Big city provinces Auckland, Wellington and Otago were all beaten. Auckland lost to Manawatu (40-34) for only the third time since 1981 and fell out of playoff contention.
Round nine of the Hilux NPC featured several major results, including Counties Manukau defeating table-toppers Northland to secure the Ranfurly Shield for the first time since 2013. Elsewhere, North Harbour overcame an early deficit to defeat Otago 32-21, recording their sixth victory of the season.
Taranaki secured a spot in the top eight after defeating Hawke's Bay 50-14, led by two tries from Bradley Slater. Meanwhile, Tasman defeated Bay of Plenty 45-26 on Thursday, leaving the Steamers at risk of missing the playoffs.
Get the latest sports news and top stories from MySportsTab delivered straight to your inbox.
No spam. Just the latest sports news and updates.
