Valley continue to lead the pack in the Citizens Shield this season. The Weston side remained unbeaten with a 28-21 win over Excelsior at home on Saturday. It was Blues who started well as they scored in the opening 10 minutes with a clever move off a scrum. They initially shifted the ball right before Tyree Manaia reversed the play back behind the scrum with a beautiful pass to Seva Druma. The winger then had tons of space on the left wing to get past his defender and score. Valley got their opportunity to flex their muscles with a lineout drive which resulted in a penalty try. The maul chewed off 20m and was rumbling towards to try line when Blues prop Temesia Bolavucu illegally pulled it down short. The ref awarded the penalty try and sent Bolavucu to the sin bin for 10 minutes to add insult to injury. It was looking as though Blues could snatch the lead back later in the first half, but they would spill the ball while attacking in Valley’s 22m. Ben Paton scooped it up and started the counter-attack. He took off downfield and linked up with Joji Rinakama, who was off to the races. Blues did well to get defenders back, but Rinakama fired a pass inside to Paton, who had enough pace to score under the sticks. They extended the lead when Jake Greenslade scored off another dominant lineout drive. Druma had his second try for Blues just before halftime to keep them within striking distance. Valley opened the second half with another try against the run of play. This time, Isaac Clunie plucked an intercept out of the air and ran 80m untouched to score. Needing to keep the score close, Blues started to gain some momentum and were able to string phases together in Valley’s 22m. Eventually, Druma scored his third as he dragged a Valley defender over the try line with him. Both sides received a late yellow card each to make things interesting but in the end Valley would hold on for the win. The result extended their lead atop the standings after eight rounds. A massive first half from Athletic Marist powered them to a big win over Maheno. Athies piled on 40 points in the first half on their way to a 66-21 win. Old Boys jumped in to third place on the ladder after beating Kurow 36-26 up the Waitaki Valley. It was a close contest all the way but the visitors were able to hold their nerve and get the job done.
