Ardmore Marist’s brilliant 25-19 upset win over reigning champions Patumahoe has earned them a spot in the semi-finals and thrown the McNamara Cup race wide open.
In a weekend of upset results, Ardmore Marist did what they needed to do and claimed four vital competition points to hold off Bombay and Manurewa for the final semi-final berth.
“I’m proud of the way our team fought back, coming from 14-3 down after Patty took the lead early,” Ardmore Marist coach Suliasi Taufalele told Counties Sports Hub.
Pukekohe upstaged Karaka in a confidence-boosting 26-22 win at Karaka Sports Complex.
Michael Porter’s side was guaranteed to be third regardless of results heading into the final round robin weekend, but he will be delighted his side has hit form at the right time and handed Karaka their first loss to anyone other than Patumahoe since 2023.
“I thought we played really well in the first half with the wind and were able to put pressure on Karaka,” Pukekohe coach Michael Porter said.
“We knew they were always going to finish strong, and to their credit, they did.
“I was happy we could hold them out.”
Manurewa, needing a bonus point win to have a shot at jumping into a semi-final berth, secured a 26-16 win over Bombay to do their part.
Unfortunately for Jeremy Clark’s side, they would have found out that Ardmore Marist had upset Patumahoe when they checked the scores at the conclusion of the game.
Karaka takes out the Max Carter Cup for winning the round robin and will host Ardmore Marist in the semi-finals next weekend while Patumahoe and Pukekohe do battle at Patumahoe in the other match.
As was the case in the McNamara Cup, Ardmore Marist picked up a final round win (28-24) over Patumahoe to secure the final semi-final berth.
Karaka warmed up for the knockout stage with a convincing 46-13 win over Karaka while Manurewa edged Bombay 26-22.
Karaka hosts Ardmore Marist in the semi-finals with Patumahoe hosting Pukekohe in the other semi.
Onewhero have put themselves in prime position to host a semi-final in the Sid Marshall Shield after they knocked over top ranked Te Kauwhata 34-19 up the hill.
Weymouth dropped to third in the standings after they lost 10-8 in a close battle with Maramarua. The result secures Maramarua a semi-final spot with one round to play.
In the consolation bracket, Puni pipped Waiuku 18-17 at Rugby Park while Manurewa claimed a 36-8 win on the road at Tuakau.
Karaka will meet Pukekohe in the Massey Cup final next weekend after the two sides won through the semi-finals on Saturday.
Karaka took a 24-10 win over Patumahoe while Pukekohe edged Ardmore Marist 26-24 in a classic battle at Bruce Pulman Park.
RuaNorth took a comfortable 30-7 win over Manurewa in the Bright Cup U19 competition while Waiuku went down to College Rifles 26-15.
Waiuku upset top ranked Karaka 34-13 to book a spot in the U85kg grade final where they will meet Pukekohe, who blanked Beachlands Maraetai 30-0.
Manurewa will have to go on the road in the semi-finals of the Premier Women’s competition after they lost to Marist 28-22 on Saturday.
The two sides will play again next week in a winner-takes-all scenario.
Patumahoe lost to Papatoetoe 50-22.
In the Women’s Development grade, Pukekohe blanked Eden 44-0 to remain top of Pool A.
Weymouth were hammered 53-0 by Northcote.
