4 days ago
Barbarians turn a corner with win
In round 10 of Southland senior club rugby the Eastern Northern Barbarians beat the Invercargill Blues 33-26 on their Sponsor's Day at the Gore Showgrounds.
Coach A.J. Aitken felt his side was ready to get out of their rut this week. "Things have been clicking at practice, so it was reassuring to get the win.
"I felt like we controlled everything in the first half, we were more disciplined this week and more physical."
Blues scored first but the locals settled into their work and led 21-7 at halftime.
Barbarians led 33-7 before Blues found some holes on the edges and scored some nice tries in the last 15 minutes to earn two bonus points.
Angus Simmers was man of the match, while fellow midfielder Vitali Roqica put in some big defensive shots.
Prop Troy McIvor played well and Morgy Mitchell slotted into No8 and did a fine job.
First five Riley Stewart deserved a mention for his effort, as did prop Tom Scanlan playing his 50th game and Harry McKenzie for making his debut with the club.
Marist beat Woodlands 29-26 at Miller St.
Man of the match Hunter Burgess scored the game-winning try in the 80th minute, while Pirates Old Boys celebrated their 25th anniversary by beating Star 42-0 at Surrey Park.
With three rounds remaining, the Baabaas are now third equal on the points table alongside Marist and Star.
The Barbarians have three more 2024 Stag members rejoining the team this Saturday at Woodlands: Woody Kirkwood (lock), Leroy Ferguson (openside) and Connor Collins (halfback).
In the division one competition Pioneer did well on its club day to draw 20-20 with the competition leaders Wyndham.
In the second half, Pioneer first five Jhardyn Stewart scored his second try before Jordan Anderson kicked the conversion and added a penalty goal to push Pioneer ahead 20-17.
Wyndham kicked a penalty goal to ensure the competition points were split evenly.
Pioneer blindside flanker Troy Wyatt was confrontational at ruck, while hooker Kerry Power, no8 Damon Hurley and lock Reece Soper led a hard-working Pioneer defensive unit.
Pioneer's Braiden Patterson played his 100th.
Wyndham's best were halfback Nathan Bee, prop Oliver Woodrow and blindside Logan Dobbie.
The Vikings and Edendale match on Waikaka's club day also ended in a draw, 15-15.
Edendale was ahead 10-0 at halftime and increased the lead to 15-3.
Edendale held the margin until the 75th minute when Vikings halfback Conor Niblock snuck around the ruck and scored a converted try.
The Vikings then worked their way up the field from the kick-off to draw level when Jarrod Lindsay scored.
Tokanui beat Bluff 28-24 in Tokanui, while Albion earned a 57-20 win in Te Anau.
Albion lock Jack Cochrane was man of the match, while Richie Robinson and fellow speedster Sheamus McGuigan were also key contributors to the victory.
This Saturday the Vikings head to Te Anau, Pioneer head south to Bluff, Albion host Tokanui while the feature game is between Wyndham and Edendale.
The Albion women's team took on Pioneer and delivered a dominant 46–7 win.
By John Langford
