Rugby: Hawke’s Bay locks up Ranfurly Shield as wild scenarios emerge in Miter 10 Cup Premiership

Hawke’s Bay has locked up the Ranfurly Shield for the summer, overcoming a weak challenge from Wellington with a 34-18 win.

In his first Shield challenge since 2014, Wellington trailed 27-6 in 25 minutes, and now additionally sits at the bottom of the Miter 10 Cup Premiership with one round to play, risking relegation to the Championship .

His salvation could be his opponent in the final round: the basement dwellers of the Manawatū championship, with the Premiership battle fascinatingly set for the final round.

With their third successful Shield defense, Hawke’s Bay is trying to make the Championship much less interesting, having blocked a semi-final at home against Northland, Taranaki or Southland. Otago also secured a semi-final at home and will also play one of that trio as five teams battle it out for the championship title.

Hawke’s Bay’s victory over Wellington was sealed before halftime, with three attempts in 12 minutes, and Wellington was only able to muster two consolation efforts.

Wellington now needs to beat Manawatū to increase its chances of avoiding sinking back into the second tier, but with just five points separating runner-up Tasman and Wellington, all teams still have a chance to reach the Premiership semi-finals.

Auckland, which leads the Premiership by five points, are the only team to be assured of a spot, while Canterbury, tied with Wellington at 24 points, need to topple Auckland to ensure they do not go down, as a win would almost certainly move them. . past Bay of Plenty (26) or North Harbor (25), they face each other in the final round.

The only way a win is not enough for Canterbury to survive relegation is if an extremely unlikely event occurs where Bay of Plenty and North Harbor play a draw where both teams score at least four attempts, and Canterbury does not get a bonus. . point.

That same wild scenario could affect Wellington, with individual scenarios up for grabs in which five teams finish with 29 points, four teams with 28 points, or three teams with 34.

Waikato could have secured their place in the semifinal with a win over Bay of Plenty, but after scoring 27 unanswered points to take a 30-19 lead, they conceded a try in the 83rd minute as Bay of Plenty kept their hopes alive for semifinals and gave his chances of avoiding relegation are a big boost.

Taranaki sealed his place in the championship semifinals with a 35-19 victory over Manawatū.

Trailing 12-3 just before halftime, Taranaki scored four second-half attempts to earn a comfortable victory and book a semifinal against Hawke’s Bay or Otago.