Birthday boy Matty James replied in the 11th minute before Cole Blyde proved his mobility with the game's first try soon after. It was a 2022 Clifton trademark effort, which commenced in its own half and went through eight pairs of hands before it found Blyde.
Stratford/Eltham didn't lie down. Another Olsen penalty kept them in touch, but Clifton still looked the more decisive side.
That was illustrated during the half-hour when the backs, from set-phase, cleverly ran the gaps with the man of the moment Josh Setu finishing off the move.
Clifton completely shut Stratford/Eltham out of the last 10 minutes of the half. And on the stroke of halftime, an unexpected quick penalty tap from James eventually found Indiha Saotui-Huta who finished it off with a skilful dive in the corner. James' fine sideline conversion gave the hosts a handsome 22-6 lead.
After an even opening 10 minutes in the second spell, Clifton's ability from the set phase was underlined, when from a scrum 40m out, another backline surge was efficiently concluded by Matty McKenzie.
At the 60-minute mark, another assertive attack saw replacement Kini Naholo score. That made it 34-6.
The last quarter belonged to Stratford/Eltham. But the same trenchant wasn't evident, with its only reward being a try to David Avery, which Olsen goaled.
In the other semi-final, Tukapa overturned a 10-0 deficit to ease past New Plymouth Old Boys (NPOB) 37-23 at Sanders Park.
For the other finals, New Plymouth Old Boys will meet Tukapa in division one and Kaitake will play Kaponga in division two.
