The visitors were then caught offside in front of their posts and Lupton duly took the three points, and after having a minor scrap with his opposite Karl Pascoe, Border winger Vereniki Tikoisolomone drifted to the opposite to slice through, and from a penalty lineout win, skipper Angus Middleton drove over for 18-5 at halftime.
Kaierau needed to score first after the break and No8 Josefa Rokotakala, starting for the unwell Joe Edwards, would deliver as a smashing run took his team close, and following a penalty, a quick tap came back to Rokotakala to have another crack and he scored.
At 18-10 and absorbing pressure, it was the consummate professional in Clare who saw Border away.
First, his inside pass hit Tikoisolomone at full gas, as he ran 30m to go right around fullback Ezra Malo and score his eighth try in four games, with Clare back at first-five and converting.
Then with Kaierau trying to work to an overlap in the attacking 22m, Clare perfectly timed his intercept of Ethan Robinson's pass to run 80m and hold off the chasing dive of debutante and former Whanganui age grade rep Harry Unsworth, for a try Clare again converted out wide.
The game safe at 32-10, Border nearly got another try with Tikoisolomone chasing a kick to the corner, but staying on attack through the forwards, it was older brother Ranato who drove across to wrap things up.
In the Waitotara Valley, the story of the 'fight for fourth' took another twist, as for the second week in a row Settler's Honey Ngamatapouri produced one great half of football, but this time it was enough as they came back to beat McCarthy's Transport Ruapehu 26-21.
Ruapehu scored all their points in the first half, with tries from veteran outside back Corey Carmichael, prop Gabriel Hakaraia, and playmaker Kahl Elers-Green, who also converted the lot.
Desperate for their first win of 2021, Ngamatapouri scored three converted tries of their own in the second stanza to bring some joy to the home supporters.
After they were so unlucky to miss out last week against Kaierau, this time wingers Joeli Rauca and Emitai Logadraudrau made the tryline, Rauca scoring a hat-trick, with first-five Brook Tremayne adding the extras and no doubt easing the frustrations he had been feeling so far this campaign.
Taking a bonus point from the game to go with the one they got in their previous win over Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist, Ruapehu will keep fourth spot for this week at least, with the pressure now really on Marist to get off the mark when they host Ngamatapouri this coming Saturday.
It's been a week of controversy in the Tasman Tanning Senior competition, as Ruapehu found themselves defending the Stihl Shop Wanganui Challenge Shield at Rochfort Park despite their 47-22 loss to Harvey Round Motors Ratana last weekend.
Ratana were stripped off both the Shield and five competition points after admitting they fielded an ineligible player who had not completed the mandatory two week stand-down period after transferring from another province, ending their 16-match winning streak going back to 2020.
Ali Arc Logistics-DNA Kennels Marist Celtic took full advantage of circumstances by lifting the Shield off Ruapehu with a big 54-7 win.
Ratana had temporarily fallen back to fourth place after the points were stripped, but that didn't last long as Border caught their wrath in a 64-0 shutout at Dallison Park.
Kelso Hunterville now have a break on Ratana in second spot rather than just points differential, after they earned a decisive 42-19 win at home over Gemini Pepper Construction Kaierau, knocking them out of the Top 4.
Black Bull Liquor Pirates slotted into the playoff group after a strong second half carried them to a 45-17 away win over Speirs Food Marton.
Utiku Old Boys semifinal chances hit a big snag after Marist Buffalo's pulled the upset with a 25-5 win at Spriggens Park, which let Bennett's Taihape move up to sixth after they finally played a game without a seven-point gap, beating Counties 20-7.
Tasman Tanning Premier, Week 4
Grand Hotel Challenge Shield – Waverley Harvesting Border 37 (Tom Symes, Angus Middleton, Craig Clare, Vereniki Tikoisolomone, Ranato Tikoisolomone tries; Jack Lupton 2 pen, con, Clare 2 con) bt Wanganui Car Centre Kaierau 10 (Stu Brosnahan, Josefa Rokotakala tries). HT: 18-5.
Settlers Honey Ngamatapouri 26 (Joeli Rauca 3, Emitai Logadraudrau tries, Brook Tremayne 3 con) bt McCarthy Transport Ruapehu 21 (Corey Carmichael, Gabriel Hakaraia, Kahl Elers-Green tries; Elers-Green 3 con). HT: 21-5 Ruapehu.
Byford's Readimix Taihape 81 (Ben Whale 2, Dylan Gallien 2, Beau Walker 2, Tyler Rogers-Holden, Matt Brown, Tiari Mumby, Jaye Flaws, Regan Collier, James Barrett, Isaac Roth tries; Dane Whale 8 con) bt Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist 14 (Viki Tofa, Brad Graham tries; Ashton Coates 2 con). HT: 18-5.
Senior Championship, Week 5
At Spriggens Park: Marist Buffalo's bt Utiku OB 25-5. HT: 13-5.
At Dallison Park: Harvey Round Motors Ratana bt beat Border 64-0. HT: 21-0.
At Marton Park: Black Bull Liquor Pirates bt Speirs Food Marton 45-17. HT: 17-12.
At Hunterville Domain: Kelso Hunterville bt Gemini Pepper Construction Kaierau 42-19. HT: 15-7.
At Memorial Park: Bennett's Taihape bt Counties 20-7. HT: 15-0.
At Rochfort Park (Stihl Shop Wanganui Challenge Shield): Ali Arc Logistics-DNA Kennels Marist Celtic 54 bt Ruapehu 54-7. HT: 21-0.
Around the grounds:
Under-20s call-up: Whanganui age grade representative and Whanganui Collegiate old boy Harry Godfrey was named in the New Zealand Under 20's squad earlier this week. The first-five impressed with the Hurricanes in the Super Rugby Aotearoa Under 20 competition in Taupo, to follow on from earning a NZ Secondary Schools jersey last year, although that team had no games due to Covid-19.
Collegiate: The current Whanganui Collegiate 1st XV got their CNI campaign off to great start with a 30-7 win over St John's Hamilton at home on Saturday. The schools did not meet in 2020 due to CNI being split into two pools because of Covid delays. Collegiate sit second spot behind defending co-champions St Paul's Collegiate.
Metro: The St Johns Whanganui Metro Women ended their short MRU campaign with a 57-0 loss to Bush SC at Bush Sports Park on Saturday. The two teams plan to meet again in a post-season friendly in a fortnight on Bush SC's club day.
