Antlers up: The Highlanders lock who chose the Stags
“I heard that it was a good team culture, and I just wanted to come down here for a bit of a change.”
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In recent years it hasn’t been the easiest of tasks prying an established Super Rugby player from another province and convincing them to give the Stags a shot.
Although during the offseason Rugby Southland director of rugby and Stags coach Matt Saunders managed to do it twice.
He convinced Highlanders loose forward Sean Withy to return home to Southland and following that had a chat with Highlanders lock Mitchell Dunshea who also agreed to give the Stags a shot.
Prior to signing with Southland, Dunshea had played 55 games for Canterbury since making his provincial debut in 2015.
“I pretty much met Panel [Saunders] and had a bit of a yarn and got talking about what I wanted to do and where I was heading, and he suggested for me to come down. There was an opportunity to play some footy down here and bits and pieces,” Dunshea told The Tribune.
“I heard that it was a good team culture, and I just wanted to come down here for a bit of a change.”
There have been some added bonuses for the 28-year-old in choosing Southland.
“I definitely enjoy getting out fishing and hunting so there has been a fair bit of that going on in the first couple of weeks [in Southland]. It’s been unreal.”
Linking with a new team has been a little smoother for Dunshea given the Highlanders connections within the Stags squad. It includes his good mate Sean Withy who he is living with during his time in Southland.
“It was a pretty easy transition to come down and easy to get involved in the team, especially knowing the boys that are in the Highlanders.”
So, what does the 2015 New Zealand Under-20 player want from the 2024 NPC season with the Stags?
“For us, this year we want to really inspire the community, I guess. But I think we’ve got a pretty good squad this year and we want to put ourselves in with a chance to be in the playoffs.”
Dunshea is coming off a strong finish, personally, with the Highlanders in Super Rugby.
After missing a good chunk of the season through injury Dunshea started in all of the Highlanders’ final six games of the 2024 campaign, including the quarter-final against the Brumbies.
“I was a bit frustrated during the first half of the season not being able to play, obviously because I was injured. Once I did get out there it was a good team to be part of. We probably fell a bit short of what we wanted to, but it was enjoyable.”
Dunshea will be a key figure in the Stags forward pack this year with a significant workload ahead if he can stay injury-free.
With that in mind, the Stags decision-makers chose not to line him up in Southland’s first preseason game against Otago in Gore last week.
However, Dunshea will line up in a Stags jersey for the first time when Southland takes on Tasman in Christchurch on Friday in its second and final preseason hit out.
The Tasman team for Friday’s game includes All Blacks Will Jordan, Ethan Blackadder, David Havili, and Noah Hotham, in what will provide a good test for the Southland outfit.
Dunshea has joined Josh Bekhuis, Shneil Singh, and Woody Kirkwood as locking options in the 2024 Stags squad.
Although Kirkwood has a concerning injury cloud hovering over him.
Kirkwood impressed during the opening 40 minutes of the preseason game against Otago before having to leave the field with a knee injury.
As of late Tuesday, the Stags were still awaiting an MRI scan for Kirkwood but the outlook doesn’t look flash.
If Kirkwood is ruled out for an extended period it would be a cruel blow for the 25-year-old who has worked so hard to earn a contract with the Stags this year.
Kirkwood hails from Te Anau and in 2011 played for the Southland U65kg team alongside current All Black Ethan de Groot. He went to boarding school in Dunedin in Year 9 and ended up linking with the Otago academy system.
In 2019 he was loaned to North Otago for the Heartland Championship and was part of the 2019 Meads Cup winning campaign.
He then spent two years playing in Spain and Canada before returning to Southland last year and linked with the Gore-based Eastern-Northern Barbarians.
He lined up for Southland B and was named player for the year before setting his sights on the Stags in 2024.
When Kirkwood’s signing was announced Saunders said Kirkwood was an example of how tough it can be for fringe NPC players to juggle careers with what is required of them training-wise.
He has carried out his gym commitments in the morning before taking on a full day on the building site, before taking to the training field at night.
“He has made us pick him and it is a great story,” Saunders said at the time.
“He is a bit older, and he has come through the unconventional pathway. But we have to pick him because everything we’ve asked him to do, he’s done.”
Southland team to play Tasman in Christchurch:
Byron Smith, Viliami Fine, Isaac Te Tamaki, Matt Whaanga, Charlie Powell, Jake Strachan, Connor Collins, Semisi Tupou Ta’eiloa, Sean Withy, Blair Ryall, Josh Bekhuis, Mitch Dunshea, Morgan Mitchell, Jack Taylor, Joe Walsh.
Reserves; Nic Souchon, Jack Sexton, Hamdhan Tuipulotu, Akito Okui, Dylan Nel, Shneil Singh, Curtis Palmer, Lachie Albert, Angus Simmers, Tayne Harvey, Jason Robertson.