Otago have scored one of the biggest upsets of the 2022 National Provincial Championship to date, with a 27-20 win over conference-leading Waikato at Dunedin.
After trailing for almost the entire match, the hosts ran in two converted tries in as many minutes to claim a seven-point lead that they clung to for the final 10 minutes, handing Waikato their first loss of the season and snapping their own three-game losing streak.
In the 13th minute, the visitors were the first to crack the tryline, with Damian McKenzie taking a brilliant offload from Bailyn Sullivan - who'd collected a deft chip kick by D'Angelo Leuila - to run in his third of the season.
Leuila went back to that well just a few minutes later, laying on another perfectly weighted kick that sat up for Sullivan to run onto and place under the black dot.
The hosts swiftly responded to claim their first try of the day, courtesy of hard-running lock Josh Dickson, who powered over from a close-range ruck.
Cameron Millar converted the try to take the score to 14-10 to Waikato - a scoreline they took into the halftime break.
Tryscoring chances were few and far between throughout the third quarter, with a pair of McKenzie penalties and one to Millar giving the Mooloo men a seven-point advantage heading into the final stretch.
The hosts finally broke the tryscoring deadlock in the 68th minute, as substitute lock Will Tucker did well to place the ball in the corner, under the attention of a couple of tacklers.
Almost immediately, Josh Timu went 35m from an intercept and Millar stepped up to kick a replica of the conversion moments earlier, giving the Otago a 27-20 lead and all the momentum heading into the final stretch of the contest.
Waikato worked their way into excellent field position to threaten a late equaliser, but mistakes let them down, as Otago held on to clinch a memorable win.
Otago will now travel north to take on Manawatū next Sunday, while Waikato head to the capital to challenge new holders Wellington for the Ranfurly Shield.
Meanwhile, in Tauranga, Bay of Plenty ran rampant in a 54-21 demolition of Southland.
The Steamers scored five first-half tries to take an imposing 33-7 lead into the sheds, all but killing off the contest.
In the second stanza, the Stags fought back to add a couple of tries of their own, but the Steamers did precisely the same to close out a comprehensive win.
The result keeps winless Southland mired at the bottom of their conference, while Bay of Plenty move into fifth.
The Stags return to Invercargill to take on Counties Manukau next Sunday, while Bay of Plenty square off with Hawke's Bay at home on Saturday.
In the final game of the round, North Harbour bolted to a commanding 48-21 win over Northland at Whangārei.
Fullback Shaun Stevenson marked his 50th-game milestone with a hat-trick of tries in an action-packed affair at Semenoff Stadium, as his side crossed the chalk six times to their opponents' three to wrap up a bonus-point victory and climb to third in their conference.
The teams traded tries through a breathless first half, heading into the sheds with the visitors ahead 27-21, before Harbour blew the game open in the second stanza.
They'll return home to host Taranaki on Sunday, while Northland will look to bounce back against Tasman at Nelson on Saturday.
Otago 27 (Dickson, Tucker,Timu tries; Cam Millar 3 conversions, 2 penalties) Waikato 20 (McKenzie, Sullivan tries; McKenzie 2 conversions, 2 penalties)
Bay of Plenty 54 (Herbert, Mafileo, Narawa 2, Finau, Lalamilo, Snagster, Lasaqa tries; Cashmore 6 conversions, Selby-Rickit conversions) Southland 21 (Michael Manson 2, Solomon Alaimalo tries; Banks 2 conversions, Robinson conversions)
North Harbour 48 (McGahan, Nasilasila, Stevenson 3, Booth tries; Gatland 6 conversions, 2 penalties) Northland 21 (Nock, Goodhue, Tua tries; Reihana 3 conversions)
