Club Rugby: Manson lights up Southland competition with sheer pace
Michael Manson has delivered one of the most impressive individual club rugby performances in a beaten cause on Saturday.
Logan Savory wraps up round 11 of Southland’s club rugby competition which included a stunning individual performance in a beaten cause, a disappointing default, and a try-fest at Waverley Park in Invercargill.
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Michael Manson has delivered one of the most impressive individual club rugby performances in a beaten cause on Saturday.
The electric winger scored four sublime tries in Blues’ 35-25 loss to the top-of-the-table Eastern-Northern Barbarians in Invercargill.
He scored two first half tries, and another two in the second half and also played a lead role in Blues’ fifth try on the day.
Barbarians coach Bretton Taylor wasn’t about to pick apart his team’s possible failures in defence, he instead lumped all the praise on Manson for what he produced.
“Just the pace, it was pure speed. You don’t see too many guys in club rugby that quick,” Taylor said.
“You can’t really blame our defence; it was just extreme pace. He’s got that chip and chase sort of mastered as well. Once he kicks it over their head and they turn they can’t get anywhere near him.
“You can’t coach pace can you? I’ve certainly never been at ground level watching a player like that, it’s just burning speed, and it’s off the mark as well.”
Manson’s four try haul on Saturday wasn’t a once off during the 2023 club season either. He scored five tries earlier in the campaign against Midlands and his season total sits at 17 tries.
The 22-year-old is a former sprinter on the athletics track who has transferred his speed to the rugby field.
He made the the New Zealand secondary schools team and had a taste of provincial rugby with Otago.
He played two games off the bench for Otago in 2021 before joining the Southland Stags in 2022.
Manson showed a glimpse of his ability at NPC level last season but missed a chunk of the season with concussion issues.
There’s a feeling if he can continue his improvements defensively Manson could be a real asset for the Stags in 2023.
While Manson has been a shining light in the 2023 club season, he hasn’t had enough support around him to ensure Blues can be a threat in the competition.
While Manson was blitzing the Barbarians on the outside on Saturday the Barbarians took charge of the game upfront.
All five of their tries came from their dominant forward pack. Included was two second half penalty tries from the Barbarians’ scrum dominance.
Prop Tom Scanlan played a key role in that when he came on at halftime.
Another standout in the impressive Barbarians’ forward pack was openside flanker Leroy Ferguson.
Midlands coach Brendan Dennis says as a coach he had to put the safety of his players first when making the tough call to default its premier showdown against Pirates-Old Boys on Saturday.
Despite sitting at the bottom of the table Midlands has been somewhat a success story in 2023 with the improvement they have shown in the premier ranks which was highlight through its upset victory over Star earlier in the season.
However, their injury toll has been growing and Dennis said they had 14 players sidelined for Saturday’s game.
“The last straw was our third hooker getting Covid. We got a message on the way to training on Thursday that he had tested positive for Covid,” Dennis said.
“We already had two hookers out with injury, one with ribs and one with a shoulder injury.”
Given they were stretched in the frontrow stocks Dennis said he did not want to throw anyone into the frontrow just to avoid having to default.
“We weren’t going to be able to field a scrum on Saturday. As a coach you’ve got to take a bit of responsibility about making sure these guys are safe at that higher level.”
Dennis said the good news is they are expecting some players back from injury and he is confident they will front for the next outing against Blues on June 10.
Saturday’s default was a blow for the Pirates-Old Boys club which was hosting its ‘Club Day’ at Surrey Park.
The club’s premier squad instead had an internal hit out as a bit of a training exercise.
Woodlands all but slammed the door shut on Star’s slim 2023 playoff hopes when it racked up a 48-31 victory in the game played at Waverly Park in Invercargill on Saturday.
Woodlands’ bonus point victory keeps them in second-place in the standings.
They sit five points behind the unbeaten Barbarians and five points ahead of Pirates-Old Boys who is third.
Marist sit in the all-important fourth spot, 12 competition points ahead of Star.
Marist need just one win from its remaining three games to make certain of its playoff spot.
Woodlands did the damage early on Saturday against Star when it raced out to a 22-7 lead during the first 20 minutes or so, through tries to Josh Evans, Joe Walsh, Sean Howlet, and Marty McKenzie.
That lead was extended to 29-7 at halftime through Woodlands’ fifth try, this time to powerful wing Viliame Fine.
It felt like a simple case of how much Woodlands was going to win by rather than there being any threat of losing, that was until Star wing Hughan Sharp provided some hope for the home team.
The athletic Sharp showed good pace to gas Woodlands on the outside to score and backed that up with a good aerial effort when he latched onto a cross kick to score.
All of a sudden Star found itself down by just 10 at 36-26 and with some momentum.
However, a second try to Walsh and a double from loose forward Blair Ryall put the game to bed for Woodlands late in the second half.
Ryall was a standout for Woodlands, while Sharp and hooker Kaya Symon were both good in a losing cause.
Division One
Wyndham 46, Drummond-Limehills-Star 32
Waikaka/Riversdale 39, Albion 19
Edendale 52, Te Anau 26
Tokanui 25, Pioneer 14
Division Two
(C J Soper Memorial)
Mossburn 59, Pioneer 13
Bluff 17, Riverton 15
Waikiwi 36, Bush Pirates 5
Waiau Star 53, Ohai-Nightcaps-Otautau 29
(Life Members Trophy)
Star 25, Woodlands 12
Pirates-Old Boys 29, Midlands 15
Blues 27, Wakatipu 19
Senior Women
Marist 75, Blues 0
Pioneer won by default against Wakatipu
Presidents Cup
Balfour/Lumsden 24, Riverton 17
Waikaia 57, Wyndham 0
Presidents Trophy
Mataura 43, Collegiate 22
Waikiwi 29, Central Pirates 10
