The wet weather dictated matches and Dunedin just got home over Harbour, 15-12.
University A had a comfortable 49-3 win over Alhambra-Union.
In other games, Green Island was far too good for Pirates, putting on a half century, while Southern, which appears to be getting some players back and finding form, easily disposed of Kaikorai.
Zingari-Richmond came back from the scrapheap two weeks ago and scored a 22-19 win over Taieri, based on a strong forward showing and powerful scrum.
Zingari-Richmond 22
Taieri 19
The home side came out of the blocks at Montecillo and scored a great win which buoyed its loyal supporters.
The colours scored three tries within the first 20 minutes and did not let Taieri have a sniff of ball.
The forwards from Zingari-Richmond played as a committed pack and were strong on the pick and go against a Taieri side which did not seem to enjoy the rough conditions.
The Zingari-Richmond scrum was strong throughout and pushed Taieri back.
No8 Lafaele Faamoe racked up some big metres on the back of the powerful front eight display by the home team.
With the weather closing in right after the kick-off, veteran Zingari-Richmond loose forward Chris Bell scored the opening try.
He was followed by lock Reilly Leonard going over and then Bell crossed again, as Zingari-Richmond made a fast start.
Taieri came back into the match and scored twice at the end of the second half.
Zingari-Richmond first five-eighth Thomas Johnson wiggled his way over from 5m out midway through the second half in what turned out to be the critical score.
Taieri looked to score near the end but never got any territory and its ball handling was not good enough.
Best for the winners were hooker Marcel Taani and prop Chris Preddy, who was playing his 100th game for the side. Bell showed some enterprise on attack and Tom Rowe was good in the lineout. Halfback Maurice Stone showed some nice touches.
Taieri lacked direction but hooker Karl Still and loose forward James Lentjes tried hard.
University 49
Alhambra-Union 3
There was only going to be one winner in the game at the University Oval as the students ran away with the match against Alhambra-Union.
The home side led 13-3 at the break and then piled on the pressure in the second half on a wilting Alhambra-Union outfit.
The Alhambra-Union side lost five players to injury and the game went to golden oldies scrums with 20 minutes left.
University A ran on plenty of substitutes and the game became rather messy at the end.
The students looked to move the ball on every occasion and were always on the front foot.
First five-eighth Fletcher Smith ran the show well and linked well with his outsides and also his loose forwards. No8 Sione Tei was strong on the drive.
The Alhambra-Union side tried hard but losing captain Noah Cooper to injury did not help and the side urgently needs to get some cattle back on the park.
Dunedin 15
Harbour 12
In some of the worst conditions this writer has seen in terms of a combination of wind and rain, Dunedin ground out a meritorious win, led by its committed pack.
The southerly howled up the harbour carrying rain, sand and the odd crayfish.
The entire game was played down the touch line by the club rooms and such was the force of the wind throwing the ball to the line out was a disadvantage.
It was nearly impossible to pass into the teeth of the gale.
The ball never went past second five and that was normally crash ball.
The Dunedin pack dominated the first half at scrum, ruck and maul time and spent the majority of the game inside Harbour's 10-metre line.
But after 30 minutes Dunedin had only a solitary Louis Tili penalty to show for it, due to the resolute Harbour defence.
After 33 minutes Dunedin looked as if was about to score, only for lock Ben Whale to intercept on his line and scamper 90m before being dragged down.
From the ensuing ruck halfback Vinnie Isherwood strolled over to give the Hawks an undeserved two-point lead.
Just on halftime Dunedin regained the lead, as lock Elliot Adamson pounced on a loose ball over the line from a disrupted line out to take a two-point lead into the break.
Dunedin lost replacement hooker Sam Anderson Heather to a red card for a murky ruck infringement 10 minutes into the second spell and looked likely to face an uphill battle.
Such was the redundancy of the outside backs, Dunedin opted to play with one back down.
Dunedin continued to dominate through its scrum and maul intensity and was rewarded when prop Don Brighouse crashed over for a converted try and a 10-point lead after 20 minutes of the second spell.
Harbour struggled to get any field position and most of its promising forays were hampered by bad handling.
They finally got into the Dunedin 22 with three minutes to play.
Replacement winger Marckis Schaaf crashed over for a converted try to cut the lead to three, but it was too little, too late.
Brighouse was Dunedin's best but all the forwards were outstanding.
Gareth Evans dominated the line outs and Hame Toma was indefatigable in the loose.
Ben Whale was Harbour's best and flanker James Tomkinson tore into everything.
Southern 31
Kaikorai 10
Support play from No8 Mika Mafi and the ability of second five-eighth Tei Walden to slice through the gap, set Southern up for a 31-10 victory over Kaikorai at Bishopscourt.
The two played key roles in demanding conditions, despite their side yielding a significant territorial advantage.
Mafi's two tries were a direct result of the role he played in support, as his team struck a dose of try-line fever in the middle stages, both resulting from Walden's eye for the gap.
The second, a classic example of great support play, came after Walden sliced through the Kaikorai defence 40m out, only to be brought to ground just short of the line.
Mafi was on hand to scoop up the loose ball and score.
Southern swept back on attack from the kick-off and Walden once again parted the Kaikorai defence with ease, going all the way to score under the bar.
With Kaikorai's focus on the Southern midfield, right wing Josh Gordon completed a golden 10-minute scoring spree from Southern, wrong-footing the defence to score Southern's bonus-point try.
The 21 unanswered points in the opening 10 minutes of the second half was enough to seal victory and keep Southern's top four aspirations alive.
Although dominating in the territory stakes, Kaikorai battled away for the full 80min, but its lapses early in the second half proved costly.
Green Island 51
Pirates 5
The powerhouse Green Island scrum bulldozed Pirates off the ball to provide the platform for a convincing nine try 51-5 win in wet conditions at Miller Park.
It was the first time Green Island had topped 50 points for 10 years, since it beat University B 70-3 in 2006.
Pirates had no answer and lost ground with each scrum, while Green Island was able to launch dangerous attacks.
It scored five first-half tries while playing into the strong wind and led 29-0 at the break.
Pirates had a reprieve late in the game when golden oldie scrums were played.
That was the only time that the Pirates backs looked likely to break the defence.
Pirates' only points came when wing Will Scorgie won the race to touch down.
Green Island's front row of Mike Bennett, Ricky Hollamby and Ross Geldenhuys had dominant games and played a key role.
No8 Jackson Hemopo was dynamic and flanker Makoto Tosa was strong with the ball in hand.
The support play of the Green Island backs and forwards created gaps and tested the Pirates defence.
Green Island loosened up while playing with the wind in the second spell.
It mounted long-distance attacks more suited to dry weather rugby and failed to use the strong wind by kicking for territory.
