At Christchurch Park: Lincoln University 23 (Mitchell Dunshea, Sam Gilbert tries; Rameka Poihipi 2 conv, 3 pen) beat Christchurch 12 (Jack Griffiths, Henry Scott tries; Dan Dorgan conv). HT: 17-5. Referee: James Munro.

Talk about leading from the front. Ben Morris had a huge game on the carry for Lincoln and his tall-timber team-mates Hamish Dalzell and Mitch Dunshea did their best to emulate him. But Captain Morris would have been unhappy with the error rate of the Rams. The mistakes kept piling up as the clock wound down, giving Christchurch a sniff in the dying stages.

The home team looked set to score from an intercept of a loose Lincoln pass with 4min to go. It needed a great covering tackle from Connor Garden-Bachop to stop Christchurch from going close enough to win at the death. In the last 10min it was backs to the wall for the Rams and Morris was frantically involved in the last-ditch stuff. The Lincoln dam burst 9min from the end, Christchurch right wing Henry Scott finishing a long siege.

Earlier, things were much rosier for the Lincoln skipper. After Christchurch left wing Jack Griffiths scored too easily from broken play at the 4min mark, Lincoln started to hit their straps. No.7 Connor Gordon hit a flat pass at full tilt to open up the defence and the two locks, Morris and Dalzell, joined the party. Christchurch were really scrambling to keep the Rams out.

Then at the 20min mark, Morris made a stunning long run to put Lincoln right in the red zone. Before too long, Dunshea was across after several carries by Dalzell. The side’s second try was scored 2min from half-time when fullback Sam Gilbert showed impressive pace to latch on to a sharp break from set play by Jack Stratton.

Gilbert looked good in place of Caleb Makene (broken finger), always looking for attacking chances while covering back well when Christchurch kicked downfield. The fullback came in for some unduly rough treatment at the end, prompting a Lincoln supporter (name withheld) to ask the nearby touch judge if his eyes were painted on.

Another key figure was first-five Rameka Poihipi, filling in for Brett Cameron (concussion). Poihipi kept sniping at the defensive line in a bid to keep Lincoln on the front foot and he had a good punt on him. Most importantly he kicked five from five, none of them gimmes.

George Stratton, not a big man, bristled with energy and aggression at centre. General Jack Stratton was his usual well-organised self, bringing his kicking game to bear, as smooth as Tennessee whiskey as he spread the ball, and pulling off a crucial break.

Another Canterbury halfback, Ere Enari, came on for Stratton with 30min to go. Christchurch didn’t make it easy for the Rams. Grunty forwards like Sam Cottam, Hamish Kilpatrick and captain Chris Mason kept pressure on while flankers Matt Etheredge and Hugh Renton ripped into it throughout.

The backs pulled off some good moves involving switch and cut-out passing. This weekend the side will play at home for the DCL Shield against Sydenham who sit in third two points behind Sumner on 35. The final match of the round is against New Brighton at the beach on June 9

MVP: Ben Morris 3, George Stratton 2, Sam Gilbert 1..

Lincoln University had to play catch-up in the second-division curtain-raiser and went close, before going down 17-22 to fellow top-of-the-table team Christchurch.

With 18min to go and Lincoln down just 17-19, right wing Tom Renton shot down the touchline and kicked ahead. His chase looked likely to bring a try but the side gained only a penalty out of it. James Mangin missed the shot from a difficult position. With 2min to go, Christchurch landed a penalty goal to seal the win.

For Lincoln, lock Liam Robertson and No.8 Andrew Hull powered through the work and prop Ben Crawford was a rock in the first half. Centre Tristan Holmwood scored two tries while Josef Meek was handy at halfback. The side was severely depleted through injuries.

LU scorers: Tristan Holmwood 2, Stephen Snoxell tries; James Mangin conv.

The Premier Women's team played away at Linfield Park against Linwood and came away with a very good win, for their penultimate match of the round, 75-10 to keep them in second place on the table behind unbeaten Christchurch. They will take on Marist/Albion on Saturday at South Park who have yet to register a win.

The Colts A team travelled to Burnside Park and were able to put on a good performance for their final match of the round winning 60-10 to finish round one in second place behind Christchurch in the Hawkins Colts Section 1 Cup (Charles Rhodes Cup). This Saturday they will start matches for the Hawkins Colts Section 1 Trophy round against Christchurch at Lincoln University.

The Colts B side played against New Brighton on Saturday in a shortened match due to injury. The side were able to get the bonus point win with a 29-0 scoreline before the match was called off. They will have their final match of the round against HSOB U19's this weekend.

A massive thanks to Jim Doyle who will be reporting on our Premier matches each week. As well as all our coaches, managers, trainers, physios, sponsors, supporters, catering and ground staff and all the players who make it happen each week.