Scoring 24 unanswered points in the second half, the boys from the 'Naki took all their chances and were too clinical for the home side when it mattered.
For Otago, it was a cruel defeat. It had its best 40min of the season in the opening period but failed to get any ball or territory in the second half and, hit by injury, could not keep Taranaki out.
Otago played some good rugby, but some leaky defence in the second half with its backline completely rearranged really told.
The one consolation for the home side was that it did manage to secure two bonus points, through scoring four tries and finishing within seven points.
But it was really the one that got away for the boys in blue and gold.
That fact was not lost on Otago coach Steve Martin who said he was "bitterly disappointed" not to get the win.
"We knew coming out in the second half we had to maintain that intensity of the first half and focus on the things we had been doing well," Martin said.
"But you've got to give credit to the opposition. They kept the ball away from us and took all their opportunities."
He said his side had worked hard and was not out of the running to qualify for the quarterfinals.
Martin felt the first half was the best performance of the season, with strong running, good depth in the backline and sustained attack.
If anything, Otago blew chances in the first half which came back to haunt it.
Martin said the loss of midfielders Aarin Bancroft (dislocated finger) and Brett Mather (ankle), both by half-time, was a real blow in the second half.
With fullback Glen Horton suffering a blow to the shoulder, reserve halfback Sean Romans played the last 15min as the custodian at the back.
Taranaki coach Adrian Kennedy said his side was lethargic in the first half and he told his players at half-time to show some urgency in the second half and hang on to the ball.
His wish was granted with the visitors scoring two tries within 6min of the break.
Winger Paul Perez went over twice, finishing off a couple of moves, including the last try for his side which really sank Otago.
The home side did have the final say, with Lucky Mulipola getting over after the full-time hooter to get the two bonus points.
Otago's other winger, Karne Hesketh, seemed to have scored 5min before that but was hauled back by a dubious call for a forward pass.
Hesketh had earlier scored a fine try near the end of the first half after a clever run by Daniel Bowden and good link work by Carig Newby.
Bowden was running the show in the first half, throwing well-timed passes and finding gaps.
But shifted out one place when Bancroft went off, his defence went missing a couple of times in the second period. Hesketh ran well and beat numerous defenders.
Flanker Eben Joubert had a strong first 40min while Tom Donnelly was into everything in his 50th game. His locking partner, Ross Kennedy, son of the Taranaki coach, was prominent with ball in hand.
Otago was nearly over the line within the first 40sec of the game.
Bowden timed a beautiful pass to Joubert who showed a good step to get over the line and appeared to have scored a try but it was ruled out by the television official.
But Otago only had to wait another minute for captain Craig Newby to barge over from 3m.
It was then rocked on its heels when classy Taranaki fullback Ace Malo glided past three Otago tacklers to score under the posts.
But Otago got back into gear when Kennedy grabbed the ball, made a few metres and, after endless attempts at the line, Horton found a small gap between defenders to score.
• Taranaki 31 (Paul Perez 2, Ace Malo, Nathan Hohaia, Scott Waldrom tries, Willie Ripia 3 conversion) Otago 27 (Craig Newby, Glen Horton, Karne Hesketh, Lucky Mulipola tries, Bowden penalty goal, 2 conversions) Half-time: Otago 22-7. Crowd: About 2000.
