A Lewis Ormond intercept could well prove to have been the telling moment for the Eastern-Northern Barbarians when the 2018 Southland premier club rugby semifinalists are finally locked in next Saturday.
With Blues toppling Pirates-Old Boys at Surrey Park in Invercargill, the Barbarians had a prime opportunity to leapfrog Pirates-Old Boys into fourth spot with a win over Woodlands.
However, the combined country team came up short, losing 16-14.
Woodlands put plenty of pressure on the Barbarians in the first half and through the boot of halfback Nico Costa was able to lead 9-0 at halftime.
With the Barbarians on attack early in the second half and searching for their first points, centre Ormond latched on to an intercept and scooted in to score.
The Costa conversion pushed it to 16-0, opening up a healthy gap over the visitors.
The Barbarians did finally get some reward for their work with a try and then, with a few minutes to play, added a second try, which at least ensured they took a bonus point out of the 16-14 loss.
Costa was one of Woodlands’ best in the win, while loose forward Michael Gellately and prop Joe Walsh also got through plenty of work.While the Barbarians came up short, coach Sean Hurley could not fault the effort.
Hurley’s team has battled for player numbers this season and again it prompted a unique backline reshuffle on Saturday.
Brenton Howden, who has just been signed by the Stags as a loose forward and lock, started the game at centre, while backup hooker Garth Deveroux also lined up with him in the midfield.
Making the assignment that bit more tricky was the fact that opposite them was a potential Stags midfield pairing in Aleki Morris and Ormond. However, Howden and Deveroux did a good job in the difficult circumstances.
Woodlands heads into the final round knowing a home semifinal is sorted, but the Barbarians now need to topple top-of-the-table Marist next week and also hope Star does them a favour by beating Pirates-Old Boys.
Blues are locked in third spot on the competition standings with a 22-11 win over Pirates-Old Boys.
Pirates-Old Boys opened the scoring before Blues took charge in the all-important win.
Not surprisingly, coach Mark Crosbie was delighted with his team’s showing.
"We played pretty well. [Pirates-Old Boys] have got a very sharp backline so I thought our backs did a really good job."
Experienced forwards Sam Winsloe and Michael Peterson were key figures in the win, while young pivot Mitch Taylor again impressed.
Lock Ray Tatafu returned to action for Blues on Saturday after an injury lay-off.
Although they do still have a couple of injury concerns: No8 Bill Fukofuka is unlikely to be back for the remainder of the club season and halfback Jay Renton is carrying a hamstring injury.
Marist picked up a bonus-point 32-17 win over Star in the third premier game on Saturday to ensure the defending champion slots back into pole position as outright leader in the competition standings.
Marist raced out to a 12-0 lead before Star was able to strike back.
It remained 12-5 for much of the first half but a Marist try close to halftime was a telling blow, taking the halftime score to 19-7.
Although Star’s semifinal aspirations were already over, it did show some endeavour on attack and spirit in defence, but Marist was too good in the wash-up, winning 32-17.
- Logan Savory
