Dunedin put its game together in the second spell to score four tries and 30 points to regain the Larry Salmon Memorial Trophy when Pirates was beaten 37-9 at Kettle Park.
Dunedin dominated possession and territory in the first spell but some inept play, bad passing and silly mistakes stopped it from scoring points.
Dunedin kickers also missed four penalties, while the Pirates goal kicker Glenn Dickson landed three penalty goals to give his team a 9-7 lead at the break.
Credit must be given to the strong defensive screen of the Pirates backs and the lively play of loose forwards Garth Swan and Josh Clark that shut Dunedin down for 45 minutes.
Wing Tumua Ioane took over the kicking duties late in the first spell and he landed two penalty goals in the first 13 minutes of the second spell to take Dunedin to a 13-9 lead.
The floodgates opened after that, as the Dunedin backs and forwards worked in unison to dominate the rest of the game.
The first try came when flanker Andrew Mackintosh and hooker Sam Anderson-Heather surged from a line-out and prop Will Henry was up in support to score the try.
The best try came midway through the spell when Ioane ran around Pirates' Marshall Suckling and side-stepped the fullback to score a brilliant individual try.
The best player in the Dunedin team was lock Michael Gurran, with his work in the line-out and his mobility around the paddock.
He was backed by a lively loose forward trio of Scott McKee, Jon Crossan and Mackintosh.
The best Dunedin backs were first five-eighth Shaan Davis and centre Simon Davey.
Dunedin 37 (Josh Hamilton, Tumua Ioane, Scott McKee, Kelsey Miller, Will Henry tries; Ioane 3 conversions, 2 penalty goals), Pirates 9 (Glenn Dickson 3 penalty goals).
Half-time: Pirates 9-7.
Referee: Todd Pullar.
