had the superior differential with plus 20 compared with Wanaka's plus 17.
With one game left the teams were even, Kia Toa having a differential of plus 26 and Wanaka plus 25.
Wanaka lost its final game to John Flynn (Southland) 10-17, but it had edged past Kia Toa that trailed Clinton 5-14 with five ends left.
But the experienced Sean O'Neill (35), an AMP adviser in Timaru, rallied his troops to reduce the margin to six shots and win on differential.
Hanson (42), who was a member of O'Neill's national championships winning four last year, found his line, as the Kia Toa team grabbed the series win and a trip to the national final at Rotorua.
Kia Toa beat North East Valley 17-8, Te Rangi (Southland) 23-7, Phoenix (North Otago) 15-14, drew with Wanaka 11-11 and lost to Clinton 9-15.
The other centres to qualify players to the national finals are Dunedin, with singles players Daphne Hynes (St Clair) and Shaun Scott (North East Valley), and Southland, with its women's fours team.
The Southland combination of Helen Affleck, Dale Dixon, Nancy McHugh and Sue Wilson (Winton RSA) was unbeaten in the round-robin competition.
They beat Lawrence 24-4, Dunedin 25-3, Central Otago 21-5, and South Canterbury 34-6. The only loss was to Dunedin 13-15.
