Anthony Ellis peeled away for a try he will never forget. The stalwart Buller hooker was determined to do everything he could to help his side upset North Otago in his 100th game. Ellis dotted down in the 66th minute for what ended up being the winner in Buller’s 22-21 victory over the Old Golds in Westport on Saturday. It was a giant upset — and Buller celebrated as if they had just won the Meads Cup — after they were pumped 89-26 by Thames Valley the week before. North Otago were far from their best and struggled to get their hands on the ball after leading 14-5 at halftime. It was a deflating result after they beat defending champions Mid Canterbury last week and controlled that game from the start. Buller had plenty to play for: pride after a wounding loss, Ellis and Miti Kalou reaching 100 games, and Joel Hands playing his 50th. The Old Golds had a perfect start. Winger Ben Paton slipped through a gap and found halfback Alfie Coop alone inside to give the visitors a 7-0 lead after eight minutes. Buller lock Caleb Havili made some strong carries. His side held the ball and shifted it wide for flanker Bryn Graham to finish in the corner. Old Golds captain Savenaca Rabaka never took a backwards step. He had some robust carries and was hard for the Buller defence to put down. The Old Golds maintained possession and crept closer to the line. They were rewarded through Rabaka in a well-earned try. Buller were down to 14 when Hands was sent to the bin, and they trailed 14-5 at the break. But they wasted little time getting on the board early in the second half. Playing under advantage, Buller threw caution to the wind and put on a little razzle-dazzle for their home fans. Havili, who was one of the best for Buller, brushed off the defence and scored under the posts. Buller became a brick wall on defence and North Otago had no answers to break through. North Otago coughed up their fair share of ball, took their foot off when they needed to be clinical and started to let Buller influence their game. The home side gained their first lead when Jack Parker showed his footwork to slip through and score. That gave Buller a 17-14 lead. Ellis added his try off the back of a rolling maul and it appeared Buller were going to keep the Old Golds scoreless in the second half. Centre Tyree Manaia scored late to close the gap to one. Thames Valley also had a surprising loss, falling 48-29 to King Country, while Mid Canterbury rebounded from their opening defeat to beat Wairarapa-Bush 29-19. Horowhenua-Kapiti beat Poverty Bay 29-12, South Canterbury thumped West Coast 85-10, and Whanganui beat East Coast 59-10. Heartland Championship The scores Buller 22 Bryn Graham, Caleb Havili, Jack Parker, Anthony Ellis tries; Jack Parker con North Otago 21 Alfie Coop, Savenaca Rabaka, Tyree Manaia tries; Rico Muliaina 2 con, Manaia con Halftime: North Otago 14-5.
