By Stu Piddington

A flurry of three yellow cards didn't prevent Old Boys grabbing a tense 18-10 away win over Geraldine in their Hamersley Cup senior club rugby match on Saturday.

Old Boys coach Michael Lang acknowledged that having three players yellow carded didn't assist his side's cause and there must have been some relief within his camp when they survived the triple sin-binnings. "It certainly wasn't a pretty win, but we will take it," Lang noted.

"We were ill disciplined at times and that caused the ref to used his cards. Thankfully we stood up as a team and held on. We had a good lead at half time and managed to keep them out in the second half, apart from a penalty try."

Old Boys led 15-3 at halftime, with Tait Chisman, Sowani Koroi and Jarrid Cooper notable contributors for the victors.

Geraldine coach Aaron Coles labelled it a frustrating performance and one they should have never lost but he credits the job of referee Chris Paul as a very good one.

Celtic, meanwhile, showed why they had been tagged the early-season favourites with an impressive 36-25 win over Temuka at Timaru's Alpine Energy Stadium, Mackenzie sneaked home 23-22 over a much-improved Pleasant Point side and Harlequins had too much firepower for Waimate when claiming a 38-15 win.

Celtic and Harlequins remain the only two unbeaten sides after two rounds.

Mackenzie coach Terry Murray was understandably pleased to claim a win over Pleasant Point in a tightly contested match on a sunny afternoon in Fairlie. Having led 6-5 at halftime, MacKenzie rattled on 10 quick points after the restart, with a length-of-the-field try contributing to the cause.

"We will take it," Murray said. "It wasn't pretty and could have gone either way at times. Pleasant Point were much improved and Kevin Moore was outstanding, they used him a lot and could be a tough side to beat later in the year."

Murray credited the performances of winger Raitube Matatanabua, lock Josh Sheehan, who was outstanding at kickoff and lineout time, and Johnny Andrews in assisting the Rams to get the win.

Disappointed Pleasant Point coach Kelly Walsh lamented his side not being able to pounce on the opportunities to punish their opponents, meaning they were unable to celebrate Alistair Brady's 100th appearance for the club with a victory. "We certainly had our chances to win but didn't take them."

Luke Brice, Moore and Jacob Damsteegt were among the best performers for Point.

Harlequins had too much fire power for Waimate and Ken Hellier was superb, scoring two tries to prove his value on attack, while Maile I'Ongi and Corin Miller were also classy. Telusa Latu and Matt Young bagged the remaining tries. Harlequins led 17-10 at halftime.

"We still have a lot to work on, but remaining unbeaten is a good way to start the season," Harlequins manager Paul Brohan said.

Waimate coach Willy Guyton said it was a frustrating afternoon's shift from his men, although he had no complaints about way his scrum operated. "We were beaten by a better side on the day. They were too good for us pretty much right across the park. We had the wood on them at scrum time, our front row was outstanding."

Temuka coach Dave Fisher lamented the slow start - the trailed 24-10 at halftime - that his cost his side dearly against Celtic. "We finished the match pretty well, scoring three tries, but they were far too clinical. They kicked really well and we couldn't get out of our own end."

Joeli Kotobalavu, Brett Turner, Caleb King and Ricky Neame were strong for the losing side, while Tenari Saumani was good when moving ot halfback in the second half.

Celtic coach Nigel Walsh, understandably, wasn't going to grumble. "We cleared our bench with 20 minutes to go, but to Temuka's credit they stuck at it and scored a couple of late tries to make it (the score) respectable. The green machine had nabbed a four-try bonus point by half time.

Henry Race was efficient for the side at fullback, while Matt Stewart and Viliome Loga Vatu worked hard.

Next weekend Celtic tackle Old Boys, Mackenzie face Temuka, Waimate host Geraldine and Pleasant Point face Harlequins.