The home team started the game with vim and vigour at the University of Otago Oval and went close early but the Dunedin defence held.
After seven minutes, Varsity first five-eighth Sam Clarke found a diving winger in Tom Rance with a searching cross field kick.
Dunedin then started to exert control, especially at lineout time, as young tyro lock Fabian Holland controlled the airspace all the way to Momona.
This put real pressure on the Varsity lineout which did not respond. From one of those lineouts the Dunedin pack drove at the line and it was Holland himself who crashed over to draw level. Dunedin dominated most of the rest of the half but had only two Tom Henderson penalties to show for it.
Varsity made it pay late in the spell when it turned over possession 65m out and Highlanders prop Daniel Lienert Brown made the break. The ball went through seven sets of hands and winger Rance handled twice. He scored wide out to cut the lead at the break.
Dunedin resumed normal service in the second spell and with all the ball Holland was delivering from both hookers, it dominated territory and possession. From one of those lineouts on the Varsity 22m line the Dunedin pack drove all the way to the line for hooker Sam Rainger to score. Varsity was looking bereft of ideas and the game looked done.
But Dunedin was making some silly errors and Sam Clarke kicked a couple of penalties and with eight minutes to go the lead was back to two points. The Dunedin pack tried to shut the game down and gave away two kickable penalties from the same spot but Clarke was unable to convert either in the terrible conditions.
For Dunedin, Holland showed how good he is and still 18 years of age. Rainger was very impressive and into everything and flanker Hame Toma was back to his bruising best.
Lienert Brown was dangerous with ball in hand and Varsity captain Sean Withy led the pack well. Sam Clarke was far and away its best back and Rance was a deadly finisher.
Taieri 22 Southern 10
Taieri got out in front early and could not be caught by Southern at a wet and cold Bathgate Park.
With the rain bucketing down for most of the game, it was never going to be a free-flowing encounter. Taieri backed its forward pack and once impressive No8 Sam Fischli went over at the start of the second half to put his side ahead 19-3 the game was as good as won.
Southern gained more territory and possession in the last quarter of the game but the bodies were tired by then and the ground had cut up , making it tough to find some space.
Eventually the home side scored a try through winger Timoci Tavatavanawai, when he slipped past a couple of defenders near a ruck and scrambled over by the posts.
Taieri could not be stopped and kept banging away up front. Brayden Laing kicked a penalty near the end to extend the lead.
In the first half, Taieri scored four penalties through Cameron Millar which put it well in front at halftime. Southern was pinned back in its own half for most of the opening 40 minutes and scrambled well in defence.
Taieri locks Don Lolo and Ben Morris had strong games, as did Fischli, while Bob Martin was good at halfback as was Laing outside him.
Best for Southern were first five-eighth Riku Kitahara and winger Tavatavanawai while young lock Harry Taylor was into everything.
Zingari-Richmond 21 Alhambra-Union 20
The Zingari-Richmond side marked captain Chris Bell’s record appearance with a nail-biting win over Alhambra-Union at the North Ground.
The visiting side won 21-20, marking Bell’s 272nd appearance for the club, a record at the top club level. The colours led 15-7 at the break and as the weather got worse both teams’ skill levels dropped and plenty of mistakes were made.
Right at the end, Alhambra-Union goalkicker Levi Emery had a penalty from straight in front 49m out but it hit the post, some relief to the Zingari-Richmond supporters.
The home team scored in the first minute of the game with a try to halfback Logan Roberts but Zingari-Richmond came straight back with a try to tight forward Keegan Anderson.
Halfback Shaun Driver had a good game for Zingari-Richmond and scored 16 points. His kicking was polished and he linked well with first five-eighth Nehe Milner-Skudder, who just plugged the lines and kept his side going forward.
Bell kept working all day. Ben McCarthy was lively for Alhambra-Union, both at fullback and at halfback later in the game, while the Alhambra-Union front row delivered a good scrum.
Kaikorai 22 Harbour 17
It was hardly a game for the modern-day rugby purist, but Kaikorai took a four-try bonus point 22-17 victory in an old-school 10-man rugby match played under lights in the mud at Watson Park.
Home side Harbour had the wood on Kaikorai in the first half using its size and bulk in its forward pack to dominate up front, leading to some outstanding defensive play from the visitors.
Harbour No8 Sione Misiloi opened the scoring after some torrid forward exchanges, charging off a 5m scrum and using the mud to slide over for the try. Fullback Joshua Robertson-Weepu added the conversion and was a constant threat. The nephew of former All Black Piri Weepu proved a danger on the counterattack in combination with another player with All Black lineage in the Harbour squad, first-five-eighth Tokahirere Sopoaga.
Trailing 10-5 at the break, Kaikorai came out firing in the open minutes of the second half, scoring back-to-back tries though hooker Henry Bell and lock Grayson Knapp.
But it was its fourth try five minutes later that proved the highlight of an otherwise good old-fashioned forward battle. First half try-scorer No8 Christian Lio-Willie burst clear from a breakdown deep inside his own half. The ball then went through the hands and Harbour’s scrambling defence ran out of numbers as George Thomas scored.
Harbour regrouped, keeping Kaikorai scoreless for the final 30 minutes and capitalising on a string of errors to close the game up, through a try to Taylor Dale. Only solid defence from Kaikorai and the clock denied it taking the win.
- ODT rugby writers
