The three unbeaten teams carried on their winning form in the third round of the Southern Region premier competition at the weekend.
Clutha again showed they will be a force to be reckoned with this season with a 52-24 win over defending champions Clutha Valley, who have yet to win a game.
Visiting Clutha started better at Clydevale, rushing out to a 14-0 lead early in the piece before allowing Valley back into the contest for a short period.
Clutha wrestled back momentum to go into halftime 33-12 ahead.
The early phases of the second half were controlled by Clutha, who pulled away to a 52-12 lead with some strong tries.
Clutha’s disciplinary issues came back into effect and Valley finished the match with a flourish, but the damage was very much already done.
Toko beat Heriot 32-25 at Milton to remain unbeaten in the competition, with all eyes now on their 125th jubilee next weekend.
Heriot took the fight to Toko for the opening 20 minutes before the home side managed to find some go-forward.
Heriot led 19-17 at the break, but succumbed in the second half as Toko raised their game up a level and never looked back.
Toko’s scrum set the platform, and their backs found space out wide and punished the visitors, who took their foot completely off the gas.
West Taieri put in a professional display at home to beat Lawrence 40-7 and continue their unbeaten streak.
West Taieri dominated the opening minutes thanks to a strong set piece that piled plenty of pressure on the visitors.
It was 21-7 at halftime before West Taieri opened up in the last 20 minutes and put the game to bed with some nicely worked tries.
Lawrence showed improvement, but crucial errors when hot on attack and slow transition into defence let them down.
Crescent kept in touch with the leading three with a 33-12 win over Owaka in Kaitangata in one of the most physical games seen in recent times.
The sides battered each other in the first half, with neither able to get a foothold.
Owaka’s set piece was dominant, but they could not make inroads into the Crescent defensive line.
When Crescent had the ball, Owaka’s defence more than accounted for their big ball runners with some thunderous hits.
The halftime score was 12-12, which showed how closely the two sides were matched.
A 15-minute period after halftime was where Crescent won the game with three quick tries.
There was no further score as both sides flew into each other with no respect for their bodies.
Owaka’s set piece dominance continued, but they could not find a way back into the game, so the Greg Smith Memorial and the John Wybrow Memorial will stay in Kaitangata.
— Francis Parker
