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The semifinal picture is sorted after the final round robin matches of the Southern Region Rugby competition were played this weekend.
Clutha finished unbeaten in the round robin, but they were made to work very hard by a determined Heriot side in Heriot.
Clutha won the match 36-34. However Heriot did enough to make the semifinals with two losing bonus points.
Heriot led 17-12 at halftime but it was their defence which was the real highlight, defusing numerous Clutha attacks.
The second half saw Clutha turn the screws and overpower Heriot with a late try to take the win.
West Taieri finished second and will host a semifinal next weekend.
The Pigs scored a massive 105-0 win over Clinton in the Friday game.
West Taieri flew out of the blocks from the start and were three tries up inside seven minutes.
The onslaught never seemed to stop, and Clinton’s once brave defence looked ragged and beaten.
A five-minute hat-trick to No 8 Conor Lawson saw the home side head into halftime 49-0 ahead.
The second half was all West Taieri, as they attacked with purpose and gave Clinton no chance.
Eight second-half tries saw them creep over 100 points before the game was called off early.
Callum Smeaton kicked 15 out of 15 conversions in an impressive effort for the home side.
Clinton did not offer much but still gave everything they had. Their season ends with this result.
Toko finished in third position and will venture to West Taieri next weekend.
Toko scraped past a hugely competitive Lawrence side 20-19.
Lawrence showed all the passion and commitment you would expect and had Toko on the back foot with an early try.
Toko hit back before Lawrence scored two more tries to take a strong lead.
Lawrence’s defence absorbed Toko’s strong carries and made it hard for the visitors to attack.
The halftime score was 19-12 to Lawrence.
The second half was a bit of a stalemate with ground conditions not aiding running rugby.
Toko scored the only try of the half through flanker Caleb Shaw, before a late penalty to Jared Hayes saw Toko home.
It was not a vintage performance by the semifinalists, but they did enough.
Lawrence put in a huge shift, using only 15 players in a real display of heart and determination.
Crescent beat Owaka 53-7 at Kaitangata, but could not quite make the push required to make the top four.
Crescent walked away with the John Wybrow and Greg Smith Memorial Trophies in a small consolation.
Crescent’s fluidity with ball in hand was impressive on a ground which should have denied any kind of backline favouritism.
They shipped the ball wide and made plenty of metres in the outside tram lines.
The home side led 34-7 at the break.
The second half was more even but Crescent made the most of their limited possession.
The teams meet again next weekend in a bottom four semifinal.
By Francis Parker