The Southland Club Rugby season kicked off on Saturday afternoon with three scratchy games in the premier division.
The Eastern Northern Barbarians got away with a 7-6 win over Woodlands, glad to bag a win away from home.
The Woodlands field was in pristine condition but the constant drizzle made ball-handling difficult.
Barbarians coach AJ Aitken said it was "a bludger" of a game to watch.
"Woodlands deserved to win. We only played 10 minutes of good footy, our defence was good but it very much felt like a preseason game."
Woodlands led 6-0 at halftime and held that margin until the 73rd minute, when the Barbarians scored a converted try.
Woodlands was on attack for the last five minutes, stringing together multiple phases. The desperate Barbarian defence conceded a penalty but the Woodlands kick for goal missed.
Dylan Winsloe, from the Vikings Club, ran and tackled hard on the right wing for the Baabaas. Fullback Taylor Peterson also impressed.
Young lock Harrison Morton had a good competition debut, while replacement Banuve Dretiverata had a high work rate from the left wing. Liam McFaul also had a good last 30 minutes at halfback.
Captain Liam Howley was full of energy and his kicking game from halfback kept the pressure on the Barbarians.
In a replay of last year’s final, defending champions Star hosted Pirates Old Boys at Waverley Park, the visitors coming away with the win.
Star started with the wind at their backs in the first half and restricted the visitors to one converted try in the first half.
Pirates Old Boys scored twice in the 20 minutes after halftime including one from a neat chip kick from Jaye Thompson that was scooped up by Greg Dyer to score beside the posts.
Loose forwards Ben Keenan, Hayden Hegarty and Dusty Coveny were good in the pack for Pirates Old Boys.
Marist beat Blues 24-21 at Balmoral Drive. Blues were leading 21-17 with five minutes remaining when young Marist prop Faybian Shore scored a try on debut.
In the closing stages Blues turned down a kickable shot at goal and instead aimed to score a match-winning try. Marist was able to hold them out.
Other grades will start on April 5.
By John Langford
