Defending Citizens Shield champions Excelsior survived a second-half surge and two late yellow cards to start 2026 with a win.
The North Otago premier club competition began on Thursday night to accommodate Easter with all games played under lights.
Excelsior were able to squeeze out a 27-19 win over Old Boys.
Both sides had to venture south to Maheno due to neither club having playable lights in Oamaru.
Blues got the scoring started thanks to a well-worked move down the blindside off a rolling maul which finished with Tyron Davies dotting down in the corner.
Both sides struggled to string phases together throughout the game as discipline and handling were big issues.
Eventually, Blues were able to extend their lead off a botched Old Boys lineout.
They spun the ball out to the right wing and a nice wraparound move had Josh Phipps in some space before he stabbed a grubber ahead.
The retreating Old Boys defenders could not coral the ball, allowing Blues to swing it back out left, and some nice hands from their forwards put Oli Knopp over in the corner.
Midfielder Tini Feke finally got Old Boys on the scoreboard after 30 minutes with a quick tap that caught the defence napping.
Two more tries to Phipps and Davies had Excelsior up 24-7 heading into the sheds.
Both teams were sloppy coming out of the break and struggled to build momentum. However, with half an hour to go, Old Boys really kicked into gear.
They finally got some territory and attacked the line relentlessly until the Blues defence finally cracked with Harry Campbell crashing over.
Old Boys then drew within five points after some quick hands down the right touchline put Ilai Atuekaho over in the corner.
Despite two late yellow cards to Excelsior, Old Boys could not break through their defence.
Phipps added a late penalty to put it beyond reach and get his side home.
Up in Kurow, a big second half from Athletic Marist helped them beat the Red Devils 32-8.
It was a right tussle for the first 40 minutes with Athies holding a two-point lead at the break.
However, they were able to open things up and run in three more tries while keeping Kurow scoreless in the second half to get the win.
Logan Dunlop started his tenure as Valley head coach in Weston with a clinical 54-16 win over Maheno.
They ran in eight tries — including a hat-trick to winger Joji Rinakama on debut — in a dominant display.
Ben McCarthy scored all 16 points for Maheno.
