The club was winless through the first three rounds of Southland’s premier club rugby competition this year, and was also coming off a 2017 season where it registered just one win.
It took on a Blues team on Saturday that seemed to be growing in confidence as many of its young players continue to find their way in the premier club rugby ranks.
When prop Ben Soper found an opening from a ruck close to the Pirates-Old Boys line to open the scoring, Blues looked set to take charge. Those opening exchanges, however, were it in terms of Blues dictating terms.Pirates-Old Boys scored two first-half tries itself to lead 10-5 at halftime. It then ran rampant in the second half to suggest the 2018 Pirates-Old Boys team looms as a genuine playoff threat.
It scored five second-half tries with three conversions as it pushed out to a commanding 41-12 win.
The first came from an intercept from left wing Corey Hoffman-Grey and two came from fullback Mike Molloy, who showed good skill to weave his way through the struggling Blues defence.
Openside flanker Wade McRae was immense in Pirates-Old Boys’ win, showing strength both with the ball in hand and in defence.
It was an encouraging sign after McRae took last season off as he battled with concussion symptoms.
The former Menzies College pupil made his mark while studying in Christchurch, where he was named the 2015 Christchurch club player of the year after helping Lincoln to the title.
He was part of the 2016 Stags squad before missing last season. McRae is now likely to come into contention again this year.
His loose forward partner Ben Keenan was also impressive on Saturday, producing plenty of key runs to get Pirates-Old Boys going forward.
While Pirates-Old Boys looked like a team possessed, Blues, on the other hand, looked frustrated as it struggled to get out of its own half. When it did get into an attacking position, it was probably guilty of shifting the ball sideways rather than being a bit more direct and going forward.
Veteran halfback Sam Muir was introduced late in the game and tried his best to spark Blues and was rewarded with a try.
Marist maintained its unbeaten record on Saturday with its fourth win on the trot, this time beating Star 19-0.
Star had won its first two games this season before being thumped by Woodlands and then losing in a rematch of the 2017 Galbraith Shield final against Marist.
While Marist sits top of the standings, Woodlands appears a real powerhouse in 2018, and that was again highlighted on Saturday, when it beat Eastern-Northern Barbarians 28-3.
- Logan Savory
Results
Round 4
Marist 19, Star 0; Woodlands 28, Eastern-Northern Barbarians 3; Pirates-Old Boys 41, Blues 12.