The round started with Lawrence defaulting to Clutha midweek, citing player unavailability and injury, which led to the competition leaders getting another five points without having to raise a finger.
Heriot capped off their club day in fantastic fashion with a 36-22 win over second-placed West Taieri.
West Taieri played structured, clinical rugby in the first half that got got them in the right areas of the field.
Backed by a powerful scrum, the visitors piled plenty of pressure on Heriot, who defended stoutly for large periods.
West Taieri led 17-12 at halftime but knew full well that they were in a huge contest.
Heriot came out of the blocks in the second half and began to assert themselves physically.
They dominated the collision, and their physicality on defence was next level.
West Taieri looked shell-shocked and did not respond well when the pressure came on, which allowed Heriot to build phases and score tries.
Heriot’s game plan was simple but effective as they scored three second-half tries to claim a well-deserved win.
Crescent scored a try at the death to beat Clutha Valley 43-41 in a thrilling encounter at Clydevale.
Clutha Valley started well and looked to be in control after some early points were put on the board.
Crescent also attacked with purpose but came up against a dedicated Valley defensive system that was extremely tough to crack.
Valley’s offensive errors caused headaches, and while they could have been ahead by more at the break, they had to settle for a 26-17 lead at halftime.
The match opened up in the second half with both attacking units looking decent.
Line breaks in the backline allowed Crescent to convert territory into points and they fought their way back into the lead.
From there, the lead changed hands numerous times before Crescent scored a late try to take the win, five points and the John Cross Cup back to Kaitangata.
Toko reinforced their position in the top four with a comfortable 34-12 win over Owaka at Milton to regain the Dean Miller and Reg Phillips Memorial trophies.
The first half was extremely sloppy and lethargic from both sides as neither could get a foothold in the match.
Toko scored two tries to one and looked the most energetic in a slow burn of a first half.
After leading 15-5 at halftime, Toko showed more energy and intent in the second half and were strong out wide, where they found plenty of room to move.
Owaka added their own spark at times but could not quite string together enough phases or play in their danger end as much as they would have liked.
Toko loose forwards Dylan Greer and Arnold Dinh had strong games. David Woodrow, in his 100th game for Owaka, was the visitors’ best on field.
By Francis Parker
