Waikato have locked away the Ranfurly Shield for another week after beating Southland 42-11 in Hamilton this afternoon.
Despite the final scoreline, it took a piece of individual magic from in-form winger Sevu Reece on halftime to spark the Mooloos.
Reece managed to side step his way through a flat-footed Stags defence off a skewed scrum close to the tryline to score after the halftime hooter, handing Waikato a 14-11 lead as the two sides headed to the sheds.
That seemed to ignite Waikato who came out and scored in the first minute of the second half with Murray Iti to push their lead to 21-11.
From there, the hosts pulled away with three more tries to comfortably avoid any upsets like the one Auckland was handed by Otago last night.
With the win, Waikato move to the top of the Championship standings with a five point buffer on Hawke's Bay while Southland continue to sit at the bottom of the same division with no wins from seven matches.
Waikato will next put the Log o' Wood up against Otago in the final round of the Mitre 10 Cup when the two sides meet in Hamilton on October 13.
SHARE ME