Rugby: Kamo victory breaks their Premier duck

Kamo's Blake Hohaia nips past Otamatea centre Jordan Hyland to help his side take out the match 35-29. Photo/Tania Whyte

Kamo held on for dear life to pick up their first win in the Bayleys Premier competition, outlasting Otamatea 35-29.

Otamatea started on the offensive, forcing Kamo into simple penalties, which led to an early seven points.

Kamo first five Kepa Wiki got off to a shaky start, putting his first two kick offs out on the full.

Despite the early jitters, Kamo got themselves back into the contest as centre Isaac O'Grady broke the line to score.

Wiki missed his first kick but made up for it when he slotted a penalty goal shortly after to give them the lead.

Kamo crossed again soon afterwards through hooker Jordan Antonovich to give them a 15-7 lead before Otamatea's Daniel Hawkins brought the visitors within five shortly before halftime.

O'Grady came to the fore again to add to Kamo's lead as Wiki started to flex his playmaking muscles.

Impressive Kamo flanker Jordan Otene grabbed a try to extend the lead.

Otamatea fought back through good hands in the midfield between Hawkins and Jordan Hyland to bring the match to 27-15.

Kamo scored another converted try to give themselves a comfortable 35-15 lead with about 15 minutes to go.

Kamo lock Blake Haroa tries to break the Otamatea defence. Photo/Tania Whyte

But Otamatea weren't going down without a fight, willing their way to two late tries.

Both came via good forward play and a lack of discipline from the home side, bringing Otamatea within six points of an unlikely win.

Otene was sent to the bin with just seconds remaining on the clock and the match firmly in the balance.

However Kamo held Otamatea out stoutly to take the win.

Kamo coach Cam Goodhue was relieved they got there in the end.

"It's great. I thought they would pinch it at the end given how well Dan Hawkins was kicking the ball," he said.

"That left a smile on my face for the rest of the weekend. There's a lot of relief to pick up the win, the boys are happy to get the win.

"We had some big performances from Jordan Otene and Blake Hohaia out there.

"We have a lot of confidence in our game plan now, working on a few other things. Looking to next week at Hora Hora's forward pack who are really strong, it's about eliminating them from the match."

Meanwhile Hora Hora picked up their second straight win, beating Hikurangi 27-20.

Hora Hora built off last week's win to pick up the tight victory, while Hikurangi fell to their first defeat of the season.

Old Boys Marist continued their dominance of the competition, comfortably beating Wellsford 48-5 to leave them as the only undefeated side in the competition.

OBM and Northland halfback Matty Marwick made the difference in the second half with a pair of tries, while Noah Cooper continued to show his class from fullback.

Wellsford toiled hard but were no match for the defending champions.

Mid Northern racked up a half century in their 50-7 rout of the winless Mid Western, while Western Sharks shut out Waipu 37-0 to give them their second loss.

Results: Premier:
Hora Hora 27-20 Hikurangi
Mid Northern 50-7 Mid Western
Western Sharks 37-0 Waipu
OBM 48-5 Wellsford
Kamo 35-29 Otamatea

Reserves:
Hikurangi 29-5 Hora Hora
Mid Northern 26-0 Mid Western
Waipu 17-8 Western Sharks
OBM 22-10 Wellsford
Kamo 47-22 Otamatea

North Zone:
Kerikeri A 38-12 Kaikohe
Kaeo 29-19 Kerikeri B
Kaitaia 35-20 Te Rarawa
Ohaeawai/Okaihau 32-31 Eastern
Awanui 32-0 Panguru

South Zone:
Whangaruru beat Southern by default
Pipiwai beat City by default
Moerewa/UK 64-5 Otiria
Tomarata 44-5 Mangakahia
Kaihu 63-5 Ruawai