Hawke's Bay have secured the Ranfurly Shield for the summer.
Hawke's Bay captain Ash Dixon. Photo: Photosport
The Magpies comfortably won the final Shield challenge of the NPC season on Sunday afternoon, beating Wellington 34-18 in Napier.
It was the home team's third successful defence since claiming the Log o' Wood from Otago at the start of last month.
The result also returned Hawke's Bay to the top of the Championship division ladder, putting them in the box seat to earn promotion back to the top-tier Premiership.
Conversely, the lack-lustre loss for Wellington in their first Shield challenge since 2014 moved them to the bottom of the Premiership ladder and placed them in danger of relegation.
"We were very motivated today to keep the shield and put in a performance that we were really proud of, and that first half I thought we were outstanding," Hawke's Bay captain Ash Dixon told Sky Sport.
Meanwhile Bay of Plenty pulled themselves out of that relegation spot, scoring an injury-time try to snatch a 33-30 win over Waikato in Hamilton.
The Steamers looked on their way to victory as they ran out to a 19-3 lead in the first half, only for the home side to storm back with 27 unanswered points and take a 30-26 advantage late in the match.
But, with the fulltime hooter having already sounded, the Steamers went over through flanker Joe Johnston to steal victory.
The result lifted BOP from seventh to fourth in the Premiership, while Waikato stayed in third behind Auckland and Tasman.