Wellington hammer Southland in Mitre 10 Cup

Wellington handed out a nine-try hammering to Southland on Friday as the hosts ran out 60-21 victors at Westpac Stadium to seal a semi-final spot in the Mitre 10 Cup.

Earl Va'a's side came into this encounter having won five of their six matches to sit second in the Championship division.

Southland, by contrast, had won only one of their seven outings and the meeting went largely to form, after the visitors had taken an early lead through Jarvis Wallace's try.

However, that was as good as it got for Southland, who found themselves 38-14 down at the interval following scores from Vaea Fifita, Greg Foe, Matt Proctor, Wes Goosen and Jason Woodward.

With the bonus point already safely secure, Wellington surged further clear in the second period.

Malo Tuitama touched down twice, sandwiching scores from Asafo Aumua and Galu Taufale, with Keanu Kahukura's last-minute try doing little to improve a sorry outing for Southland.