All Black wing's Southland move confirmed
"My partner Kiri and her family are from the area, and making the provincial shift south definitely means more chances to spend time with them."
Rugby Southland has confirmed the signing of All Black wing Sevu Reece.
Reece has extended his contract with New Zealand Rugby and the Crusaders through to 2026 but has swapped his provincial ties from Tasman to Southland for the next two seasons.
“I’m excited to represent Southland and spend more time down there. My partner Kiri and her family are from the area, and making the provincial shift south definitely means more chances to spend time with them,” Reece Said.
“I’m also really looking forward to spending time with the passionate fans that I know we have across the Southland region.”
Rugby Southland’s Director of Rugby, Matt Saunders is enthusiastic about Reece's move.
“We are stoked to have a player the calibre of Sevu joining our squad, albeit in a non-playing capacity if All Blacks selection goes his way. We are looking forward to any time we get with Sevu in our environment, his energy and knowledge can only lift our squad.”
Rugby Southland board chair Murray Brown emphasized the strategic importance of Reece’s involvement.
“One of Rugby Southland's key strategic pillars is around community engagement. We see the opportunity with Sevu as a high-profile All Black to link with stakeholders, schools, and target the teenage bracket, which all sports have struggled to retain.
“Whatever time he has available to support the province will be extremely valuable. The ultimate would be seeing him in the Stags colours displaying his skills to all our fans. We are excited as an organisation to have Sevu involved with our game and sure we as a region will make this feel like his home.”