FRANCIS PARKER
The semifinalists in the Southern region premier competition have been confirmed, but the final positioning of the top four is still up in the air, with some key games in the final week of round robin play this weekend.
Heriot locked in a home semifinal with a convincing 63-20 away win over Clinton on Saturday.
The first half was not as one-sided as the score suggests, with the home side stringing numerous phases together.
Clinton, which scored all its points in the first half, trailed 33-20 at halftime.
Heriot showed superior firepower in the second half, scoring six further tries.
Heriot still has a chance to finish top, but will need to secure maximum points against Clutha Valley this weekend and hope Clutha can beat West Taieri.
Reigning champion Clutha Valley was knocked out of finals contention with a 36-8 loss to Clutha.
Clutha’s forwards muscled up at the set piece and were too strong at ruck time, dominating the contest and setting a perfect platform for their backs to attack from.
Valley, which had players playing out of position and rarely had any momentum, battled away but could not crack Clutha’s defence.
West Taieri holds on to first spot on the table after a narrow 33-31 win over Toko at Milton.
The two sides threw everything at each other in a first half that ended 12-12.
West Taieri took the ascendancy at the start of the second half with two quick tries, but Toko showed plenty of ticker to fight its way back into the contest with two late tries.
Toko had a chance to draw with a simple conversion in the final seconds, but the kick was unsuccessful.
Lawrence beat Owaka 15-12 at Lawrence in a game that never really got out of first gear.
Lawrence went to the break 15-0 ahead, but Owaka found its feet in the second half and pushed back before Lawrence muscled up on defence, forcing Owaka into sloppy mistakes.
