Banner honours go to unbeaten Clutha Steamers
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
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Southland Boys' favourites for semifinal
It has been a near perfect season for the Upper Clutha rugby team who have the opportunity to complete a hat-trick of triumphs when they tackle Clutha in the Otago Countrywide final at Wanaka today.
Otago Daily Times
27-07-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Upper Clutha hold on to claim title
The season was almost five minutes too long for Central Otago's champion club Upper Clutha, who dramatically held on for a 39-38 victory over Clutha in the Otago Countrywide club final at Wanaka on Saturday. Ahead 39-24 with seven minutes to play, the Rams, despite being battered and bruised and seriously lacking a goalkicker, were seemingly coasting to victory. Oh, yeah — Clutha had other ideas. In the space of four minutes replacement winger Kurt Botting bolted in for a brace of tries, one after an 80m dash down the touchline. Ace goalkicker Sam Stratford converted both from wide out — giving him six successful kicks from six attempts, contrasting with Upper Clutha's two successes from nine attempts — and suddenly it was 39-38 with three minutes still to play. The Upper Clutha players who had probably been focusing on a cool beer at the conclusion of a long, demanding season, suddenly had to refocus on a fired-up opponent who wouldn't go away. They did it emphatically, pinning Clutha in their 22 through till the final whistle, much to the relief of coach Alex Dickson. "Things got a bit desperate there towards the finish," Dickson said. "But we've got a great team culture where everyone plays for each other and that saw us through in those final moments." It was a challenging final outing for Dickson, who before the game lost goalkicker Brodie Flannery with a hamstring tear, captain Lachie Garrick, bedridden with a 'bug', and flanker Arthur Boutillier with a shoulder injury. The injuries kept coming throughout the match, for both teams. Clutha lost flanker Sam Viliamu, who was taken by ambulance to hospital with a broken shoulder, while two Upper Clutha players, winger Dan O'Shea and flanker Joel Turnbull, both 'popped' their shoulders. Turnbull gallantly played on after having the shoulder 'popped' back in. Upper Clutha effectively won the game in the first half when they scored six tries, thanks to the speed and elusiveness of fullback Henry Schikker, centre Milan Martinovich and winger Jack East. East, who shredded the Clutha defence on many occasions without getting the five-pointer he deserved, claimed the man of the match award, which could just as easily have gone to Martinovich, who will be missed next season when he heads overseas. Midfielder Oliver Stirling, who took over as captain, No. 8 Jake Burtenshaw, who gave his all for 80 minutes and made some telling tackles in those desperate final moments, and front rowers Ben McKeich, Scott Cunningham and Blair Kennedy all turned in massive efforts. Clutha, whose best included lanky lock Tate Colley, flanker Viliamu till he came to grief, ace goalkicker Stratford, try-scoring centre Sylvester Reeves and winger Botting, who electrified the game after coming off the bench. So ends a fabulous season for Upper Clutha, whose trophy cabinet is now stocked to overflowing. The scores Countrywide Upper Clutha 39 Henry Schikker (2), Milan Martinovich (2), Dan O'Shea, Ben McKeich, Caleb Dixon tries; Martinovich 2 con. Clutha 38 Kurt Botting (2), Samoa Viliamu, Sylvester Reeves, Dallas Pickering tries, Sam Stratford 5 con, pen. — Bob Howitt
Otago Daily Times
25-07-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Upper Clutha warm favourites for final
The 2025 Upper Clutha rugby team. PHOTO: ODT FILES It has been a near perfect season for the Upper Clutha rugby team who have the opportunity to complete a hat-trick of triumphs when they tackle Clutha in the Otago Countrywide final at Wanaka today. They already have the White Horse Trophy and the Superliquor Trophy (as Central Otago premier club champions) safely installed in their trophy cabinet. And the Countrywide trophy has been resident in Wanaka since they defeated Clutha Valley away 12 months ago. Given their emphatic 35-7 victory over Wakatipu last weekend, Upper Clutha will go into the game as a warm favourite. But they will be missing two individuals who have contributed massively to the team throughout 2025 — halfback Brodie Flannery, who took over the goalkicking when Brady Kingan departed for Australia in April, and giant lock Andrew Horne. Flannery tore his hamstring late in the final against Wakatipu while Horne flew out this week for a holiday in his home country of Scotland. "They've been huge contributors throughout 2025," coach Alex Dickson said. "They'll be missed." Meanwhile, Clutha have lost one of their stars, Pene Tevaga, with a broken leg. However, Clutha do still have winger Junior Samuelu, who scored a brace of tries in the team's 28-25 triumph over West Taieri last weekend, giving him 16 for the season. Clutha showed great resolve in coming back from 0-10 early and 18-25 with 15 minutes to play to beat West Taieri. "We dropped too much ball early," coach Ben Keach said. "We made it hard on ourselves, but their commitment in the final moments was outstanding, if mentally challenging for the coach!" Keach said Clutha's game was based around ball runners. "Our aim is to go forward and use our backs". It is a philosophy not dissimilar to that employed by Upper Clutha, who scored 65 tries in their 14 outings throughout 2025, their solitary loss being under lights to Alexandra. - By Bob Howitt
