Further upsets in Round two of Swindale Shield

Round two threw up some more upsets as the Swindale/Harper Lock Shield starts to kick into gear.

Perhaps the biggest upset was Petone narrow win against MSP away from home. Last year's Jubilee Cup finalists were unable to capitalise in their first-half lead and eventually lost 24-20.

In an entertaining game, Old Boys University beat Tawa 45-28. OBU were dominant throughout and regularly split open their opponent's backline defence. Tawa appeared slightly one-dimensional on attack and did not help themselves after being awarded two yellow cards.

In another tight contest, Norths held their nerve for a second consecutive week to beat Poneke 32-25. Norths led at the break 22-20 after two tries from Michael Sage and held on to win the Cyril Collett Memorial Shield.

Johnsonville made amends for last week's loss with a confidence-building 25-19 win against Paremata-Plimmerton. It took 60 minutes for the home side to eventually take the lead courtesy of a late try from veteran Kane Thompson. Paremata will be disappointed with their inability to close off the game after leading 16-3 after 30 minutes.

In other results, Upper Hutt Rams have built on last week's win with a 50-24 thrashing of Wellington. Oriental-Rongatai also won their second successive game by beating Avalon 30-22.

Finally, in our feature match this afternoon Wainuiomata snuck home for the second consecutive week beating Hutt Old Boys Marist 31-26. The home side outmuscled their opponents pack led by their impressive number-eight Ben Tupuola.