Manawatu punish Otago

High-flying Manawatu punished an untidy Otago side to claim a hard-fought 38-25 victory on Friday.

Playing at a high tempo throughout, Manawatu demonstrated why they have dominated the Championship but found a determined, if at times untidy, Otago side keen to move the ball.

Otere Black, who kicked 11-points, efficiently guided his side around the ground with accurate in his distribution.

Otago made a fine start, almost scoring from Manawatu's first kick-return from the game's start but a wrong choice short of the line saw a try go begging. However, Manawatu were unable to escape their 22-metre area and after several crossfield movements it was lock Joe Latta who opened the scoring with a third minute try.

It was only a matter of time before Manawatu secured regular possession and when it came, there was no stopping their relentless attacks on the Otago defence.

*In Thursday's match, Waikato ended their season with a 29-12 bonus point over Bay of Plenty in Hamilton.

There was a tired, end-of-season look to both sides. Too many handling mistakes, breakdown turnovers and general clutter meant there were few chances for either side to achieve clarity in their play.

The loss represented an embarrassing record for Bay of Plenty. They were the first team to be relegated from the top division and to finish last in the next within a year.

Scores and scorers:

Waikato 29-12 Bay of Plenty

Waikato:

Tries: Weber, Faiva, O'Donnell, Payne

Cons: McKenzie 3

Pen: McKenzie

Bay of Plenty:

Tries: McGuigan 2

Con: Hollinshead

Otago 25-38 Manawatu

Otago:

Tries: Latta, Fuatai 2

Cons: Breen, Parker

Pens: Breen 2

Manawatu:

Tries: Gibbins, Tudreu 2, Foreman, Northcott

Cons: Black 4, Te Rure

Pen: Black