:roll: as i predicted,,, again.
It was better late than never for Canterbury as they rediscovered their winning ways on the eve of the Air New Zealand Cup play-offs with a plucky 27-22 win over championship leaders Auckland in Christchurch on Saturday night.
Yet it was a result that did little for either side. Canterbury failed to secure the fourth try for a bonus point that would have given them a home quarter-final.
Canterbury will travel to Wellington to meet the Lions in their quarter-final next weekend.
And Auckland's loss means either Waikato or North Harbour can overtake them at the top of the table for the important No 1 ranking when they meet in Hamilton on Sunday afternoon.
But this was a crucial win for Canterbury after two successive defeats, the second of which cost them the Ranfurly Shield last weekend.
A hat-trick of losses would have been a catastrophe for Rob Penney's side at this stage of the season. But they avoided that embarrassment - just.
They had a seemingly impregnable 24-6 halftime lead but allowed a determined Auckland side back into the match as Pat Lam's men lifted their intensity and accuracy.
But Auckland came up just short, leaving Lam and his assistant Shane Howarth still searching for their first win over the red and blacks.
Only a forward pass prevented what looked to be Auckland's match-winning try between the psosts after the hooter had sounded in a furious finish.
It was a compelling match with both sides enjoying long periods of dominance. Somehow Canterbury managed to hold on to this win after they had surrendered leads against Wellington and North Harbour over the last two weekends.
Canterbury looked better in this performance with Dan Carter adding some real composure to their play. But if they are going to continue in this title race they will have to do it on the road now.
Auckland had to shuffle their back row at the last minute in Christchurch when a hamstring injury ruled out blindside flanker Andrew Blowers. Test lock Ali Williams was elevated to a starting role with Brad Mika moving out of the second row to the back of the scrum and Jerome Kaino going to No 6.
It was a luxury of talent for Auckland and they played an increasingly dominant role alongside tyro openside Daniel Braid as the Aucklanders battled back into this match.
Canterbury's troubles were increased when Casey Laulala was forced off with what looked like a heavy concussion after attempting to tackle Joe Rokocoko. They also had All Blacks fullback Leon MacDonald struggling with a worrying knee injury that forced him off just before the finish.
Rokocoko, Isaia Toeava and Keven Mealamu were effective second half substitutions as Auckland used their bench to good effect to to threaten the massive Canterbury lead.
Surges Repulsed
Canterbury had two early surges at the line repulsed by some strong Auckland defence. But then the blue and whites fell off their tackles.
Scott Hamilton finished a length of the field attack by Canterbury that was launched by a strong breakout by Casey Laulala in the 20th minute.
They had a second try within two minutes when MacDonald found some unexpected space down the left touchline and his chip kick bounced kindly for big lock Craig Clarke to collect for the try.
Then another young tight forward, loosehead prop Wyatt Crockett, finished off another brilliant long range attack as the red and blacks won a lineout turnover and launched from their own 22 again.
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Auckland lock Brad Mika troubles Canterbury
Auckland had just two Brent Ward penalties to show for a disappointing first half as Canterbury led 24-6 at the break.
Auckland needed to be the first to score in the second spell to get back into the match and they managed that when replacement hooker Mealamu delivered the final pass to a storming Sam Tuitupou for a try by the posts.
Ben Atiga's conversion and two penalties soon after had the blue and whites right back in the match and their accuracy was increasing with every minute.
The Canterbury defence was being increasingly stretched and they started to test the patience of referee Steve Walsh. He eventually sin-binned Aaron Mauger and from the resulting penalty Atiga goaled to close the gap to two points at 24-22.
Canterbury finally got into an attacking area through a couple of classy touches from Carter and then his important penalty gave them a bit of breathing space. But after their recent problems it was a question of whether they could hold on to see out the win.
They managed to do that, hanging on at the end to repulse several waves of Auckland attack in the dying minutes.
But they couldn't get the try that needed to lift them into fourth place on the cluttered table.
And Auckland were also left frustrarted by their inability to really nail down the top spot when it seemed they had stormed back.
Canterbury 27: Scott Hamilton, Craig Clarke, Wyatt Crockett tries; Dan Carter 3 con, 2 pen.
Auckland 22: Sam Tuitupou try; Brent Ward 2 pen; Ben Atiga con, 3 pen.
HT: 24-6.
