A bit harsh, perhaps, on South Canterbury rugby fans mourning the end of one of New Zealand rugby’s genuinely phenomenal winning streaks.
But the folks in North Otago — and Mid Canterbury, and nine other little unions — will be pleased to see someone else’s name on the Meads Cup this season.
A winning streak that seems unlikely to be repeated in New Zealand rugby finally came to an end on Saturday.
South Canterbury’s almost surreal run of 39 straight victories over five years in the Heartland Championship was halted by neighbours Mid Canterbury’s dramatic 17-16 win in Timaru.
It spells the end of South Canterbury’s bid to win the Meads Cup for a fourth straight time.
Instead, either upstarts Mid Canterbury will claim the symbol of Heartland Championship supremacy for the first time since 2014, or Thames Valley — who beat Whanganui 38-15 in the other semifinal, and will host the final — will add to the sole Meads Cup they won in 2018.
It had been 1827 days since South Canterbury had lost a Heartland game.
With lock Anthony Amato and second five Paula Fifita each celebrating 50 games in green and black, South Canterbury made a positive start to the semifinal with a try to flanker Tangi Savelio.
Mid Canterbury, beaten by their Hanan Shield rivals 41-19 in the regular season, fought back with a couple of Tom Reekie penalties, but an Amato try right on the hooter gave South Canterbury a 10-6 lead at the break.
So far, so predictable. The South Cantabrians have effectively made an art form out of dominating the second half and running away with the game.
After Fa’alele Iosua and captain Willie Wright kicked penalties, the defending champions led 16-6 with 10 minutes to go, and the result seemed a foregone conclusion.
Instead, Mid Canterbury — who had defended their line heroically — crept back with a third Reekie penalty then ignited the semifinal with a try to winger Raitube Vasurakuta.
Mid Canterbury were inside their own 22m in the final minute but methodically worked upfield and earned a penalty in front of the posts, which Reekie duly converted to seal the upset.
Thames Valley were the away team in the other Meads Cup semifinal in Whanganui but they bullied a rattled home side with two early tries and never lost control.
The Lochore Cup final will be between King Country, who won it in 2015, and defending champions West Coast.
King Country held off East Coast 34-31 in one semifinal, while the other featured one of the more bizarre scorelines in New Zealand rugby history.
West Coast led 40-27 after an entertaining first half in Levin but Horowhenua-Kapiti fought back to lead 51-47 in the dying seconds.
The Coasters held their nerve to score and snatch a 52-51 win.
Heartland Championship
The finals
Meads Cup: Thames Valley v Mid Canterbury.
Lochore Cup: King Country v West Coast.
