"Our boys were pumped in the first half and we led 12-7 at halftime. But we fell away in the second half with some poor options," East assistant coach Mark Solomon said.
Vice captain and first five-eighth Joel Russell was busy on defence. Centre Calvin O'Rourke made some strong carries.
Flanker Sovereign Staples-Tiopira was the pick of the East forwards.
Hosts Central retained the Tino Amato Memorial Trophy with a 45-0 win against Wairoa. Central manager Ian Large said his troops displayed vast improvement on their "nervous start" the previous day when beaten 38-5 by Dannevirke.
Player-of-the-match, second five-eighth George McKenzie scored three tries and kicked a conversion for Central. Winger Caleb Watene was again powerful.
Halfback Harry Wilson displayed superb vision while fullback K P Reti and first five-eighth Rhys Kawana also operated well in the winning backline.
Lock Bryce Wind, who scored two tries, prop Libby Morrison and flanker Jahmaige Reti were the pick of the Central forwards.
Wairoa co-coach Sid Ropitini was happy with the improvement his troops displayed on the previous day's 76-0 loss to Hastings East.
"We did well to trail 19-0 at halftime and Central scored three tries during the final five minutes to blow the score out. We haven't got a lot of depth and we collected a couple of injuries but we're hoping those players will be back later in the week."
Loosies Shane Ashby and Kael Thompson-Maxwell were again workaholics for Wairoa. They carried with purpose, forced turnovers and covered well on defence.
Lock James Vennell was another to receive praise from Ropitini.
Napier retained the Steve Cottrell Memorial Trophy with a 31-8 win over Dannevirke in another clash of previously unbeaten sides. While proud of his troops Napier head coach Tyrone Thompson was quick to heap kudos on Dannevirke.
"Dannevirke took to us in the first 15 minutes and outplayed us at the rucks. We absorbed a lot of pressure but came back well in the second half. It never felt like we were ahead of them. It's the best Dannevirke side I've seen for a long time ... it was a match which could have gone either way."
Hawke's Bay golf representative Zack Swanwick was gutsy in both the prop and hooking roles and shone with his link play when the game opened up. Loosie Iosefa Sa provided quality impact off the subs bench when Thompson slipped the collar off him.
Centre Te Aotaki Edmonds was again a giant on defence and attack. Harry Campbell operated well at hooker in the first half and captain and openside flanker Tyler Vette again led his side by example.
"Our troops were full of courage right to the final whistle. It was a great game of rugby," Dannevirke head coach Simon Prouting said.
Vice captain and hooker Manaia Hauiti was at his barnstorming best. Locks Rico Phillips and George Prouting and loosies Jack Stratford and captain Angus Prouting were also prominent in the Dannevirke pack.
Fullback Josh Augustine was courageous on defence. Ryder Crosswell and R'A Tawhiao were other Dannevirke backs to shine.
Scorers:
Central 45 (George McKenzie 3, Bryce Wind 2, Riley Campbell, K P Reti tries; Reti 4, McKenzie cons), Wairoa 0. HT: 19-0.
Napier 31 (Adrian Dixon 2, Tiare Reti, Cohen Batterham, Hunter Kinney tries; Tyler Vette 3 cons), Dannevirke 8 (Manaia Hauiti try; Josh Augustine pen). HT: 14-8.
Hastings West 42 (Monte Timu 2, James Harper, Salvidor Karangaroa-Mackenzie, Membrenz Tahu, Tom Baines tries; Harper 4, Timu 2 cons), Hastings East 12 (Zavier Dunn, Calvin O'Rourke tries; Dunn con). HT: East 12-7.
Points: Hastings West 3, Napier 3, Hastings East 2, Dannevirke 2, Central 2, Wairoa 0.
