Mid Canterbury stay top

Only one side remain unbeaten in the Heartland Championship after the fourth round of action on Saturday.

Mid Canterbury are alone with four wins from four matches, but are only one point ahead of Wanganui, having claimed only a single bonus point for the season.

Travelling to Greymouth for a tough fourth round match, Mid Canterbury emerged with a 36-26 victory over West Coast on Saturday.

Ewen Scott scored 21 points from his boot in the win, while Seta Koroitamana claimed two tries and Ashton Tuck grabbed Mid Canterbury’s third of the afternoon.

Wanganui kept pace with Mid Canterbury by drubbing Buller 35-9 at Cooks Gardens, while South Canterbury are third on the competition ladder after withstanding a late comeback from Wairarapa Bush to win 35-26 on the synthetic surface in Masterton.

Horowhenua Kapiti scored a late try to survive a scare from bottom-placed East Coast in Ruatoria, with competition top scorer Brandyn Laursen helping avoid a massive upset.

East Coast led after 70 minutes but Horowhenua Kapiti first five Laursen scored a late try to snatch a 24-20 win. Laursen has 65 points for the season, with half the robin robin in the bag.

Other results went with form on Saturday, although King Country grabbed their second win of the season with an impressive seven-try romp to claim a 47-12 victory over Thames Valley. Halfback Zayn Tipping grabbed 19 points including a try.

North Otago bounced back from an eight-try drubbing by Wanganui in the third round to beat Poverty Bay 30-23.

Lock Taua Limula put in a big performance for North Otago and was well supported by blindside flanker Filipo Veamatahau. North Otago’s most-capped player, Lemi Masoe, also played well at fullback.

East Coast are the only side yet to win a game this season.