Pukekohe had to work hard to overcome a vastly improved Ardmore Marist side 47-26 at Bruce Pulman Park on Saturday.
The home side dominated the opening 20 minutes and could well have scored at a point a minute with a little luck and better execution.
But Pukekohe withstood the onslaught and settled into their work to take control of the game and move to a perfect 3-0 to start the season.
“They came out firing – they are a pretty classy side,” said Pukekohe skipper Ian West-Stevens. “They have revamped the whole squad and that first 20 we were on the back foot but just proud of the boys battling through that and doing what we had to do.
“We spoke about all week that they would come out firing on all cylinders.
“Scrum was good but being to adjust against stuff like is what I’m happy with.”
Patumahoe had a similar situation play out at Bombay Domain as they had to fight back to beat the home side 27-16 to get their second win of the campaign.
A late intercept try made the score tighter than it could have been.
Karaka, fresh off a week two bye, sent an ominous warning to the rest of the competition as they took apart Manurewa 52-12 at Mountfort Park.
Craig Hill’s side were dominant throughout and “First half was a real arm wrestle,” said Hill. “Rewa capitalised on our errors.“Real credit to their defense in that first 40.
“Second half opened up a bit and we scored some nice tries. We had good impact from the bench.”
Bombay secured an impressive 41-24 victory over Patumahoe in the Bob Chandler Cup Premier 2 competition.
In the other games, Pukekohe beat Ardmore Marist 50-12 while Karaka hammered Manurewa 85-15.
Te Kauwhata continued their strong start to the Sid Marshall Shield season with a 24-7 in on the road at Te Kohanga.
Defending champions Onewhero eased past Tuakau 52-3 while Weymouth hammered Drury 76-35.
Waiuku and Maramarua played out an entertaining 14-14 draw at Rugby Park while Manurewa came home strong to beat Puni 41-24.
Manurewa secured an impressive 30-27 win on the road at Patumahoe in Massey Cup U21 action.
Karaka continued their dominance of the grade with a 39-15 win over Pukekohe while Ardmore Marist secured a 30-14 road win at Waiuku.
In Bright Cup U19 play, Manurewa blanked Pukekohe 37-0 in Pukekohe while Waiuku claimed a 29-0 win over Patumahoe on Friday night.
Waiuku enjoyed a 56-6 victory over Bombay in the U85kg competition. Karaka beat Hamilton Marist 34-17 while Pukekohe overcame Patumahoe 32-15.
Drury went down to Waikato side Fraser Tech 15-12.
