New halfback Ryan Hammer emerged as a player of class in his first premier game for Taieri when it drew with Zingari-Richmond at Peter Johnstone Park.
The 19-year-old harassed Zingari in the close quarter exchanges, sent out swift and lengthy passes and looked dangerous when he probed the short side.
Taieri had a chance to win the game with two minutes left but the usually reliable Michael Witt had a rare miss with a penalty attempt.
Taieri looked dangerous when it spread the ball wide and its try came after 14 minutes when it used quick second phase ball.
Second five-eighth Ryan Shortland sped through the gap, and fullback Matt Sims used his pace to score the try to give Taieri a 10-3 lead.
The best Taieri forwards were flankers Jeremy Corliss and Charlie O'Connell.
Zingari drew level when centre Kurt Schrader broke the defence inside the 22m midway through the first spell.
Schrader and Kent were a solid midfield combination and Jeremy Burton had pace and covered efficiently on the wing.
Flanker Ryan Newman had a lively game.
Zingari had the edge in the scrums because of the power of its strong front row of James Cooper, Mason Pomare and Jeremy Bekhuis.
They pushed Taieri back on several occasions.
Taieri 13 (Matt Sims try; Michael Witt conversion, 2 penalty goals), Zingari-Richmond 13 (Kurt Schrader try; Matt Gordon conversion, penalty goal, Sam Renwick penalty goal).
Half-time: 10-10.
Referee: Jeff Grubb.
