Woodlands beat the Eastern Northern Barbarians 45-6 on Wednesday night at the Gore Showgrounds.
Woodlands led 24-6 at halftime and scored three more converted tries in the second half.
It was a good team performance from Woodlands, especially on defence.
Second five Fletcher Morgan and big lock Alex Yallop were particularly good. Josh Evans also impressed in the loose forwards, while utility forward Nathan Va’atausili had a good night and scored two tries.
Woodlands were beaten 7-6 by the Baabaas in the first round of the competition but have won four of their six games to sit on top of the points table alongside Pirates Old Boys.
Pirates Old Boys and Blues played at Les George Oval on a cold and wet Thursday night.
POB led 19-5 at halftime and kicked on to win 33-10.
Midfielder Napo Serulele barged over out wide for the first try and the next try was also muscled over. Fullback Kaea Nikora-Balloch converted both tries.
Flanker Dusty Coveney also dotted down, which put Blues 19 points in arrears and about to lose a player to a red card after he illegally cleaned out POB first five Greg Dyer.
Blues were able to score before halftime, but POB were in charge of this game and crossed over for two more tries in the second half.
Blues never gave up and scored the final try of the game.
POB fielded their strongest lineup so far this season. The slippery conditions limited the backline from showing their best, but the accuracy at the lineout and team defence were impressive.
Defending champions Star had a 35-7 win at Marist on Thursday night.
Star scored five tries on their way to earning their second win of the season.
Star kicked a couple of early penalty goals, but Marist hit the front just before halftime when their experienced and versatile forward Ben Fotheringham scored a converted try
There was still time for young Star halfback Jackson Hughan to score a good individual try, and the conversion had Star ahead 13-6 at the break.
Star then scored four more tries in the second half. The play of the halves pairing of Hughan and Daniel Low was a key factor in Star earning the bonus-point win.
Marist struggled at the scrum and made too many errors to apply any serious pressure on the Star defence. Winger Keanu Kahukura played well with limited opportunities.
— John Langford
