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The Southern Region finalists have been found after two entertaining semifinals played on Saturday.
The final will be a repeat of last year with Clutha hosting West Taieri at the Balclutha Showgrounds.
Clutha and Heriot fought out a hugely competitive semifinal at the Balclutha Showgrounds with Clutha coming out on top 43-39.
The first half was a tight affair with both sides sharing a reasonable slice of territory and possession.
Clutha were clinical for the most part and scored points every entry into their red zone. But they were also guilty of giving away possession on attack, which Heriot managed to convert into points with some dynamic attack themselves.
The home side led 24-20 at halftime.
It was something of a stalemate in the early moments of the second half with both teams’ defensive systems working well.
Heriot lost key loose forward Richie Nikolaison to a head knock which meant the visitors lost a bit of momentum in the collision area and at ruck time. Clutha also sustained some injuries that tested their depth in key positions.
Clutha were too clinical in the second half and built a reasonable lead before Heriot showed real fight to get within touching distance before the match ended in Clutha’s favour.
Bax Colley and Max Pennell had strong games in the tight for Clutha. Colley scored a brace of tries and his workrate around the park was top-drawer.
Halves Sam Stratford and Mat Korteweg ran a tidy ship and looked sharp with front-foot ball.
Heriot showed all of their tenacity and desire in the second half to almost cause an upset.
George Whyte and Lewis Gravatt gave everything they had again and were dominant at the ruck. First five Ryan Neill and prop Sebastian Tagiilima were also strong.
West Taieri will join Clutha in the final after a strong 39-12 win over Toko at the Outram Domain.
West Taieri, led by No 8 Conor Lawson, took the battle to Toko in the collision area and on the carry.
It did not take long for Lawson to make his mark with a try inside the first minute.
Toko hit back through lock Josh Sanders, who finished off a spectacular team try.
With the game being played at a frenetic tempo, Lawson crossed for his second and third tries in quick succession to give West Taieri a defendable lead.
Toko fought back and crossed through a massive individual effort from prop James Agnew, who cantered 20m and scythed through defenders to score.
The halftime score was 22-12 to West Taieri.
The home side controlled proceedings in the second half, and Lawson scored two more tries to finish the day with five.
Toko could not get any form of momentum due to their lopsided penalty count and the abrasiveness of West Taieri’s defence.
Lawson was at a different level for the home side in this match on both attack and defence.
Toko lock Sanders and first five Jared Hayes were the best on field for the visitors.
The bottom four final will be contested by Clutha Valley and Crescent, after Crescent beat Owaka 36-26 at Kaitangata and Valley beat Lawrence by default. — Francis Parker