Ruapehu flanker Campbell Hart takes on the Pirates defence at Spriggens Park.
There was considerable movement in Tasman Tanning Premier's Top 4 as McCarthy Transport Ruapehu elbowed Black Bull Liquor Pirates out of their spot with a strong finish at Spriggens Park, winning 31-19.
With showers filtering in and out during the afternoon, Pirates scored all their points in the first half with tries from Aperagmo Fiu, Mene Taufa'asau and Romeo Tiatia.
However, Ruapehu stayed composed in the tight match, scoring two tries in the second half, with the second an outstanding individual effort from midfielder Craig Clare, who was also very accurate with his goal kicking.
Hooker Roman Tutauha, halfback Kahl Elers-Green and fellow midfielder Troy Brown got the other tries.
With Pirates not picking up a bonus point and Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist on the bye, Ruapehu leapfrogged them into third spot and could even have gone one spot higher, except PGG Wrightson/Balance Taihape still managed two bonus points from their shock loss to Settlers Honey Ngamatapouri.
Waverley Harvesting Border maintained their unbeaten run on top of the table, but not without being dragged into a real battle at the Country Club, as Wanganui Car Centre Kaierau held them to 19-10.
Up 12-5 at the break, Border scored one more try, as did the hosts, meaning Border were the only Premier team of the weekend to go on and win after leading at halftime.
Border have welcomed former Wanganui Collegiate champion runner Harry Symes into their midst and the young winger scored two tries, with prop Hamish Mellow getting the third.
Kaierau still gave their best performance since the opening weekend win over Ngamatapouri, looking to get offloads away and scoring through Ace Malo and Cameron Davies.
Over at Memorial Park, Utiku Old Boys welcomed an international import player of a different ilk as Austrian Max Navas has joined the squad, and picked a good game to debut as the home side outlasted fellow cellar dwellers Harvey Round Motors Ratana 20-10.
Navas converted both Utiku tries and added two penalties in the second half as Utiku came from behind to pick up their first win and take a bit of confidence on their long 187km journey up to Ngamatapouri this weekend.
In Senior rugby, Speirs Food Marton continued to send a message to the other teams after they hammered Taihape 68-5, who came into the match with a good 3-1 record but had no answers on Saturday.
Black Bull Liquor Pirates kept their unbeaten record on track, as well as possession of the Stihl Shop Wanganui Challenge Shield, with a 52-5 shut out of Ruapehu at Spriggens Park, as the Pirates vs Marton clash on April 29 is already looming as the pivotal clash in the first round of games.
Kaierau earned their first points of the season after a 13-13 draw at the Country Club, while Celtic won the battle of Marist by comfortably beating their clubmates the Buffalos 50-0 at Spriggens Park.
Results, April 15
Tasman Tanning Premier, Round 5.
McCarthy Transport Ruapehu 31 (Roman Tutauha, Kahl Elers-Green, Troy Brown, Craig Clare tries; Clare pen, 4 con) bt Black Bull Liquor Pirates 19 (Aperagmo Fiu, Mene Taufa'asau, Romeo Tiatia tries; Junior Ainea 2 con). HT: 19-14 Pirates.
Grand Hotel Challenge Shield - Waverley Harvesting Border 19 (Harry Symes 2, Hamish Mellow tries; Nick Harding 2 con) bt Wanganui Car Centre Kaierau 10 (Ace Malo, Cameron Davies tries). HT: 12-5.
Settlers Honey Ngamatapouri 31 (Te Tua Kemp, Samu Kubunavanua, Jesse Kemp, Bryn Hudson tries; Te Tua Kemp pen, 4 con) bt PGG Wrightson/Balance Taihape 30 (Dane Whale, Hamish Bennett, Wiremu Cotterill, Jaye Flaws tries; Tom Wells pen, 2 con, Te Rangi-Tapu McLeod pen). HT: 22-21 Taihape.
Utiku OB 20 (John Haywood, Andrew Howie tries; Max Navas 2 pen, 2 con) bt Harvey Round Motors Ratana 10 (Onewa Tai try; Hawea Meihana pen, con). HT: 10-7 Ratana.
Bye: Dave Hoskin Carriers Marist.
Senior, Round 5.
Stihl Shop Wanganui Challenge Shield - Black Bull Liquor Pirates bt Ruapehu 52-5. HT: 17-5.
Celtic bt Buffalo's 50-0. HT: 22-0
Kaierau drew with Border 13-13. HT: 10-8 Kaierau.
Speirs Food Marton bt Taihape 68-8. HT: 37-8.
Kelso Hunterville bt Utiku OB by default.
Bye: Counties.