Club Rugby: Double delight for Star Rugby Club
It was a special Saturday for the Star Rugby Club given it claimed both Southland club rugby’s men’s and women’s premier competition titles on the same day.
It was a special Saturday for the Star Rugby Club claiming both Southland club rugby’s men’s and women’s premier competition titles on the same day. Although they were both made to work hard until the 80th minute in both grand finals.
Logan Savory wraps up the action.
The end to what was a thrilling 2024 Galbraith Shield final was probably fitting.
As Pirates-Old Boys mounted a last-ditch effort to snatch a late victory Star No 8 Semisi Tupou Ta’aeiloa had the final say.
He ripped the ball from a Pirates-Old Boys player and booted it into touch to win Star its first Galbraith Shield title since 2015.
Tupou Ta’aeiloa had been instrumental in transforming Star from also-rans in 2023 to contenders in 2024.
And on Saturday the young No 8 was again the key figure in fending off a spirited Pirates-Old Boys outfit in the 22-18 win.
The former New Zealand age-group representative and Highlanders U20 looseforward carried the ball strongly and hit hard in defence. It was hard to find a better player on the park on Saturday.
There is a hope that club dominance will transfer into the Stags campaign. But for the moment that can wait as we reflect on a Galbraith Shield final that will go down as one of the most intense.
It was Pirates-Old Boys who opened the scoring in just the second minute through a Greg Dyer penalty.
Star was the first to score a try when loosehead prop Jack Sexton crossed in the 11th minute.
But it was Pirates-Old Boys who dominated possession and territory for much of the first half and put Star under plenty of pressure.
Dyer put Pirates-Old Boys back in front with his second penalty in the 19th minute but despite all that possession and territory dominance, it took until the 39th minute for lock Anton Schroder to score.
It meant Pirates-Old Boys went into halftime with a 11-5 lead - which may not have been enough reward for what they had thrown at Star.
What would have hurt a little more is Star scored through former Samona international Johnny Vaili out wide just five minutes into the second half to make it 11-10.
Just when there was a feeling the Star juggernaut might be about to roll into action Pirates-Old Boys scored through Ben Keenan and the Dyer extras opened up an eight-point gap at 18-10.
But like two heavyweights going it was then Star’s turn to respond four minutes later.
Star got a roll on with a lineout drive and replacement hooker Kaya Symon scored. With the Cole Spinks conversion Star reduced the margin to one point at 18-17.
It was a Vaili moment in the 62nd minute which ended up a proving vital for Star when the centre got the ball on outside and drew in a couple of defenders and offload to right wing Hughan Sharp to score.
It pushed Star in front at 22-18, which remained the final score.
But it didn’t come without a grandstand finish. As good as Vaili could be he delivered some bizarre moments in the final five minutes that had the Star supporters with head in hands.
He first had a crack at a 55m drop goal which handed the ball over to Pirates-Old Boys before then with a couple of minutes to play and four points ahead Vaili took a quick tap from a penalty with little time on the clock.
Star then turned the ball over providing an opening for Pirates-Old Boys. It was Tupou Ta’aeiloa however mopped up what could have been a mess with the key turnover sparking the Star celebrations.
The Galbraith Shield wasn’t the only significant trophy that made the trip from Les George Oval back to Star Rugby Club HQ at Waverley Park on Saturday evening.
The Star women’s team also capped off a fairytale 2024 season with a hard-fought 27-17 win over Albion in the premier women’s club final.
Star were the newcomers to the premier club season considering it was the first time the club had fielded a women’s team in 20-plus years.
To make the final prompted plenty of excitement, to win it was extra special.
It was the visiting Albion team from Gore who made most of the play inside the first 20 minutes of the game.
They had Star camped on their own line for long periods and it was Star’s defence through that time that was probably the telling factor in the game.
Albion eventually scored through impressive hooker Kim Udy to make it 5-0 but Star responded minutes later when fullback Natasha O’Connell crossed out wide.
While still at James Hargest College O’Connell has lapped up the chance to play in Southland’s premier competition this year.
Just before halftime Star hit the lead for the first time in the game when it scored its second five-pointed.
Centre Aaliyah Talamahina produced a nice offload to set up hooker Elisapeta Kuresa to score to go 10-5 up at halftime.
Star then struck again inside the first minute of the second half through right-wing Indy Hillman who went on a slicing run from inside her own half to make it 15-5.
They two teams then continued to trade tries with Albion scoring through impressive first five-eighth Libby Miller following a nice off load from hooker Udy.
That made it 15-12 but Star hit back again soon after with Keana Braven Uamaki power over to score and with the O’Connell conversion it pushed the score back out to 22-12.
Albion sent a few nerves into the Star camp when they scored through No 8 April Winsloe on the back of a strong scrum late in the game.
It brought the score back to 22-17 and set up a grandstand finish.
Although Star ended up having the last say scoring with time almost up through looseforward Katie Ana Rangi to make it 27-17 at fulltime.
The focus for the women’s game will now switch to the representative season with the Southland Hinds team to have a hit out against the Otago Spirit at the Les George Oval on Saturday.
Senior B | Premier Development final
Bluff 34 - Blues 31
Division One semifinals
Pioneer 15 - Waikaka/Riversdale 13
Wyndham 45 - Edendale 20
Division Two semifinals
Riverton 39 - Mossburn 0
Waikiwi 32 - Midlands 29