The match was dominated by the home side, who opted to keep the ball in hand for large periods and strung huge amounts of phases together.
Clutha scored early points, forced Clinton into defending for many phases, and led 29-0 at halftime.
The second half became more of a procession as Clutha ran in five more tries to seal the win and lock away the Helen Huddleston/George McKenzie Memorial Trophy and McIntosh Cup for another week.
Clutha’s forwards laid the platform with some strong carries.
No 8 Kael Merrett was on top form with ball in hand, grabbing a hat-trick of tries and setting up a couple more.
Clutha’s backs were marshalled well by Dallas Kupa-Pickering, who started his season off on the right foot.
Clinton defended stoutly for the whole match and showed plenty of ticker, but their attack did not offer much thanks to Clutha’s ability to force mistakes.
Lawrence beat Clutha Valley 20-8 under lights at Clydevale.
Lawrence started well with an early try to fullback Jaxon Bennington from a quick tap to open the scoring.
The remainder of the first half was reasonably tight. Lawrence had the lion’s share of territory and possession but failed to turn this dominance into points.
The teams traded tries in the latter stages of the first half with Lawrence going into halftime 10-8 ahead.
Lawrence’s forwards rolled up their sleeves in the second half and set a stable platform.
They earned the right to go wide and found metres to burn in the outside channels.
Lawrence deserved the win and take the Miller Cup home to Lawrence for the first round.
Fullback Bennington and winger Dion Muir helped themselves to a brace of tries each.
Valley first five Josh Shore and hooker Lachlan Roy put in strong performances.
Heriot held on to beat Owaka 25-20 in a physical encounter at Heriot.
The breakdown was a war zone with neither side showing any respect for their bodies.
Heriot attacked for large portions of the match, but Owaka’s resolute defence forced the attack laterally and Heriot could not make inroads.
The home side led 12-6 at halftime.
Owaka got more of the ball in the second half and scored two tries to wrestle momentum back.
Owaka had a chance to win it at the death, but Heriot held on for the win.
Heriot halfback Ethan Jane and Owaka centre Siaosi Lepua were the best on field.
West Taieri beat Toko 28-19 to retain the Speight’s Jug in a lively contest at Milton.
West Taieri led 15-0 at halftime before some poor discipline in the second half let Toko fight their way back into the contest.
Toko attacked with purpose and narrowed the gap before West Taieri took the match beyond reach at the death.
West Taieri’s defence was key to their success, and they made the most of every opportunity with ball in hand.
Conor Lawson scored two tries for the visitors, while lock Josh Sanders was the pick of Toko’s players on the field.
- Francis Parker
