Southland's top club, He Tauaa, put University to the sword with a 56-6 win at the Oval on Saturday.
The clash of the top teams from each competition was expected to be a tight contest, but University was not up to the challenge.
He Tauaa put the pressure on early, its impact forwards dragging defenders in and creating gaps in the defensive line.
Their talented halves pair regularly exploited these gaps.
Tyson Ball was a standout for University, scoring his side's only try and making 38 tackles. Another huge defensive effort came from prop Lundon Williamson, who made 46 tackles.
The East Coast Eagles also suffered a loss, going down 40-16 to the Cowboys.
The Eagles will be left ruing several missed opportunities, including spilling the ball three times right at the tryline.
Lengthy periods of defending caused fatigue, allowing the Cowboys to score some tries in the second half to blow the scoreline out from the halftime lead of 18-4.
Jordan Fuatavai and William Jackson got the Eagles momentum through their strong ball carries, and Owen Draper, Hyrum Martin and Kieran Fitzgerald capitalised on that momentum regularly to send the opposition scrambling.
However, the Cowboys absorbed the Eagles' attacking efforts with some gritty defence, allowing them to keep control of the contest.
The South Pacific Raiders returned to their winning ways with a 28-18 win over Cooks RLC at Elles Rd in Invercargill.
The first half was an arm wrestle as both teams struggled to hold on to the ball, and Cooks went into the break with the lead.
Raiders coach Dave Reedy had a few words to stand-off Jayden Hollander about what to look for on attack and he then took control of the game and had a man-of-the-match performance, with several line breaks, a try, a couple of try assists and some good defensive plays.
The forwards also stood up and really dug deep with captain Manassah Kutia leading the charge and finding support in Garth Kinley, who scored two tries.
The Kia Toa Tigers got up over the Winton Warlords 42-34 at Elles Rd.
The return of Hagan Free bolstered the Tigers' strength in the middle, and he racked up the bulk of his side's tackles and scored two tries.
Utility Apii Taia was awarded man of the match for his aggressive impact on both attack and defence.
Hooker Tayla Hazlett defended well, directed play and scored a try, while Josiah Mani scored another two tries for the Tigers.
