Ardmore Marist held off Manurewa in a toughly fought 24-8 victory at Bruce Pulman Park in McNamara Cup play on Saturday.
The win sees Ardmore Marist return to the top of the standings.
Little separated the sides through the first hour of the match – Manurewa scored the opening try on the back of a rampant start before the home side worked their way back into the contest.
The resolute defence of Ardmore Marist and the control from first-five AJ Alatimu proved the difference.
“We knew Rewa was going to be hard opponents. Our attack was a bit rusty at times, but our defence really stood out there,” the Steelers representative told Counties Sports Hub.
“Really crucial – ii thought our defence won us the game today. Big ups to our forwards for stepping up and slowing that ball down.”
With one week to go in the opening round, Alatimu is pretty comfortable with where his side is at.
“We are definitely heading in the right direction. We left a lot of points out there, but I think we are building really well,” he added.
Patumahoe had to overcome a fired-up Bombay, who led through the opening minutes of their match at Patumahoe Domain before the home side secured a 31-15 victory.
“You know when you come up against Bombay you are always in for a grind,” Stanford said. “They always offer a tough outing and that’s what it was.
“Discipline let us down early on and that piled on more pressure.
“We battled for long periods to get control of the arm wrestle.”
Work-horse forward Palu Ale celebrated becoming a club centurion and was a stand-out for the home side.
“It was a great day for Palu and his 100. He was a massive contributor to our win and being our player of the match,” Stanford said.
Pukekohe moved to within one point of the competition lead on the back of a dominant 138-0 trouncing of Weymouth at Laurie Gibbons Reserve.
Michael Porter’s side have reeled off five wins on the bounce.
Defending champions Karaka got back to their dominant ways with a 113-10 hammering of Papakura at Karaka Sports Complex.
It lifts Craig Hill’s side back into the top four.
Pukekohe edged Waiuku 26-17 away from home in the Bob Chandler Cup Premier 2 grade.
In other matches, Patumahoe defeated Bombay 31-21, Ardmore Marist held on to beat Manurewa 38-33 while Karaka thumped Papakura 110-9.
Maramarua pipped Pukekohe 39-38 in a see-sawing Sid Marshall Shield game at Colin Lawrie Fields.
Onewhero moved up to second on the table with 62-0 thrashing of Karaka while Manurewa picked up a 33-22 road win against Te Kohanga.
Puni scored their first win of the season when they beat Tuakau 12-5 at Tuakau while defending champions Te Kauwhata beat Drury 48-13.
Pukekohe collected a 40-33 win over Ardmore Marist in the Massey Cup U21 competition while Karaka cruised to a 60-5 victory at Manurewa.
Patumahoe’s 59-7 thumping of Fraser Tech moved them into the top four pf the U85 grade and made it four local sides occupying the top four spots.
Karaka proved too good for Drury 71-14, Waiuku maintained their spot in the top four with a 16-0 blanking of Morrinsville while Pukekohe grabbed a 41-17 win on the road at Beachlands Maraetai.
Bombay lost to Hamilton Marist 57-17.
Manurewa got back to winning ways in the Women’s Premier grade with a 39-12 win away to Papatoetoe.
Patumahoe triumphed 53-10 over Papakura in Women’s Premier 2 action while Pukekohe lost 36-32 to Waitemata.
Weymouth were beaten 52-7 by Northcote.
