Rhys Chamberlain

At Anderson Park, in Cromwell, the home side got its first win of the season in a 20-17 boilover against defending champion Maniototo.

Wakatipu successfully defended the White Horse Cup, beating a hungry Clyde-Earnscleugh 27-10 at the Queenstown Recreation Ground on Saturday afternoon.

It could well be the last hit-out of the season for Otago Country in zone 4 of the Hawke Cup competition when it takes on South Canterbury in Timaru starting today.

Otago Country was unable to avoid an outright loss to Mid Canterbury in a Hawke Cup elimination match at Molyneux Park over the weekend after a mixed match with the bat.

With two disappointing results for Otago Country in its first two matches of the Hawke Cup season, it will be looking to get back on track this weekend against Mid Canterbury at Molyneux Park in Alexandra.

Otago Country will be looking to flush the memory of a heavy defeat to Southland in its opening Hawke Cup match with a win over North Otago at Molyneux Park this weekend.

Otago Country ended its season with a disappointing loss to Canterbury Country in Cromwell yesterday.

In a repeat of last season's match, Maniototo and Lawrence will contest the final of the Otago Country competition today.

It will be Central v South, Maniototo v Lawrence, in the Otago countrywide final in Ranfurly this Saturday.

There will be some soul searching going on in the Wakatipu basin this week after both local premier rugby sides were given good old-fashioned hidings.

A host of promising players, a mid-season battle with the South Otago sides and the White Horse Cup should produce an exciting Central Otago club season.

It's a new season, and with a new season comes a new format for rugby in the regions as Central and South combine halfway through for a Heineken Cup-style competition which kicks off this weekend.

Now you see it, now you don't.

Former Auckland and Black Caps all-rounder turned Marlborough captain Brendan Diamanti has ripped through Otago Country's top order and all but cemented his side's place as the latest holder of the Hawke Cup after helping bowl the home side out for just 83.