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Otago Daily Times
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Woodlands premier grade champs
Woodlands was crowned the 2025 Southland premier grade club rugby champions on Saturday after winning the Galbraith Shield final at Rugby Park. Woodlands beat Pirates Old Boys 40-30 in an entertaining match. Pirates were the minor premiership winners and started the game as slight favourites but Woodlands were confident. Coach Richard Jones said it was a pretty special win. "It was pretty gritty. We were confident within our group, nice and relaxed during the week with a good vibe. We knew we were strong." Woodlands first five-eighth Marty McKenzie was the most impactful player in the opening 15 minutes, organising the attack before he showed his silky skills to glide through the defence to score his team's first points. With Woodlands leading 19-17 at halftime, most pundits favoured Pirates to go on to win with the wind behind them but Jones had a different opinion. "Pirates are a strong side. They threw a heap at us but we knew if we worked hard, kept reloading and bringing the ball back into the wind then we can score points." Jones labelled the individual performances from prop Paula Latu, No 8 Ethan McDonald and halfback Liam Howley as massive. "Our young forwards Riley Smith, Alex Yallop and Caleb Karangaroa were also great." Reid Murray has played in the club's B team most of the season but he did a good job on the wing, as did regular loose forward Justin Shaw on the other side. Jones had praise for the solid players in the team. "Guys like Jahn Stodart and Drew Carter have been the guts of our team each week. "It's been a great group of guys to work with, a really enjoyable season." Pirates have been the most consistent side during the last five years under the guidance of coach Dayna Cunningham and deserved another competition win but their execution was not quite where it needed to be on Saturday. Their cause was not helped by fullback Kaea Nikora going off in the first half with a leg injury. Albion lost 31-30 to Bluff down at the port-side town in the last round-robin games of the division one club rugby competition on Saturday. This was a tough, physical contest and an exciting match to finish the season. The Albion players put in all of their effort but the result did not go their way and they were dropped into fifth on the points table by Bluff. Albion won five of their 14 matches in division one this year. The team and club had plenty of performances to be proud of and are grateful to all of their supporters. Edendale beat Pioneer 43-21 at Edendale. Lock Matt Ward was man of the match, while No 8 Cole Williams was another player to stand out, and first five-eighth Bram Fodie deserved to score his try, which was one of six for on the day for the Magpies. Utility back Josh Davers defended well for Pioneer, while Jayk Kirby and Braiden Patterson were also good for the visitors. The Magpies finished the round robin with 10 wins from 14 games and secured second position on the ladder behind Wyndham and will host a semifinal this Saturday against the Riversdale Waikaka Vikings. Wyndham beat Te Anau 46-5 in Te Anau after leading 22-0 at halftime. Blindside flanker Nathan Bee was man of the match, while right wing Luke Bryson impressed throughout the game and scored two of Wyndham's eight tries. Prop Kirk Given is also in good form leading in to this week's semifinal against Pioneer. Riversdale Waikaka Vikings beat Tokanui 39-22 in Riversdale on Saturday. Tokanui have won three of their 13 games and are scheduled to play Te Anau this Saturday in a catchup game from the regular season. By John Langford
Otago Daily Times
13-07-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Woodlands champions in ‘pretty gritty' display
Woodlands were crowned the Southland premier champions on Saturday after winning the Galbraith Shield final at Rugby Park. Woodlands beat Pirates Old Boys 40-30 in an entertaining match. POB were the minor premiership winners and started the game as slight favourites but Woodlands were confident. Coach Richard Jones said it was a special win. "It was pretty gritty. We were confident within our group, nice and relaxed during the week with a good vibe . . . we knew we were strong." Woodlands started the game with a strong wind behind them but POB No 8 Hayden Hegarty, playing in his 100th game for the club, scored the first try. Woodlands first five Marty McKenzie was the most impactful player in the opening 15 minutes, organising the attack before he showed his silky skills to glide through the defence to score his team's first points. POB second five Napo Seru used his bulk to score the next try off a set move after 20 minutes. The strong wind hindered goal kickers and punters early in the game. Woodlands second five Fletcher Morgan accidentally kicked two out on the full during the first 20 minutes, while the first three conversion attempts of the game were missed. POB were defending well until Woodlands hooker Jason Rutledge used his skills in the windy conditions to throw long into the lineout, and the ball was brought down close to the line for No 8 Ethan McDonald to score in the 30th minute. The conversion put Woodlands in front and POB coach Dayna Cunningham chose this moment to bring on replacement props Tom Jennings and JJ Fisher and loose forward Ben Keenan. Youngster Jennings did make an impact but it was the Woodlands' teenaged left winger Reid Murray who scored the next try at the Tweed Street roundabout corner. Morgan nailed the conversion. Right on halftime, POB were awarded a penalty in front of the posts but captain Greg Dyer backed his team to get seven points, which they did when lock Anton Schroder scored close to the posts. Woodlands led 19-17 at the break, and while most pundits favoured POB to go on to win with the wind behind them, Jones had a different opinion. "POB are a strong side — they threw a heap at us — but we knew if we worked hard, kept reloading and bringing the ball back into the wind then we can score points." Ten minutes into the second half, Morgan used his bulk to barge over the top of Isaac Rounds to score and convert. A couple of penalty goals to Dyer closed the gap to 26-23 with 20 minutes remaining. Versatile Woodlands forward Nathan Vaatausili was next to score, and Morgan converted. Centre Jaye Thompson then set up a try for Dye, whose conversion brought the score back to 33-30. Woodlands patiently built up the phases before prop Brian Tyrell scored a converted try to put maximum pressure on POB, and the Woodlands defence held up for the remaining seven minutes to seal the victory. Jones labelled the individual performances from McDonald, prop Paula Latu and halfback Liam Howley as massive. "Our young forwards Riley Smith, Alex Yallop and Caleb Karangaroa were also great." Reid Murray has played in the club's B team most of the season but did a good job on the wing, as did regular loose forward Justin Shaw on the other side. — John Langford
Otago Daily Times
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Will there be more surprises?
And then there were four! As can happen in top-six playoffs the top three seeds, Taieri, Dunedin and Varsity, all got beaten to see Dunedin and Varsity bundled out of the semis. Taieri stay in the race by virtue of the fact they were the top qualifiers going into the weekend. Taieri, with their starting backline out in the quarterfinal, were always going to be a long shot to win at the weekend and so it proved. Their pack ground out a lead over Kaikorai but the lads from the high veldt scored two late tries to extinguish the finals aspirations of Dunedin and Varsity. Dunedin only have themselves to blame after leading the comp for the majority of the season, only to capitulate in their last two games. They gave up top spot with a sub-par display against the Eels a couple of weeks ago, then got destroyed in the second half by a heavyweight Southern pack after leading going into the break. They pulled their two biggest players off in the second half, Wingham and Palmer, and certainly paid a very heavy price. Varsity looked the favorites against Harbour to go through but the Hawks held their discipline, went out to a lead and deservedly held on to unbelievably end up as the top qualifiers. This means they get a home semi at the Cockabilly Cauldron and, as we know, it is hard to win down there. Southern host Kaik at Bog Bathgate and Kaik won't be looking forward to that. Tell me it's not so Otago have not named a squad for the season as yet and I hear it's because, once again, they are bringing players in from outside the province to fill perceived holes. The rumour is three players, one from Christchurch (possible midfielder) and two from Australia, one being a lock. It hasn't worked over the past few years — just look at our track record. How can our Otago board let this happen? Who is paying for this? I know I sound like a broken record but when are we going to wake up? All I hear is "pathways" and all I see are "no exits". The only upside is at least we are not Southland. They've named 31 players and how many of those are genuinely out of club rugby? Not many that I can see. Down on the farm Up North it's finals time with Excelsior, the defending champions, hosting Valley. This is the third year in a row (boring!) these teams have met with honours being even so far. There will be nothing in this final but I'm tipping Excelsior may make it two straight. In the deep South, Pirates Old Boys, the top qualifiers, take on Woodlands for the time-honoured Galbraith Shield and again it's hard to pick. POB have been the best team all year so I'll stick with them to win it all at Rugby Park tomorrow. In the South it's semifinals time, with top qualifier Clutha hosting the prison guards from Toko and the West Taieri Pigs at home to the Crescent Coalminers. In Central, defending champions Upper Clutha are hosting the Maniototo Maggots on the lake front. The Wanaka boys, who also hold the "Horse", have been the best team all year, and should just be too good for the Maggots. Wakatip host Alex in the other semi in Queenstown, with both teams coming off losses. Wakatip lost to Upper Clutha and Alex are on "oxygen support" after going down to the Matak mudfish, my new favourite team. The big news out of that game was big lock Chris Nolan unbelievably played his 300th for Matak. It would have been monumental in Omakau last Saturday night/Sunday morning in the burgh. Good on ya mate — stunning achievement. The victors' ale would have been sweet. Oh, by the way, Wakatip win — just. Clarification There has been a bit of confusion over what happened to the Arrow Bulls v Maggots game at the weekend. Stop ringing Maggots coach Charlie Hore because as per usual I have the answer. Arrowtown defaulted Tuesday week ago as they couldn't field a team. The Maggots offered to play Friday night if that helped but Arrow were still struggling for numbers. Stick with me I'll take you to the top!! Test-match rugby We have certainly been spoilt with Super Rugby this year as we have sped the game up. However, we have been living in a "false down" as we are now back under international rules. The game at the Greenhouse was at times farcical with the three disallowed tries and the time it took to come up with a decision. What's the point of speeding up the game when it took us nearly 10 minutes to make those decisions, especially when one of them was clearly wrong!! We are seriously in danger of spectators saying enough is enough and starting voting with their feet and wallets. Don't get me started on the fact that we have a TMO for foul play and another for general play — sheer bloody lunacy! This weekend You'll be pleased to know yours truly picked none from three in town last week — some expert. Soundly beaten for the second week in a row, this time by "Bilbo" from Speight's. Anyway, I'm back on the horse and up against the mein host of both the Mornington and Cableways, Arvi Singh, who, I'm assured, is not the biggest follower of rugby so I'll still probably lose! Harbour are at home to Taieri at Port so the conditions will not be good (they hardly ever are) and underfoot it'll be great for the geese. Taieri have Cam Miller back but there is no Sam Fischli or Matt Whaanga because Southland have not released them. Southland are fast losing all credibility in this town with their attitude to club rugby. It is nearly time for us to get really grumpy. So Harbour (12-) go into this game as favourites, especially with Hastie back at nine. The Taieri pack are as good as any but the Harbour pack are big and with Hastie and Miln running the cutter they may get it done, but the Eels will be right in it. Southern are at home to Kaik and on that track, with their heavyweight pack, go in as big favourites. Throw in Mackenzie Palmer directing traffic and the Magpies (12-) win. On the farm in Central last week I drew with Lyn Jaffray and I win all draws. On to the southern semis this week and up against Tom Hollows from Hollow Timber and a local rugby legend. I'm up against it but I go well in the country so Tom goes down. Clutha (13+) have been the best team all year so they will dispatch the prison guards from Toko comfortably. West Taieri (12-) are at home at the Market Garden against Crescent and in their jubilee year should get it done.
Otago Daily Times
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
POB entering shield final as favourites
Pirates Old Boys and Woodlands will contest the Galbraith Shield final tomorrow after winning their respective Southland premier club semifinals. POB, the minor premiership winners, start the game as favourites after beating Woodlands 31-12 when they last met in May. Pirates Old Boys beat Marist 56-26 last weekend on centre stage at Rugby Park, while Woodlands earned their spot in the final after beating the Eastern Northern Barbarians 15-5 in the other semifinal at Oreti Park. Woodlands finished the round robin in second position and had earned home ground advantage for their semifinalbut took the match against the Barbarians out to the firmer sand-based surface. Woodlands, who will get another good surface at Rugby Park tomorrow, have former Stags inside backs Liam Howley and Marty McKenzie to steer the team around the park, but most of the game-driving for the club this year has been undertaken by their younger team-mate Fletcher Morgan. Morgan has played Woodlands into the final and his own way into this year's Stags squad. Robust POB second five Napo Seru breaks the line multiple times during each game and creates the momentum, and Seru's combination with the competition's best centre, Jaye Thompson, is hard to contain. POB assistant coach Ben McHugh said his team had trained well this week and a full squad was available for selection. "I definitely noticed a mind-shift change in the boys this week," McHugh said. "They know that the job is on." POB have no contracted Southland Stags members in their squad but McHugh said his team had the ideal mixture of experienced and young players. "Most of the team have won the competition before and then we've been fortunate this season to add in this year's Highlanders under-20 front-rowers to add some extra energy." The battle of the front rows will be interesting in the final. The POB scrum has been dominant in recent weeks through front-rowers Levi Gage, Alex Fraito, Riki Gage, Tua Tuapati and youngsters JJ Fisher and Thomas Jennings. Woodlands have their own solid front-row options in Harry Burgess, Paula Latu, Brian Tyrell, Nathan Vaatausili and Jason Rutledge. McHugh said a disappointment for the POB club would be not having their B team players attending the game. "They've trained with us all year and are a big part of the club but they've got their division three semifinal on Saturday and Collegiate won't accept an earlier kick-off time."
Otago Daily Times
06-07-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Pirates Old Boys dominant, into final
Pirates Old Boys and Woodlands will contest the Galbraith Shield final after winning their Southland premier club semifinals on Saturday. Pirates Old Boys beat Marist 56-26 on centre stage at Rugby Park. The minor premiership winners started warm favourites after comfortably beating Marist the previous weekend in the final week of the round robin. POB scored the first converted try to right winger Sam McLachlan before Marist drew level after 10 minutes. POB scored the next two tries when second five Napo Seru charged and created momentum for flanker Kosei Miki to pick and go over the line. A few minutes later, POB spread the ball wide to left winger Sam Wheely to score in the corner. Marist did well to score the next two tries to close the gap to 21-19, but five minutes before halftime, the competition's best centre Jaye Thompson broke the line and committed the cover defenders before offloading to Isaac Rounds to put POB ahead 28-19 at halftime. Six minutes into the second half, POB made a break down the terrace side and Thompson followed up the inside to score. Fullback Kaea Nikora finished off an excellent POB build-up that included bursts from most of their key ball-runners. Sixteen minutes into the second half, POB pushed Marist off their own scrum feed and moved the ball quickly to Thompson on the left edge to coast to the line for his second try. Things were looking dire at this stage for Marist but they did manage to score a try under the posts to make it 49-26 with 20 minutes remaining. Replacement outside back Nick Munro scored in the corner with his first touch to round out the scoring for the victors. Woodlands beat the Eastern Northern Barbarians 15-5 in the other semifinal at Oreti Park. Woodlands finished the round robin in second position and had earned home advantage but took the match out to the firmer sand-based surface at Oreti Park. The Barbarians showed plenty of determination and passion as they have done all season, but losing openside flanker Leroy Ferguson to injury after 15 minutes and fullback Taylor Peterson just after halftime were setbacks to their cause. Barbarians coach AJ Aitken said the game was a real battle of attrition. "We felt in control for most of the first half but when Woodlands got their opportunities they just pushed us so far back into our own territory that it was too hard to get out of." Aitken said the Woodlands game-drivers were clinical in the second half. "Liam Howley came on and together with Marty McKenzie and Fletcher Morgan, they just ran a masterclass."
