3 days ago
Steamers still unbeaten after strong win over Valley
The top four are beginning to create a sizable gap from the chasing pack as the Southern Region competition nears the business end.
All the top four sides claimed away wins at the weekend. Some had it easy, but others were made to work hard for their success.
The unbeaten Clutha Steamers moved to a 10-game winning streak with a 50-20 win over Clutha Valley at the Balclutha Showgrounds.
The home side did not have it all their own way in the first half and actually trailed as the match approached halftime, but a late try gave Clutha a 19-15 lead at the break.
Clutha turned around their lethargic start by putting on a clinic of attacking rugby in the second, scoring some nice team tries.
Clutha Valley ran out of steam and were not given much of a chance to show their worth in the second half.
Toko held on to second place with a clinical 36-26 win over Heriot in the West Otago cold.
The first half was an extremely tight affair, and the physicality was immense with both teams running into contact regularly, probably to try to keep warm.
The match was tied 14-14 at the break before the visitors made the most of their chances in the second half.
Heriot were guilty of some crucial handling errors in the second half and their poor discipline allowed Toko to stay in the right areas of the field and then score points.
West Taieri kept in touch with the top two with a 49-14 win over Lawrence at Simpson Park.
Lawrence paid the price early for some poor first-up tackling as West Taieri ran out to an early lead. West Taieri's forward pack made inroads, and their backline looked sharp, especially in the outside channels.
Lawrence showed glimpses of structure but could only crack the defence once in the first half, and West Taieri led 28-7 at halftime.
The second half was equally frustrating for the home side as they continued to give away possession and gift West Taieri territory and possession.
This made the visitors' job easy as they ran in another three second-half tries, flanker Conner Jenkins sealing a hat-trick.
Crescent converted an 85th-minute penalty to beat Owaka 37-34 at Swamp Hen Park.
The first half of the match featured Crescent flexing their muscles with some strong carries and metres made up the middle, and the visitors led 28-17 at halftime before Owaka mounted an all-out assault in the second half.
The home side held on to possession for the majority of the half and scored some nice tries.
Both teams were guilty of giving away penalties, and the score was 34-34 deep into referee's time before Crescent were awarded the winning penalty.
— Francis Parker
