Waikato edged to a 29-22 victory at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Its loose forward unit scored four tries but owed a lot of that glory to massive tighthead Tanya Kalounivale, who steamrolled her opponent in a dominating scrummaging display.
Otago coach Scott Manson questioned whether the tactics employed were completely legal.
"She is a very good player, don’t get me wrong," he said.
"But she was straight in at the hooker’s ribs.
"That was our game, in the end. If only we would have secured a bit more of that scrum ball."
He was pleased with the character his side showed but was getting a bit tired of the valiant loser’s tag after four straight defeats in the Farah Palmer Cup.
"The girls will be more frustrated than we are. We are there or thereabouts but just not quite getting there."
Talented midfielder Chelsea Alley took advantage of that scrum platform to set up a lot of play for Waikato.
To Otago’s credit, it was able to put a lot of pressure on Waikato at the breakdown.
Flanker Leah Miles enhanced her reputation with some steals, and second five Kilisitina Moata’ane had a fine game for Otago.
Fullback Cheyenne Cunningham made some nice breaks. She scored early in the second spell after the Spirit had spent the first 10 minutes camped in Waikato’s 22m.
Centre Teilah Ferguson also muscled her way over as Otago rallied. The home side closed to within two points after trailing 24-10 at the break.
But Waikato moved back into the box seat with a lineout dive from 5m out.
Openside flanker Kennedy Simon got driven over to score.
Earlier, Waikato was able to launch a series of raids.
Midfield duo Alley and Carla Hohepa got the field position Waikato needed to open the scoring with a strong carry each.
It was Alley who eventually spun out of a tackle close to the line.
Ariana Bayler missed the conversion from out in front, though.
Otago stayed in the fight with a series of turnovers. The home side strung 11 phases together and was rewarded with a penalty to Sheree Hume midway through the half.
But Waikato struck back almost immediately. Alley and Hohepa featured again and No 8 Victoria Edmonds picked up the ball and dived over.
Edmonds scored again moments later, this time from the back of a 5m scrum.
Kalounivale bulldozed her opposite.
It was a demoralising blow and Otago started falling off a few tackles.
Waikato rumbled up field and added another. But Moata’ane scooped up a loose pass and got the offload to winger Daimzel Rongokea to score late in the first half.
Otago fought back to give itself a chance of springing an upset win over last year’s beaten finalist but fell short.
In other games, Manawatu thumped Hawke’s Bay 67-12, Wellington edged Counties Manukau 26-25, North Harbour beat Taranaki 24-10, Northland downed Tasman 27-0, and Canterbury beat Auckland 32-7.
