The six teams involved in Southland premier club rugby enjoyed a sunny and dry afternoon of games on Saturday.
Star took longer than expected to get on top of Marist at Miller St, but by the finish they had earned a 48-10 win.
Marist started strongly and were level on the scoreboard at 5-5 after 20 minutes. Marist looked good on attack but they could not turn their pressure into more points.
The crucial moment of the game came right on halftime when Star first five Byron Smith shot up the blindside and offloaded to winger Calder White to score in the corner to make it 17-5.
A dominant second half from Star blew the scoreline out to 36-5 after 60 minutes and 48-10 at fulltime.
Star coach Brayden Mitchell labelled it the best performance of the season from his team.
"We had seven or eight top players out injured and everybody that was remaining stood up. I’m really proud of the boys; it was a massive win for us."
Hughy Sharp did an outstanding job at fullback and Jordy Stewart was a beast at No 8. Loosehead prop Jack Sexon and hooker Kaya Symon were also quality performers for Star.
Marist centre Keanu Kahukuru was good in his comeback game from injury and fullback Scotty Eade again calmly directed his team around the field with his punting. Tighthead prop Hamdahn Tuipulotu was a destructive ball-carrier for the locals.
Pirates Old Boys had a 71-7 win over Blues at Balmoral Dr.
The combined side had the game under control at 24-0 after 20 minutes. First five Greg Dyer scored two of the tries to help build a 38-0 lead at halftime.
Centre Jaye Thompson cruised over for his second try, extending the lead to 52-0 with 20 minutes remaining.
Lock Anton Schroder’s second try was the last try of the afternoon.
The Eastern Northern Barbarians earned a 40-14 win over Woodlands at Les George Oval.
The Barbarians started well and led 7-0 after 20 minutes but squandered a couple of extra scoring opportunities.
They lost a man to the sin-bin at the end of the first half and Woodlands earned a penalty try to close the gap to 17-7.
The Barbarians had another player off to the sin-bin early in the second half and Woodlands scored another converted try. The combined side dug in on defence and gained some turnovers to get themselves clear of trouble.
Coach Bretton Taylor was pleased his team got to play on a dry track.
"We played with width; all five of our tries were scored on the edges."
Loose forwards Caine Taylor and Jacob Coghlan played well, as did lock Woody Kirkwood. First five Ben McCarthy and Gus Simmers were best of the backs. Morgy Mitchell, Leroy Ferguson and Vitali Roqica added impact off the bench.
— John Langford
