After six rounds of Air New Zealand Cup action, the top four sides are starting to pull away from the pack.

Wellington, Canterbury, Bay of Plenty and Hawkes Bay are sitting comfortably ahead, and with only four rounds to go are looking like they will secure the four semi-final spots.

Southland, Waikato and Tasman are the closest of the chasing teams, while Otago is still in the hunt - but only just.

At this stage, it's looking like Wellington and Canterbury are the two teams to beat.

Round six action started off with Hawkes Bay defeating Taranaki 18-14, in what was a very close match up. Hawkes Bay have been improving week to week, and are showing the benefits of playing in the top level of competition.

Wellington traveled north to take on Manawatu, and ran away with a 36-13 victory over their northern neighbours. That makes it six wins with six bonus points, and at this stage they look unstoppable.

Bay of Plenty caused some what of an upset, beating Otago by 31-20. Otago just cant seem to beat the sides that they should be beating, and it's a worrying trend for southern rugby. The Bay on the other hand, are this years biggest improvers, and are surprising a few people - including ourselves.

Auckland held on to the Ranfurly Shield, winning 13-9 over Southland. There's just something about defending the Shield that sees Auckland stand up, even when their playing poorly. Next up for the Shield is Wellington, and Auckland will have to step up even further if they want to withstand the might of the Lions.

Tasman won the battle of the two discarded teams, with a 31-10 win over Northland. For a team about to get the chop, Tasman don't seem to be giving up - in fact, they're showing a few people that maybe the wrong team was relegated - especially when Counties can't seem to win.

Canterbury blew North Harbour off the field with a 36-9 victory, and are hitting form at the right time of the year - as usual. At this stage, they may be the only team that can beat Wellington.

Waikato rounded off the weekend with a shaky 20-15 win over Counties. This was one that Waikato should have won with ease, but the Counties boys fought hard, and looked like they could have won it late in the game. Waikato's hopes, though, are still alive for 2008.