University and the East Coast Eagles secured wins in the first round of interprovincial match-ups between Otago and Southland clubs, but the South Pacific Raiders and Kia Toa Tigers were not so lucky.
University travelled to Invercargill to take on Cooks and came away with a 34-20 victory in a tough contest.
University winger Ro Allen had a standout performance.
He got the scoring under way just minutes after kick off with a 90m try and then backed it up with an intercept, again running almost the length of the field to dot down under the posts.
Cooks put up a determined fight but University maintained the lead throughout the contest.
The East Coast Eagles secured their first victory of the season with a resounding 82-10 win over the Winton Warlords.
The Eagles' strong-running forwards dominated through the middle and created opportunities near the tryline, which often resulted in points.
Sam Johnston dominated the ruck from hooker, scoring scored three tries, while player-coach Dave Broughton also scored three tries in his first hit-out this season.
Hyrum Martin and Sonny Mclean scored two each in the Eagles' try-fest.
The South Pacific Raiders went down 40-28 to the leader of the Southland competition, He Tauaa.
The Raiders were up 24-14 at halftime, but gave away too much ball in the second half and were on the wrong side of a big penalty count.
He Tauaa seized the momentum and the Raiders were unable to stop it.
Centre Willie Time and prop Honehau Clarke-Hepi turned in excellent performances for the Raiders and did their best to keep them in the contest.
Ultimately, a 30% completion rate in the second half, compared to an 85% completion rate in the first half, led to the Raiders' downfall.
The Tigers have suffered back-to-back losses after falling 38-10 to the Cowboys from Invercargill.
A slow start, during which they conceded three tries in 20 minutes, ensured the Tigers were chasing the game from the outset.
Despite showing some good fight through the middle, the Tigers were unable to claw their way back into the game.
The return of Joel Taniora into the side was welcomed, and he led the tackle count for the Tigers with his solid defence in the middle of the field.
Kruz Murray and Josiah Mani scored the Tigers' two tries.
The second round of interprovincial action will take place on Saturday, at the Oval, in Dunedin and at Elles Rd, in Invercargill.
