Air NZ Cup quarterfinals confirmed
Sun, 05 Oct 2008 09:02
Wellington's reward for topping the Air New Zealand Cup round-robin is a testing home quarterfinal against franchise partners and surprise qualifiers Taranaki at Westpac Stadium on Saturday.
The Amber and Blacks probably thought they were destined to miss out after dropping a Thursday thriller in Hamilton 45-41 to Waikato, but claimed the final qualifying spot when Auckland bumbled their way to a home defeat against Northland which saw both Blues partners miss out on the play-offs.
The two bonus points Taranaki picked up in the high-scoring defeat at Waikato Stadium ended up being crucial, with Auckland shut out by the Taniwha in the final round-robin clash on Sunday, and the Northlanders unable to grab the bonus point they needed to figure in the equation.
Second qualifiers Canterbury will open next weekend's quarterfinal action with a Friday clash against Crusaders partners Tasman at AMI Stadium. The red and Blacks will be hot favourites to breeze through that.
Third-placed Hawke's Bay will host Waikato in what should be a cracking knockout clash in Napier on Sunday afternoon, while Bay of Plenty's reward for finishing fourth sees them host Southland at Mount Maunganui in the late Saturday matchup.
Northland's victory over Auckland completed a disastrous Air NZ Cup for the three Blues representatives, with none able to qualify for the quarterfinals. Northland finished 10th, Auckland 11th and North Harbour 12th, which will no doubt give new coach Pat Lam plenty to ponder as he finalises his selections over coming weeks.
Quarterfinal draw (qualifying position in brackets):
Friday, October 10:
19.00 - Canterbury (2) v Tasman (7), Christchurch
Saturday, October 11:
17.00 - Wellington (1) v Taranaki (8), Wellington
19.35 - Bay of Plenty (4) v Southland (5), Mt Maunganui
Sunday, October 12:
14.30 - Hawke's Bay (3) v Waikato
(6), Napier
