Dunedin....... 19
Harbour enhanced their reputation with a quality win over a Highlanders-laden Dunedin side at Watson Park on Saturday.
The likes of front-rowers Rohan Wingham and Soane Vikena, fullback Andrew Knewstubb and former All Blacks halfback Folau Fakatava donned the navy blue for the Sharks at the weekend.
They had an impact, just not as much as you might have expected.
The Hawks scrum was under pressure, but they were hungrier at the ruck and grabbed a series of turnovers.
Harbour openside flanker Toni Taufa was abrasive, and No 8 Taylor Dale grabbed some crucial lineout steals and produced another gutsy effort.
They are the heart and soul of that pack and criminally under-rated.
While Fakatava failed to shine for Dunedin, Knewstubb looked dangerous when he got in space and he scored a nice try.
But Hawks first five Rique Miln, who was limping around the field on a dodgy knee, was the star.
He bagged two tries and drilled four conversions and a penalty for a haul of 21 points.
The pivot has gas and he employed it to outpace Fakatava in a long sprint to the line in the second half.
He also showed some nifty footwork to score in the corner in the first half.
Hawks fullback Peni Havea scored a brace of tries as well.
No-one really stood out for Dunedin. The Sharks made a lot of errors, and the Hawks capitalised, scoring some wonderful tries from broken play.
— Adrian Seconi
Green Island.......62
Southern....... 24
Too much pace. Too much X-factor. And too much for Southern to handle in the second half.
Green Island romped to a 62-24 win at Bathgate Park.
The Grizzlies leaned on speedy back three Xavier Tito-Harris, Sam Nemec-Vial and Finn Hurley to create some magic out wide.
The trio bagged four tries between them.
None of it would have been possible without the hard work done further inside by Highlanders midfielder Jake Te Hiwi, who nabbed two tries for himself.
Replacement back Reimana Saunderson-Rurawhe also grabbed a double.
Flanker Amos Roddick was industrious again. No surprises there. And prop Shane Fikken put in a big shift, especially on defence.
The game was still in the balance at halftime as Green Island nursed a 22-12 lead.
Southern looked good in patches but they do not have the pace Green Island boast and the game got away from them.
They showed some character to stage a late rally and secure a four-try bonus point.
Mackenzie Palmer ran in two tries in the final few minutes to secure the point.
Green Island picked up a couple of nasty injuries.
Loosie Jesse Va’afusuaga was reported to have broken his ankle and his season may be done, while first five Liam Barron suffered a dislocated shoulder.
Some players were cramping up, so Green Island played the last five or so minutes with 14 players.
— Adrian Seconi
University.......43
Zingari-Richmond .......24
The University bench players set up a scoring blitz in the final minutes to seal a flattering 43-24 victory over an inspiring Zingari-Richmond at Logan Park.
The game was scoreless for the first 21 minutes.
Winger Bill Temaka set the game alight with a sensational break down the left flank from inside his own 22m to score in the corner and hand Zingari-Richmond a well-deserved early lead.
From there, scoring alternated. Highlanders and University fullback Stanley Solomon scored the first of his two tries before Dragons prop Evan Roy returned the favour for the visitors.
But lock Zain Newman muscled over to hand the lead back to University on the stroke of halftime.
Both sides came out full of enterprise after the break, and Zingari-Richmond grabbed a 24-19 lead heading into the final quarter.
University cleared their bench and prop Steve Salelea wasted little time in scoring to tie the game up at 24-24.
The University bench had too much firepower as the students stole the wind from the Zingari-Richmond sails to run in three unanswered tries in the final nine minutes.
For Zingari-Richmond, the forward pack was outstanding and had the wood on University at the set piece.
Hooker and captain A-One Lolofie and props Darien Crawford and Evan Roy were tireless in defence and broken play. Lock Ratunui Latus settled a solid lineout while also assisting an impressive midfield pairing of Semisi Moasi and Tama Apineru.
University were well served by hooker Jake Evans and locks Jonty Townsend and Newman, while Solomon always posed a danger on the counter-attack.
— Wayne Parsons
Kaikorai.......56
Alhambra-Union....... 19
Kaikorai will need to work on their discipline.
They copped three yellow cards and were probably lucky not to give away a penalty try, but they will be happy enough to have put away Alhambra-Union at Bishopscourt.
It was not all one-way traffic. The Broncos chipped away and scored three tries.
Openside flanker Zac Perrett scored a nice runaway five-pointer.
Front-rower slotted into No 8 Benjamin Latu made some strong carries, fullback Levi Emery marked his 50th game for the team, and the Thode twins, Oliver and Will, had decent games.
But Kaikorai had more firepower.
Highlanders’ wider squad midfielder Meihana Grindlay produced a classy display, loose forward Lucas Casey was prominent, and powerhouse winger Mefi Tupou ran in three tries.
Centre Jake Fowler also showed some good footwork, while Stan McClure scored in his first game back in more than a year.
The three yellow cards blotted the copybook, though.
Hooker Ben Hellriegel took out an opponent, who just had to catch the ball and would have likely scored.
Hellriegel got 10 minutes on the sideline, but a seasoned observer felt AU should have been awarded a penalty try.
Winger Rota Lafita took a seat on the naughty step for slapping a pass down, and prop Moana Takataka made a tackle before he had got back 10m.
— Adrian Seconi
