Galbraith Shield final: 'It’ll be a hell of a night or two, or three'

Pirates-Old Boys got its hands on Southland club rugby’s symbol of supremacy for the first time since 2006, and the boys from Surrey Park did it in ruthless fashion.

Jul 08, 2023

Pirates-Old Boys 37 (Hayden Hegarty, Rintaro Maruyama, Shunsuke Asaoka, Ben Keenan tries; Kaea Nikora-Balloch 4 con, 3 pen), Eastern-Northern Barbarians 10 (Joseva Mara try; Levi Emery 1 con, 1 pen). Halftime; 20-10.

“It’ll be a hell of a night or two, or three.”

That was the message from Pirates-Old Boys captain Isaac Te Tamaki moments before being handed the Galbraith Shield to kick-start a special party on Saturday.

Pirates-Old Boys got its hands on Southland club rugby’s symbol of supremacy for the first time since 2006, and the boys from Surrey Park did it in ruthless fashion.

Pirates-Old Boys - who qualified in fourth spot for the semifinals - run out 37-10 victors over Eastern-Northern Barbarians in the 2023 Galbraith Shield final played at Rugby Park.

Pirates-Old Boys captain Isaac Te Tamaki holds the Galbraith Shield aloft at Rugby Park on Saturday. Photo: DEBBIE FAHEY

Barbarians captain Jacob Coghlan conceded after the game his team was probably left a little “shell-shocked” with what Pirates-Old Boys dished out early in the game.

Greg Dyer played the impressive role of conductor at first five-eighth and the rest of his team followed.

Through the boot of second five-eighth Kaea Nikora-Balloch Pirates-Old Boys went up 6-0 before Levi Emery clawed three points back with a penalty for the Barbarians.

But when No 8 Hayden Hegarty scored, followed by a nice try to right-wing Rintaro Maruyama five minutes later, Pirates-Old Boys was up 20-3 after 23 minutes.

At that point, Pirates-Old Boys already had one hand firmly gripping the prized trophy.

Pirates-Old Boys No 8 Hayden Hegarty scores in the first half of the 2023 Galbraith Shield final at Rugby Park. Photo: DEBBIE FAHEY

The Barbarians did reduce the margin to 10 points before halftime when second five-eighth Joseva Mara scored but even then, there was never the feeling Pirates-Old Boys were under any pressure.

That was firmed up when Japanese prop Shunsuke Asaoka crashed over close to the posts, followed by another try to flanker Ben Keenan to send Pirates-Old Boys out to a 34-10 lead.

At that point there was no doubt as to which direction the Galbraith Shield was going, but for good measure Nikora-Balloch added the third penalty to push it to 37-10 which was the final score.

It was a special day for the Pirates-Old Boys club in front of an encouraging crowd at Rugby Park.

The class of 2023 ended a 16-year drought for the club and rewarded some hardworking legends of the club.

The premier team’s manager Alan Meikle is one of them. Stalwart players Craig Smith and Anton Huisman others.

Smith joined the club in 2007 while Huisman has continued to travel from Queenstown, where he now lives, to play for his beloved Pirates-Old Boys club.

Coaches Michael McKenzie and Ben McHugh are others who deserved Saturday’s taste of success.

Long-time Pirates-Old Boys manager Alan Meikle gets to hold the Galbraith Shield aloft. Photo: DEBBIE FAHEY

The pair have been battling away at the club for a while and finally reached the destination they had in mind.

It was also a fitting swansong for Pirates-Old Boys captain Isaac Te Tamaki who after a five-year stint playing in Southland is about to embark on his next adventure playing in France.

Te Tamaki made the shift south to play for the Stags in 2018 and joined the Pirates-Old Boys club in 2019.

“Hell of a season, aye,” Te Tamaki said in his speech after the game.

“We never really panicked when we didn’t play well. We knew it was simple fixes and we could click and play some really good rugby.

“[There’s] no club I’d rather play for. Love every single one of you.”