Mid-Canterbury secured a Meads Cup home semifinal against North Otago by beating Buller 32-17 in a Heartland rugby match in Ashburton today.
After a ruggedly contested first half which ended 10-10, Mid Canterbury ran in three tries to wrap up the game in style.
Both teams traded penalties before Buller gained just reward for their early dominance with a try to barn-storming No 8 Jo Yalayala.
But Mid Canterbury struck straight back with a try to second-five Jack Umaga to tie things up heading into the break.
Buller struggled to make headway in the second half and took a pounding from the Mid Canterbury attack before their defence cracking to let Jason Gill in for a try out wide with 15 minutes gone.
Having had a strong first-half on defence, Mid Canterbury centre Brenton Connell moved his focus to attack in the second half, running in two tries in less than five minutes as Mid Canterbury started to take hold of the game.
With a semifinal spot on the line, Buller never gave up and were rewarded on the stroke of full time with a try to winger Matieli Kaloudigibeci.
Scores : Mid Canterbury 32 (Brenton Connell 2, Jason Gill, Jack Umaga tries; Kieran Lindsay 2 pen, 3 con) Buller 17 (Matieli Kaloudigibeci, Jo Yalayala tries; Nathan Thompson pen, 2 con) NZPA WGT pm
