Moana Pasifika have kept their slim finals hopes alive in a 27-12 victory over the New South Wales Waratahs, in a dogged, tense encounter at Mt. Smart Stadium.

Despite a few tries in the closing stages of the match, the Waratahs were their own worst enemy for the majority of the night, with dropped ball aplenty, poor decision making and ill-discipline rife through the match.

Coming into the match hoping to end Darren Coleman’s tenure at the Waratahs on a high, the continuing scrum issues persisted and provided a key target for Moana Pasifika. The hosts capitalised early on, with three tries in the first half to put the result beyond doubt.

The result the Pacific side’s fourth of the year under Tana Umaga – a marked improvement given the previous two seasons saw three wins between them – and incredibly, now in with a slim chance to spring an upset finals berth.

The Waratahs now run the risk of finishing as wooden spooners going into their final clash – the first time ever they’ll have achieved that feat in an uninterrupted regular season of the competition.

More to come.