Mid-Canterbury triumph over last year's relegation

Mid-Canterbury are quickly putting the pains of demotion behind them as they look to recover from the drop to the bottom tier.

Second division rejects last year, Mid-Canterbury have made a smooth beginning to their season of attempted redemption among the third-division tiddlers.

They and Wairarapa-Bush are the only two sides to emerge from the opening two rounds of the competition with unblemished records.

Mid-Canterbury notched their second successive win at home yesterday when they turned back West Coast 57-24, and Wairarapa-Bush also impressed by beating Horowhenua-Kapiti 35-18 in Levin.

In other matches, King Country outshone South Canterbury 28-14 in a poor spectacle in Timaru and Poverty Bay held off a tenacious Buller 30-23 in Westport, thanks to a fortuitous runaway try.

In Ashburton, Mid-Canterbury had settled the issue by halftime when they led West Coast 43-5.

Their forwards exerted almost total control over the Coasters in cold, muddy conditions to retain the Lochore Cup.

They went on to score eight tries to four, but West Coast deserved credit for hanging in to secure a bonus point.

King Country put their campaign on track with a hard-fought win over South Canterbury.

Despite spending a quarter of the match with 14 players after two men were sinbinned, King Country proved too strong and too organised for the home side.

The difference between the teams was former Hawkes Bay first five-eighth Tim Manawatu, who controlled play expertly for King Country.

Wairarapa-Bush also had their first five-eighth to thank after No 10 Patrick Rimene played an influential role in his side's win in Levin.

Rimene gave a masterly display as Wairarapa-Bush issued a loud warning to other title aspirants after their forwards dominated.

A flood of possession and a dominant scrum allowed Rimene to take control and he showed immaculate accuracy in kicking for field position in a stiff southerly breeze.

Wairarapa-Bush's complete performance showed they did not need any import players and Horowhenua-Kapiti achieved respectability on the scoreboard only through two late tries.

In Westport, Buller had made a contest of the match by clawing their way back to 23-25 with 20 minutes remaining after reaching halftime 20-7 behind.

The home side even threatened to win the game, but those hopes ended abruptly when Poverty Bay scored a runaway try after what appeared to be a blatant knock-on.

- NZPA


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