The speedy Alhambra-Union backline gave Taieri a sharp reminder of the work it needs to do to be competitive in the premier competition.
Taieri matched, and often had the better of Alhambra in the forwards, but it was one-way traffic in the backs.
The Alhambra backs ran with pace and entered the line on angles that confused the ponderous Taieri backline defence.
The inside pairing of Matt George and Peter Breen sparked the line into action and the speed of fullback Wayne Gibson and wing Karne Hesketh kept Taieri on the back foot.
Alhambra scored three tries in the first spell and led 24-3 at the break and added three more tries in quick succession in the first 15 minutes of the second spell to stretch the advantage to 45-3.
Slow delivery made it difficult for the Taieri backs to break the advantage line, and it was midway through the second spell before talented centre Ryan Shortland received the ball along the chain.
The Taieri pack gave Alhambra a few lessons in the tight exchanges and pushed its scrum back on a few occasions.
It also looked dangerous with the rolling maul.
No 8 Erik Vaafusuaga was a demon tackler and dangerous with his driving runs and formed an effective loose forward unit with Callum Bissett and Jeremy Corliss.
Corliss was the outstanding forward in the game and used his speed to score both of Taieri's tries.
The best Alhambra forwards were flanker Matt Clutterbuck and line-out specialist Cowan Finch, who made eight clean takes.
Alhambra-Union 45 (Matt George 2, Wayne Gibson, Karne Hesketh, Luke Reihana, Peter Breen tries; Breen 6 conversions, penalty goal),
Taieri 15 (Jeremy Corliss 2 tries; Ricky Stewart conversion, penalty goal).
Half-time: Alhambra-Union 24-3.
Referee: Doug Rodgers.
