Michael Robinson kicked three penalties and two conversions in Wyndham’s 2026 Division One grand final win over Edendale.
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The impressive stats continue to pile up for the Wyndham Rugby Club.
Wyndham has made it a three-peat in Southland’s Division One club rugby competition, and fittingly capped off a year that saw the proud club celebrate its 125th jubilee.
Wyndham beat Edendale – its neighbouring town and arch-rivals – 28-25 in Saturday’s final played at Wyndham.
The win also ensured Wyndham has now gone two straight seasons without a loss in the Division One competition.
Remarkably, Wyndham has been in every Division One final since 2014, barring 2020, with Edendale its opponents in five of those finals.
Saturday’s victory saw Wyndham etch its name on the Ack Soper Shield for a third straight year, and it was its sixth title since 2016.
Although, as is always the case, Edendale made Wyndham work for its latest title on Saturday.
It took the boot of first five-eighth Michael Robinson to separate the two teams.
Wyndham and Edendale scored three tries apiece, with tight-head prop Andrew Howe scoring a double for Wyndham.
Robinson finished with a 10-point haul with the boot, which included two conversions and three penalties.
Star also made it a three-peat on Saturday, beating Pioneer 27-22 in a tight Southland premier women’s final at the Les George Oval.
The victory also saw Star become the first team to win the new Makere Cup, which is now up for grabs for Southland’s premier women’s winner.
Rugby Southland established the Cup in honour of Makere Evelyn Te Awhe, recognising her outstanding contribution to women’s rugby, Māori rugby, and the wider Southland community.
Makere was deeply respected throughout Bluff and across Southland for both her presence on and off the rugby field.
After 25 years without a senior women’s team, Star rejoined the competition in 2024 and has now won three titles in a row.
Saturday’s victory was a tight struggle with Pioneer, who has been impressive in 2026, in the contest right through to the final whistle.
While Star has won three straight, the 2026 team was very much a new-look side with a lot of new players.
“I’m really proud of my girls,” Star captain Klah Talamahina said after the game.
“We’ve been working for this all year. We’ve had a hard year with so many new girls.”
Despite the loss in the final, Pioneer captain Mollie Lyders was rightly proud of what her team delivered in 2026.
“We gave it our all out there; I don’t think we could have done any more. So proud of how far we have come over the past few years, and this is just the start for us.
“We will be back here next year,” Lyders said.
The victorious Star women’s rugby team.
Central Pirates couldn’t back up its heroic efforts from seven days earlier when they made the trip to take on Mossburn in the Division Two club final on Saturday.
Central Pirates had delivered arguably Southland club rugby’s biggest ever upset when it beat the red-hot unbeaten Midlands in extra-time in one semifinal.
But Mossburn ensured there was no sort of ambush seven days later when they took charge in Saturday’s decider, winning 39-13 to claim the CJ Soper Cup.
Mossburn scored seven tries to one in a relatively dominant display led by former Stags hooker Ryan Carter, who captained the team and scored two tries.
First five-eighth Brodie Hume also bagged a couple of tries.
In the Division Three final on Saturday, Drummond-Limehills-Star claimed the Gerald Dermody Trophy with a 32-22 victory over.
It’s been a big year for the club with Limehills celebrating 100 years this year. The Division Three title capped it all off.
In the President’s grade, Waikaia continued its unbeaten season, beating Mataura 25-5 in Saturday’s final at Waikaia.
The Division Three winning Mossburn team.