Carterton and Greytown will do battle in the final of the Wairarapa-Bush Rugby Union's Tui Cup premier division competition next weekend.
They justified their top seedings for the two semis on Saturday, Carterton staving off Gladstone 12-6 at Carterton and Greytown edging out Marist 20-13 at Greytown.
Both games were expected to be cliff-hangers and as the scoreboards indicate the results hung in the balance right to the game's end.
It was the boot of second-five Andy Humberstone which proved the deciding factor for Carterton. He landed four penalties, the first two matching a similar effort by Gladstone first-five Tim Griffith in the first half which closed with the scores locked at 6-6.
Both Humberstone penalties in the second half were magnificent strikes by any standard, coming as they did from around the 50m mark and on underfoot conditions made soft by the persistent rain.
Even without his high quality goal kicking Humberstone would have emerged as one of the star acts for the home team.
He was a strong, purposeful runner in attacking situations and equally assertive on defence.
The inside pairing of Daryl Pickering and Jono Hurley were other Carterton backs to shine in a game where a combination of the weather and the ground surface dictated that the forwards should invariably take centre stage.
It has been the norm all season for the McFadzean brothers, Lachie and Johnie, to be the mainstays of the Carterton pack and Saturday was no exception.
Lachie was a regular winner of lineout possession and a willing ball carrier in broken play while Johnie was typically robust on attack and defence.
Prop Jacko Hull and hooker Hone Vella were diligent workers in the many mauls which ensued during the course of the game and the same could be said of lock Francis Muller.
Gladstone might still be rueing the fact that twice in the second half with plenty of time remaining they took tap kicks from penalties which a goal kicker of Griffith's ability would surely have converted into three points.
In each case the Carterton defence held firm and Gladstone's hopes of clawing closer on the scoreboard were dented as a consequence.
Nobody could say, however, that Gladstone did not give it their best shot.
Their forwards, led by the experienced quartet of Richard Puddy, Andrew McLean, John Stevenson and Andrew Smith, were every bit as abrasive as expected and several times in an exciting and tense last 10 minutes their constant surges almost took them over the Carterton line. Inia Katia was always a threat in the backs, first at halfback and then later in midfield and Eddie Cranston was menacing in midfield.
Special mention too should be made of the contribution of referee Chris Jefferies who controlled matters with his usual calm, composed style and whose astute playing of the advantage rule allowed the game to flow in a manner which kept a large and vocal crowd well entertained.
Greytown are the defending Tui Cup champions and they earned the right to defend their title when they beat Marist at Greytown, a reversal of the result when the same squads clashed just a week earlier at Memorial Park.
Again, however, there was little between the two sides, either on the scoreboard or on the field of play, but Greytown's better finishing gave them the edge when it counted most.
They scored two tries through Marcus Ale and Hamish Meyrick and Abe Southey added two conversions and two penalties.
Pacy Marist winger Fereti Saloa, who had scored the winning try seven days earlier, also touched down for his team's only five pointer here with James Goodger kicking one conversion and two penalties.