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Otago Daily Times
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Clutha on top as round two begins
West Taieri flanker Logan Moore braces for a scrum during their Southern Region game against Clutha Valley at Outram on Saturday. PHOTO: KAYLA ANN PHOTOGRAPHY The Southern Region premier club competition starts its second round this weekend with most teams still in the running for a top-four spot. Clutha sit comfortably on top of the table after a near-perfect first round. Clutha were unbeaten in round one and have 34 points out of an available 35. They locked away the South Otago Banner and Springbok Horns last weekend in their win over Toko at Milton. Clutha head to Swamp Hen Park this weekend to take on an Owaka side who managed to secure their first win of the season last weekend against Lawrence. The Art Bloxham Cup is on the line with Clutha going into the match as heavy favourites. The Heriot Rugby Club celebrates its 140th jubilee this weekend with an action-packed weekend of rugby planned. The Heriot premier side have hit a purple patch of form and now have two wins on the bounce and sit just outside the top four. Their last-gasp win over Crescent last weekend showed a resilience that perhaps has been lacking in recent seasons. Heriot take on Lawrence in the main event tomorrow, with the West Otago Shield up for grabs. Lawrence are the only side not to record a win in round one of competition. Crescent are in the middle of a form slump with two losses in a row. The Kaitangata-based side lost a close match in Heriot last weekend which saw them lose track of the teams in front of them. One of those sides, West Taieri, travel to Kaitangata tomorrow in what promises to be a massive clash of two potential semifinalists. West Taieri are coming off a successful jubilee last weekend but know their hard work has only started. Toko host Clutha Valley in the last match of the weekend with Toko favourites to keep their spot in the top four after only their second loss of the season last weekend against Clutha.
Otago Daily Times
11-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Banner honours go to unbeaten Clutha Steamers
The Clutha Steamers solidified their position at the top of the Southern Region premier competition on Saturday with a 28-17 win over Toko to remain unbeaten and lock away the South Otago banner and Springbok Horns for the season. Toko opened the scoring with a penalty to Jared Hayes before the visitors hit their straps with three tries to enter the break 17-3 ahead. Toko started the second half well with a try before Clutha took control again. While their defensive line was strong, Toko were forced into giving away two penalties handy to the posts, which Clutha converted. A final try by the visitors extended their advantage before Toko managed to grab one back on fulltime. Heriot kept in touch with the top four with a 34-32 win over Crescent at Heriot. The first half was evenly matched as both sides scored some nice tries but also gave up possession in crucial areas of the field. Neither side could gain the territorial advantage with the majority of the half played in the middle areas of the field. Crescent led 19-17 at the break, and after the teams traded penalties at the start of the second half, Crescent extended their lead with a try to flanker Andy Carruthers. Heriot refused to let Crescent get away from them and hit back with another well-worked try. With less than 10 minutes remaining, Kairus Booth slotted a penalty to give Crescent a 32-27 lead, but Crescent's discipline began to let them down. Crescent first five Clayton Cochrane suffered a serious knee injury, and the referee stopped the game while he was attended to and removed from the field. From the restart, Heriot scored the match-winning try, much to the delight of the bumper crowd in attendance. West Taieri capped off their 125th jubilee celebrations with a convincing 51-7 win over Clutha Valley to retain the McIntosh Cup and Holmes Milk Can. West Taieri's forward pack carried with purpose and kept Valley's defence on the back foot. Early injuries for Valley did not help with their cohesion, but they were up against a switched-on West Taieri side who ran in nine tries in front of a massive home crowd. West Taieri's pack was led by hooker Bug Tisdall, who scored a brace of tries in his 200th game for his side. Jake Hamer ran the cutter well and set up numerous tries. Owaka recorded their first win of the season, beating Lawrence 25-20 at Swamp Hen Park. The first half was sloppy from both sides. Lawrence held a 15-7 lead at the break. The only real highlight of the first half was a 40m drop goal from front-rower turned midfielder Sam Wyber. Owaka lost No 8 Liuliu Pasina to a red card in the second half, and with the man disadvantage, Owaka played their best footy, scoring two tries and dominating play. Lawrence finished well but could not catch up. — Francis Parker
Otago Daily Times
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Second-half dominance cements winning streak
Clutha maintained their unbeaten streak with a 34-25 win over West Taieri in a Southern Region game at the Balclutha Showgrounds on Saturday. West Taieri flew out of the blocks and were strong in the opening stages of the clash. They rumbled up the middle and found space out wide, where they scored some nice tries. Clutha did not have much possession to attack with but showed glimpses of what they were capable of when they had the ball. A brace of tries each to hooker Luke Moeke and halfback Jackson Reid helped West Taieri go into halftime 25-8 ahead. The second half was dominated by Clutha who, thanks to some impact from the bench, found their stride and held all the cards in the game. Clutha's bench lifted the whole team, and they began to make metres with the ball. Their forwards dominated the collision, and their lineout was a real strike weapon. West Taieri had no answer as the Clutha side steamed to victory. Toko also remain unbeaten after five rounds after a strong 43-27 win over Owaka at Swamp Hen Park. The opening 25 minutes were dominated by Owaka but they could not penetrate the Toko defensive line. On the half-hour mark, with neither side on the scoreboard, Toko scored an opportunistic try against the run of play to open their account. From there, Toko rushed out to a 12-0 lead. Owaka prop Chris Preddy was red-carded midway through the half, but it was the home side who finished the half stronger and led 13-12 at the break. The second half featured Toko capitalising on Owaka's poor discipline and lengthy injury list as the bench was emptied early. Two further yellow cards for Owaka allowed Toko to finish strongly and run away with the game. Defending champions Clutha Valley won their second match in a row as they beat Heriot 41-38 in front of a sizable crowd at Clydevale. The first half belonged to Valley, who demonstrated the skill and ability that has been lacking in recent weeks. Their forwards held on to the ball well and their backs found space. Valley went into halftime 35-10 ahead and full of confidence. Heriot came back into the fight in a big way in the second half. They controlled possession and kept Valley on the back foot for the majority of the half. Two key penalties to Valley goal kicker Ben Smart kept Heriot at bay and in the end, those kicks were crucial as Valley held on to win. Crescent bounced back from their disappointment from last weekend in style. The Coal Miners thrashed Lawrence 56-8 at Simpson Park thanks to an individual haul of 31 points by Kairus Booth. Crescent were dominant in all aspects of the game and rarely gave Lawrence a chance to show their worth. The first half was extremely one-sided before Lawrence finally got a chance to show some attacking brilliance. After a brief attacking period, where they scored their only try, Lawrence ran out of legs and Crescent finished well to retain the Miners Cup. By Francis Parker
