Canterbury have won through to a fourth straight Farah Palmer Cup final.
Canterbury celebrate one of Olivia McGoverne's three tries in their semi-final win over Auckland. Photo: Photosport Ltd 2020
The three-time defending champions have beaten Auckland 36-21 in the first semi-final in Christchurch, with Canterbury second-five Olivia McGoverne scoring a hat-trick of tries.
McGoverne scored her first inside 10 minutes but Auckland kept it tight and led 8-7 shortly before halftime courtesy of a Princess Elliot try.
But the red and blacks scored two late tries through Alana Bremner and Sam Curtis to snatch a 17-8 lead at the break.
McGoverne scored her second and third tries early in the second-half before Canadian lock Cindy Nelles completed the scoring to quell an Auckland revival.
The Storm had cut the deficit to eight points with a quarter of an hour remaining after tries from Theresa Fitzpatrick and Saphire Abraham.
The 15 point margin is the closest a team has got to Canterbury this season, who won their five matches in the south pool by an average of 57 points.
Waikato will play host to the Manawatu Cyclones in the second semi-final in Hamilton on Sunday.
