FRANCIS PARKER
Clutha Valley has made sure there are no unbeaten teams left in the Southern Region rugby competition.
Valley, playing at home on Saturday, beat Heriot 41-31 in a physical encounter.
Valley started the better despite conceding an early try.
Strong carries and physical ruck clean-outs provided plenty of front-foot ball. When Valley went wide, it found holes, and when it maintained its structure, it looked very good.
Heriot was in the fight for the most part but inexperience in key areas and perhaps a bit of complacency worked against it. Valley retained the McIntosh Cup and is the Speight’s Jug holder after this result.
Big River Country sustained its first loss of the season at the hands of defending champions the Dunedin Sharks.
After a tight first half, the Sharks ran away with the match in the final quarter to win 48-20.
The Sharks were strong up front with some dominant ball runners and a solid scrum.
Big River Country’s execution let it down in the second half and it was made to pay for it.
West Taieri holds a one-point lead at the top of the table after a commanding 43-10 win over Lawrence at Lawrence.
The home side opened the scoring and was more than competitive for the opening 20 minutes of the half.
As players began to tire, West Taieri seized its opportunity and scored some quick tries before halftime.
The early portions of the second half were hotly contested, but as the game wore on, West Taieri got into its work and blew the score out in a match which could well have been closer.
Clutha fought its way back into the top four with a convincing 47-0 win over Owaka at the Balclutha Showgrounds.
Owaka was in control for the opening 15 minutes but failed to convert its dominance into points.
Clutha’s discipline was poor early on, but it was not made to pay for it.
Once the home side got front-foot ball, it carved open the defence and scored some nice tries.
Owaka, on the back foot in the second half, was reduced to 14 after a red card was handed out.
Clutha rubbed salt into the wounds with two late tries to retain the Art Bloxham Cup again, a cup Owaka has not held since 2008.
Toko piled further misery on Crescent with a 41-29 win over the Coal Miners at Kaitangata.
Toko was once again frothing from the start and led 27-0 at halftime. Toko’s forwards set the platform with strong runners and confident offloads.
Once Crescent found its stride in the second half, it played some accurate, structured rugby, although the damage had already been done in the first half.
Toko retained the coveted Eddie Scott Memorial Trophy.
