Barbarians finish best for good win

Vikings fullback Luke Grant eyes up the goal as he looks to add points to the Vikings score. PHOTOS: ELLA SCOTT-FLEMING

The Eastern Northern Barbarians had a 50-26 win against Marist at the Gore Showgrounds on Saturday.

The Barbarians fielded their strongest lineup of the year for this round four premier grade match.

Barbarians coach AJ Aitken said the Marist team was pretty good.

"It was try-for-try in the first half but we were clearly the better team in the second half," he said

The home team led 19-12 at the break and got stronger as the game wore on. Marist resorted to uncontested scrums after 60 minutes.

Barbarian wingers James Holland and Banuve Dretiverata impressed, as did Taylor Peterson in the 10 jersey. Reserve props Morgan Mitchell and Mykel Sleeman provided plenty of impact.

Tomorrow Barbarians will play Blues at Les George Oval at 7.30pm.

In the division one competition, the Waikaka Riversdale Vikings retained the Wallis and Speight’s Shields, beating Edendale 30-22 on Saturday.

Vikings started quickly with the forwards carrying the ball up strongly. Some slick blindside moves from their backline resulted in the Vikings getting out to a 22-10 lead at halftime.

Big Vikings No 8 Alex Peirce carries the Edendale defenders with him in the side’s match in Edendale on Saturday.

Edendale were spurred on by the big crowd on their club day and scored two high-quality tries to draw even at 22-22 with 15 minutes left to play.

The Vikings bench players brought some extra aggression into the game and earned more possession in the closing stages to finish best.

Viking lock forwards Logan McKee and Braden Falconer had big games, while right wing Fabrice Frei added some flair.

Edendale’s best player was first five-eighth Bram Fodie, while hooker Luke Muir put in a good performance on a day when he was presented with his 200-game blazer.

Wyndham centre Hayden Diack scored three of his team’s seven tries in their 41-24 win over Pioneer. Blindside Jaden Walsh was player of the day and front rower Snow Kingsbury also had a good day out on his home ground.

Albion earned a 38-12 win at the showgrounds against Te Anau, while Bluff beat Tokanui 29-24.

This week, Albion play Tokanui at the showgrounds at 7.30pm today, while Pioneer and Bluff are on the same field at the same time the following night. The Vikings host Te Anau tomorrow night in Waikaka, while Edendale will host Wyndham tomorrow at 7.30pm.

The division two games are also being played midweek, as are the three women’s games.

By John Langford