Woodlands thrashed Marist 55-15 in the last game of the first round on Saturday at Centrepoint Park. Marist started well and led 15-0 after 20 minutes but it was one-way traffic from then on.
Pirates Old Boys is in second position after beating Star 27-26 in front of a big crowd at Les George Oval.
Star got out to a 19-7 lead, but the Hawks scored two important tries on either side of halftime to lock up the scores.
Despite Star having a host of players out injured and a dysfunctional lineout, it was ahead 26-24 after 65 minutes.
With three minutes left to play, first five-eighth Greg Dyer kicked the winning penalty goal for the Hawks.
Dyer was voted man of the match. Lock Craig Smith and prop Ricky Guage were also impressive against a good Star forward pack.
Hawks co-coach Ben McHugh was pleased to get away with a win.
"Their big forwards had it over us in first half but they ran out of steam. Our young fellas on the bench brought good energy into our game. We’re lucky we’ve got good depth.
"It worked in our favour playing the game out at the beach. Our backs in the second half kept ball in hand and were dangerous on the dry ground.”
Former Southland Stag Mike Molloy played his first game of the season for the Hawks at fullback.
Unfortunately, last season’s champion side, Blues, is struggling to field a team due to a pile of injuries. The Eastern Northern Barbarians crashed Blues’ ‘‘Club Day’’ at Balmoral Dr when winning 40-12.
Midlands is leading the Ack Soper Shield division one competition after a hard-fought 31-29 win against Waikaka in Winton.
Riversdale is up to third on the ladder after beating Te Anau 24-22 on Saturday. Wyndham beat near neighbour Edendale for the second time this season, 24-15.
In the division two Gerald Dermody Shield competition, Pioneer knocked the Mossburn Stags off the top of the table with a 32-12 victory in Mossburn. Tokanui also remains a title contender after its 32-27 win against Waikiwi.
Drummond Limehills Star had a 33-19 win against Star B in a division two match at Drummond. DLS prop Troy McBride was in rampaging form.
- John Langford