MATCH REPORTS & RESULTS 18 APRIL

East Coast Bays 38 Takapuna 35
North Shore 18 Northcote 17
Glenfield 42 Marist 5
Massey 72 Silverdale 7
Western beat Mahurangi by default

East Coast Bays and Takapuna are long-time rivals, from even before the formation of the North Harbour union 30 years ago.

While Bays were the team of the mid-to-late 1980s, Takapuna were the team of the 1990s, and so the two clubs always have ding-dong battles. So it proved again on Saturday at Onewa Domain, with East Coast Bays overturning an 18-12 halftime deficit to edge Takapuna 38-35 in a 10-try thriller.

Former Bay of Plenty midfielder Cory Aporo scored a brace, as did Ross McLean, while former rep wing Jonah Tuitoga also scored one of Bays' six tries. Takapuna were not to be outdone, with tries, among others to 2014 NZ Barbarians Schools threequarter Daniel Lee and former NZ Sevens and Bay of Plenty wing Junior Tofa-Va'a.

Massey cemented their top position with a 72-7 crushing of Silverdale, courtesy of 12 tries, four of them to Sam Aolelia and a hat-trick to Tevita Li, whose pace and finishing ability should be put to best use on the Blues' misfiring flanks. Matt Vaega landed six goals.North Shore shrugged off a 10-0 halftime deficit to beat Northcote 18-17 and retain the Les Pearce Memorial Shield.

Glenfield also continued their unbeaten run with a 42-5 defeat of struggling Marist in a solid allround display. Tanimoa Samoa scored a brace, while North Harbour rep Michael Little also crossed the chalk.

Mahurangi, despite defaulting to the Western Pioneers due to several injuries, achieved the not inconsiderable feat of moving up the table, as their points differential is now better than both fellow cellar dwellers Silverdale and Marist.

This weekend's Anzac Day big fixture sees Massey hosting Glenfield in a top of the log clash.