NZ Barbarians U85 Club Cup off to a flying start

The opening weekend of the NZ Barbarians U85 Club Cup, a five-week restricted weight competition featuring 18 teams from across five unions, couldn't have been any more action-packed, with early upsets and tight competition across the board.

The major talking point from the weekend was the success of Poneke RFC, who travelled from Wellington to Waikato and rounded off the 1200 kilometre round trip with an 18-14 win over competition heavyweights, Morrinsville Rugby and Sports Club.

The battle between Fraser Tech RFC and Eastbourne RFC went right down to the wire, and after a quickfire 80 minutes of fast-paced rugby, the two sides couldn't be separated with the game-ending 22 apiece. Eastbourne RFC won the match and advanced to the next round, as they were the first team to score a try during the game, which under the competition rules made them the winners despite the game finishing as a draw.

Find all the official match results of the Round 1 fixtures below, including details of the games left to be played.

Northern Section:

Preliminary Round

Pukekohe RFC (CMRFU 2) 12 v 54 Eden Lizards (ARU 4) 

Papakura RFC Stallions (CMRFU 3) 10 v 35 Grammar TEC Old Boys (ARU 3)

Patumahoe RFC (CMRFU 4) 19 v 18 Massey RFC (NHRU 2)

Round 1

Karaka RFC (CMRFU 5) 25 v 22 East Coast Bays RFC (NHRU 1) 

The fixtures below to be played on the 10th of October at 1.00 pm.

Waiuku (CMRFU 1) v Eden Lizards (ARU 4) 
Waiuku Rugby Club: Field 1

Ponsonby Hustlers (ARU 1) v Grammar TEC Old Boys (ARU 3)
Cornwall Park: Field 1

University Squids (ARU 2) v Patumahoe RFC (CMRFU 4)
Colin Maidan Park: Field 10

Southern Section

Round 1

Fraser Tech RFC (WRU 3) 22 v 22 Eastbourne RFC (WRFU 2)
*Eastbourne RFC advance to the QF

Hamilton Marist RFC (WRU 2) 18 v 22 Avalon Rugby (WRFU 3)

Morrinsville Rugby and Sports Club (WRU 1) 14 v 18 Poneke RFC 80/80s (WRFU 5)

Wellington RFC (WRFU 4) - bye to the Quarter Finals.