Last year’s finalists are the only unbeaten teams in the southern region competition after a hard-fought fifth round of rugby.
Clutha Valley was impressive at home, securing a comfortable 40-20 win over Heriot, which up until this match was also unbeaten.
Heriot had momentum in the opening stages of the match and made the most of its size advantage up front.
Valley’s defence suddenly rose to the occasion midway through the first half and gave Heriot nothing in the contact zones.
The home side made the most of possession and Heriot mistakes, scoring three unanswered tries to shoot out to a 19-3 lead approaching halftime. Heriot managed to score before the break to leave the halftime score in the balance at 19-10.
The second half was built on staunch Valley defence, Heriot’s forwards threw everything they had at opposition but Valley held strong, making solid tackles, and forcing turnovers.
Valley added three more tries in the second half while conceding only two more.
Valley first five-eighth Thomas Johnson had an influential match. He controlled the backline well, made key tackles and scored a nice individual try.
Forwards Liam Turnbull, Lachie Gunson and Damian Wilson were very sharp.
Heriot’s forwards ran well all day, but did not adapt when its game plan unravelled. James Edgar, Tyson Adams and Dylan Mackenzie performed well.
West Taieri remains unbeaten, also with a hard-fought 19-8 win over Clutha at the Balclutha Showgrounds. Clutha was the best side in an error-ridden first half and went into the break 8-7 ahead. Injuries forced changes to both sides and the West Taieri bench offered more in the second spell. West Taieri reserves Jared Cunningham, Arlen Docherty and Ben Davidson added the spark required to push past a valiant Clutha effort. Daniel Miller, Josh Turnbull and Dan Groen put in a solid shift for Clutha in the tight. Halfback Jamie Brown had the Steamers humming for the opening 20 minutes before he was injured.
Owaka continued its winning form with a 29-13 win over Clinton on Friday night, in Clinton. The Swamp Hens had the rub of the green in the first half. Owaka scored three tries to one to go into halftime 17-8 ahead. The second half was more even, as both sides controlled possession and territory for stages in the half.
Clinton opened the second-half scoring when fullback Mark Wells crossed for his second of the match early in the second half. That would be the final points for the home side, as Owaka finished the stronger with two further tries to seal the win. Owaka winger Takyhara Ieru and lock Todd Keen and Hadley Clark all had strong games. Clinton No8 Aaron Lupton was his team’s best. Owaka retained the Bill Mitchell Memorial Trophy.
Toko came away with its first win of the season, 36-22 over Roxburgh at Milton. It was a tight encounter for the most part and Toko scored two late tries to seal the win.
Flankers Arnold Dinh and Dylan Greer were immense for Toko. Dinh scored a brace of tries and Greer’s work rate was top-drawer. Reece Michelle, Josh Reid and Ethan Kitto were all strong for Roxburgh, which picked up its second bonus point of the season.
- Francis Parker
