Club Rugby: Semi-final time in Galbraith Shield race
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Southland’s premier men’s club rugby semifinals are sorted.
After 13 rounds of regular season action, top seed Pirates-Old Boys will take on fourth-placed Marist in one semifinal on Saturday.
Second seed Woodlands will play third-placed Eastern-Northern Barbarians in the other semifinal.
The winners will book a ticket to the big dance seven days later and playoff for the prized Galbraith Shield.
For defending champions Star, as well as Blues, their 2025 campaigns are now done.
The round-robin phase of the season wrapped up on Saturday, and for Marist, it appeared to be more of a “keep the cards close to the chest” mentality than searching for further momentum heading into the semifinals.
Marist took on Pirates-Old Boys at Surrey Park, and knowing the two teams were likely to meet again seven days later in a semifinal, Marist took the opportunity to give some players a freshen up.
Key players Jackson Bevin, Hunter Areaiiti-Burgess, and Scott Eade did not take the field on Saturday, while pivotal back Keanu Kahukura was only introduced in the second half.
Pirates-Old Boys ran up a 48-10 victory that meant little in the context of the season. Although there might have been one area where Pirates-Old Boys dealt Marist a mental hammer blow.
Pirates-Old Boys splintered a Marist scrum, which included contracted Stags tight-head prop Liam McIntosh.
The home team scored two first half tries on the back of that dominant scrum, with one of them coming via a penalty try.
As a result, Pirates-Old Boys pushed out to a 27-0 halftime lead.
The scrum is sure to be a focus point for Marist this week in the lead up to the semifinal between the two teams.
To Marist’s credit, they did show a bit of grit in the second to ensure the scoreline did not get very untidy.
The score sat at 34-10 midway through the second half on the back of two tries to Marist wing Te Hura Wilson.
That was before late Pirates-Old Boys tries to Sam McLachlan and Jaye Thompson pushed the final score out to 48-10.
The Eastern-Northern Barbarians were made to work much harder in their final tune-up before the playoffs.
The Barbarians recorded a 26-23 victory at Oreti Park against a Star team that threw plenty into its final assignment of 2025.
That spirited display was led by dynamic hooker Aukusitino Salanoa who scored two tries for Star.
It’s a performance that will keep Salanoa’s name well and truly in front of the Stags decision makers.
Salanoa had been a powerhouse in Dunedin club rugby for Zingari-Richmond earlier in the season, but he made the shift to Southland in May with the prospect of pushing for some game time with the Stags.
He provides some depth at hooker, joining the likes of Jack Taylor, Nic Souchon, and Shaun Kempton in the Stags mix.
Stags first five-eighth Byron Smith also made an appearance for Star on Saturday.
The Barbarians were put under plenty of pressure but have started to find ways to win tight games in 2025, and that is what played out on Saturday.
The country team claimed the win despite some front-row adversity.
Troy McIvor injured his shoulder in the warm up and tried to start the game but was forced from the field quickly.
His replacement Mykel Sleeman then rolled his ankle soon after he took the field and also departed.
It meant usual tight-prop Morgan Mitchell ended up playing close to 70 minutes on the loosehead side of the scrum.
Added to that was the fact the Barbarians were missing first choice hooker Liam Ferguson which meant veteran Lachlan McCall had to go the full 80 minutes.
Barbarians coach AJ Aitken is now looking at his frontrow options for the semifinal showdown against Woodlands on Saturday.
Wing Harry McKenzie was the Barbarians’ best in the 26-23 win over Star, with Banuve Dretiverata on the other wing also impressive.
“To Star’s credit, it was their last hit out for the year, and they really fronted and put a lot of pressure on us. From that point of view, it was another tough game for us and probably the type of game we needed,” Coach Aitken said.
The third premier game on Saturday did not go ahead with Blues forced to default to Woodlands because of a lack of frontrowers.
Blues started the 2025 season with some concerns around their front row depth. They had managed to get through to the final game of the season before the difficult decision was required to not take the field on Saturday.
After a winless 2024 season Blues had started 2025 in encouraging fashion, and at one point, a semifinal spot looked like a realistic option.
However, as that depth was tested, the Blues wins faded.
For Woodlands, the victory by default meant their players had the weekend off playing before setting their sights on a semifinal showdown against the Eastern-Northern Barbarians.
(Premier Women - Grand final)
Star 46, Albion 10
(Division One)
Waikaka/Riversdale 23, Albion 7
Wyndham 17, Tokanui 0
Edendale 31, Bluff 21
Pioneer 60, Te Anau 5
(Division Two)
Woodlands 38, Blues 0
Waikiwi 33, Mossburn 0
Riverton 52, Otautau-Ohai-Nightcaps 5
Midlands 8, Drummond-Limehills-Star 0
(Division Three)
Pirates-Old Boys 34, Central Pirates 14
Collegiate 29, Wright’s Bush 0
Waiau Star 15, Mataura 7
(Senior Cs/President’s Grade)
Bluff 10, Mataura 5
Wyndham 14, Pirates-Old Boys 5
Pioneer 52, Waikiwi 0
Balfour 12, Albion 0
Waikaia 7, Waikaka 0