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The Counties Power Heat recorded a stunning 36-22 win over Auckland in their Farah Palmer Cup clash at Eden Park on Sunday.

The Heat had last week off after a week one thrashing of North Harbour but hardly skipped a beat as they piled on six tries in the convincing win over their near neighbours.

Chad Shepherd’s side took a 12-5 lead into halftime but powered home in the second spell to score a memorable win.

Shepherd was reasonably happy after the game.

“Obviously as a coach happy about the win,” he said. “We made life difficult for ourselves at times.

“We had identified working on our exits and playing in the right parts of the field and at times we made that a bit difficult for ourselves.

“We found a way to win though and we found a way to win those small moments, which was pleasing.”

The Heat have endured a stop-start beginning to their campaign with the COVID-19 restrictions disrupting their pre-season and then having a bye after their opening game.

“We had two weeks to prepare for Auckland and I think we will be better for it,” Shepherd said.

“Obviously we are looking forward to Northland next weekend.”

Shepherd is comfortable with what his side has done through the opening couple of games but has high ambitions of what they might be capable of.

“The pleasing thing from a coaching point of view is that we weren’t anywhere near our best but we found a way to win,” he said.

“I think our ceiling is much higher. We are only two games into the season but really excited about where we can get to later in the season.”