The favourites continued to pile on the pressure during the latest round of Marlborough senior A rugby today.
The three teams at the top of the competition table - Renwick, Waitohi and Moutere – all scored comfortable wins as the gap widens between them and the rest of the field.
Defending champs Waitohi flexed their muscles against bottom-placed Harlequins on the lush surface of Lansdowne Park number one, running away with their clash 52-12. Leading the way was elusive fullback Couper Robinson, loosie Shein Ioramo, No 8 Campbell Hart and halfback Ryan McLeod.
Loosie Falaula Fotu Moala and hooker Kava Pomare-Namoa were prominent for Quins.
It was Awatere club day at Seddon but Renwick showed no favours to the local side, winning 31-12 to maintain their place at the top of the table, scoring five tries to the Tussocks’ two.
The third senior A match was played at Awarua Park, where the Magpies underlined their title credentials with a 33-13 win over Pelorus, Oscar Tupouto’a scoring a double for the home side.
Central beaten
Meanwhile, the Central premier side’s recent surge in form was abruptly ended at Trafalgar Park in Nelson, Marist overwhelming the Blues 66-24. The title-favourites scored 10 tries to Central’s four.
In other games, Nelson downed Stoke 36-21 and Waimea Old Boys beat Kahurangi 27-19.
At Awarua Park, Moutere women took on Nelson in a women’s Tasman Trophy match, winning 37-10 in a match reduced to a 10-a-side clash.
College rugby
The Marlborough Boys’ College First XV claimed their first competition win this season, downing Christ’s College 52-29 in Christchurch.
Tries flowed freely in this encounter. Both sides scored three five-pointers in the first half, MBC leading 19-17 at oranges.
Play see-sawed through the early stages of the second spell, MBC holding a slender 33-29 lead after an hour before clinching a much-needed victory with three late tries, two converted by first five Thomas Heagney, who landed six conversions.
The match doubled as both a Miles Toyota premiership encounter and a South Island Boys School clash.
