allblacks.com and James Mortimer    18.Oct.2012

Canterbury, Wellington, Counties-Manukau and Otago will host the ITM Cup semi-finals for the 2012 season this weekend, with the Premiership and Championship heating up as we seek the two provinces to contest the finals.

Defending champions Canterbury, seeking an unprecedented fifth straight title, closed out their regular season with a 63-22 win over Bay of Plenty, while second placed Premiership finisher's Wellington took care of Taranaki 33-17, although the Amber and Blacks lived to fight another day finishing fourth overall.

The Steelers won their final regular season match with a 44-31 win over Northland away from home, while fellow Championship home qualifiers in Otago fell to Auckland 24-19 in Dunedin.

The semi-finals will kick off at Forsyth Barr Stadium, with Otago hosting Tasman at 7:35pm (NZT).

On Saturday night the second Championship semi-final kicks off at 2:05pm (NZT) with Counties Manukau hosting Southland.

The Premiership semi-finals begin at 4:35pm (NZT) with Canterbury hosting Taranaki at AMI Stadium in Addington, before Wellington host Auckland in a blockbuster at Westpac Stadium, kicking off at 7:05pm (NZT).

To view the ITM Cup review of the final round, click here.

To view the ITM Cup preview of the semi-finals, click here.

To view the ITM Cup match officials for the semi-finals, click here.