Clutha beat Crescent 36-29 in a Southern Region clash on Saturday that will be hard-pressed to be beaten as game of the season.
The opening stages were extremely physical, the lead changing hands numerous times.
Clutha put together what turned into a match-winning 15 minutes in the middle of the first half where they scored three tries in a row to head into the halftime break 29-17 ahead.
Some harsh words from Crescent coach Jamahl Little seemed to spur his side into life in the second half as they scored two tries to make it 29-29 with less than five minutes on the clock.
Clutha summoned all their strength and mounted one final attack to seal victory with a try on fulltime to winger Junior Meafua.
West Taieri continued their unbeaten run on the back of a huge first-half effort against Heriot.
West Taieri bossed the first half as they scored four tries in a 10-minute period to head into halftime 31-7 ahead.
Heriot showed their tenacity in the second half as they forced West Taieri into giving away numerous penalties, which resulted in them receiving two yellow cards.
Heriot scored three second-half tries to narrow the gap dramatically before a late West Taieri try gave them a 38-26 victory.
Toko picked up their second win of the season with a strong showing against Lawrence at Milton.
The home side won 34-27 but controlled territory and possession for the majority of the game.
Lawrence’s tenacity on defence made sure that Toko had to work for all of their points.
Toko led 19-15 at halftime and the second half mirrored the first with Toko having all the territory and possession but really failing to make it count.
Lawrence attacked on the counter and scored some nice tries, but Toko scored late in the piece to seal the deal.
Owaka beat Clinton 14-12 in a Friday night battle of attrition at the Stables in Clinton.
A scoreless first half involved both sides trying to come to terms with the moist conditions.
Clinton started the second half better with two quick tries to move out to a 12-0 lead.
From there, Owaka showed their mettle and took it to Clinton up front, where they had no answer.
Clinton tried everything to stop Owaka’s momentum but could not find any answers as the Owaka pack rolled over the top of them and scored two match-winning tries late in the piece through prop Chris Preddy.
Clinton had a chance to win the game at the death but could not convert from the tee, gifting Owaka the opportunity to retain the coveted Bill Mitchell Memorial Shield.
— Francis Parker
