Hawkes Bay make it five from five

Hawkes Bay continued to thread their way unimpeded through the second division competition with a comprehensive 34-7 win over Nelson Bays.

The commanding five-tries-to-one result against last year's beaten finalists kept Hawkes Bay at the top of the table.

The win, away from home, marked the fifth time in as many outings that Hawkes Bay had secured maximum points.

Tries to fullback Tim Manawatu and flanker Eric Van der Merwe helped Hawkes Bay to a narrow 15-7 lead at the break.

But with Nelson Bays struggling to make any impact, further tries to second five-eighth Davis Norman, an 80m intercept by first five-eighth Marius Kriel and a final touchdown by winger Karl Mudzamba turned the match into a rout.

New Zealand's smallest union, East Coast, continued their dream run in their debut season in the second division, scoring a thrilling 17-15 win over Marlborough in Ruatoria and retaining second place on the table.

The Coast's fifth win in succession keeps them two points behind Hawkes Bay. But they had to pull out all the stops after leading 14-5 at the break.

Mid Canterbury and Thames Valley ground out a 19-19 draw in Ashburton and Manawatu kept their semifinal hopes alive with a crushing 40-6 win over bottom-of-the-table King Country.

In the third division, the status quo remained as two small South Island unions continued to rule the roost.

Buller, who had a bye, and North Otago have perfect records with three wins from as many outings, but Buller, courtesy of an extra bonus point, head the table by a point.

North Otago ground out an unconvincing 26-20 win at home over Poverty Bay to keep their record intact.

In other matches, Wairarapa Bush grabbed their first win of the season with a convincing 42-13 result over West Coast and South Canterbury ran in 10 tries in their 59-5 romp over Horowhenua-Kapiti.

- NZPA