Rugby: Silverdale repeat agony for Shore

Silverdale continued to control North Shore's fate in North Harbour rugby with a shaky but wellcontrived 17-15 victory.

When the two sides met in last season's semifinal it was 6-6 at halftime and 9-9 at fulltime. Silverdale won 15-12 in extra time when a last-minute Shore penalty to again level the scores went astray.

On Saturday it was all on again. Wayne Ashford and Phil Weedon contributed tries in the first spell to give Shore a 12-6 lead.

Silverdale thundered back with a try from Brindley Jenkins to close the gap to 14-15.

Then Greg Jones, who had already nailed three penalties, dropped a last-minute goal to seal Shore's fate.

In a midweek match, Silverdale beat Marist 14-6 to tidy up the Easter round and now lie third in the championship, nine points behind six-times champions Takapuna.

Massey, showing scant respect for Takapuna, were level 3-3 at the break but Takapuna showed the stuff of champions with a late burst of scoring - including wing Richard Marks intercepting and scampering 80m for a try - to win 27-3.

Second-placed Kumeu looked fragile when held to 12-7 at halftime by a gritty and enterprising Glenfield. But in the second spell, Kumeu let fly, moving the ball around with their entertaining brand of rugby and the tries flowed in the 42-12 victory.

East Coast Bays' climb back to the top stuttered along with a 23-23 draw against Helensville.

Bays made the early running, with tries to loose forwards Manaka Tonga and Atila Moala building a 17-9 halftime lead.

Helensville rallied and Joel and Pet Nasmith scored second-half tries.

After their midweek loss, Marist scored four tries in beating Mahurangi 31-16 to stay in contention for the semifinals, while Northcote bolted away from bottom-placed Navy, winning 44-17.