On Saturday, it was a perfect return to club rugby for Taranaki midfielder Daniel Waite.
The 26-year-old played in his first match for New Plymouth Old Boys (NPOB) this season in the CMK competition after a stint playing in France.
Waite played in eight matches for Rouen Normandie in the Pro D2 League, the second-tier club competition.
Starting at first five-eighth on Saturday, Waite amassed 24 points in NPOB's 59-5 drubbing of Coastal at Vogeltown Park.
Waite slotted seven out of nine conversions and ran in two tries in an 80-minute performance.
He scored the opening try of the game, but it was his second one that was scored in spectacular fashion.
After a fast buildup by his team, a dive had him dot the ball down in the corner before being bundled into touch.
But it wasn't just his kicking and try-scoring ability that aided NPOB to their third win of the season.
The 31-game Taranaki representative controlled play well and linked with backs Brayton Northcott-Hill and Codey Rei.
The win was a miraculous recovery by NPOB after their default to Tukapa last week.
Thomas Kalin scored Coastal's only try, which came in the first half.
Clifton survived a second-half onslaught by Southern to win 28-25 in Hawera.
After Clifton led 21-8 at the break, Southern secured most of the possession in the second spell. A draw could have been possible, but Southern missed a penalty kick before one of their tries late in the game.
Taranaki lock Fin Hoeata came off the bench and carried hard for Southern.
Tukapa locked away the Dan O'Brian Shield for another year after a 53-10 win over Spotswood United.
It took Tukapa 12-minutes to score the first try. After that, they held most of the territory and possession at Yarrow Stadium.
Tukapa led 29-0 at the break. They remain the only unbeaten team in the competition.
