Focus starts to switch to what's needed in 2025
“There are some that won’t return, but the ones we want to return we will be working really hard."
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With the full stop dotted on the Stags’ 2024 NPC season, like always the focus now switches to ensuring some sort of continuity for 2025.
Although Rugby Southland director of rugby and Stags coach Matt Saunders says that won’t halt them from making tough decisions around cutting some players in a quest for improvement next year.
The Stags finished their 2024 campaign with a three-win-seven loss record - up on the one victory in 2023.
The players reviewed the coaching and management group last week via a questionnaire and this week the coaching group has spent time carrying out their reviews with the players.
“We need the reviews because we need to be better. It was probably a par season, three wins,” Saunders said.
“Five wins was probably where we needed to be for playoffs, so we’ve done okay but by no means is anyone real satisfied with where we are at.
“We can’t be, or else we’ll just be the same as we have been for the last 10 years. A 30 percent win rate is not good enough we need to be 50, 60, 70.
“It is going to be hard to be table toppers with the programme that we run and budgets but something good is happening here.”
Saunders said the quest is to retain a decent number of the current squad, but he added there will be some player turnover, and that will include not re-signing some players.
“The aim will be to keep a core of the coaching crew, management, and playing group.
“There are some that won’t return, but the ones we want to return we will be working really hard.
“We’ve just got to keep working hard and pick everyone we can at club level, but you’ve got to be good enough.
“Some guys that were close - and I won’t mention names - they trained with us, and they just clearly weren’t up to it so you couldn’t put them on the park.”
There are some positions where Southland will need to go on the hunt for to find new talent to bolster their 2025 prospects.
Byron Smith is set to return in 2025, and Saunders said while he was still learning he was encouraged by parts of Smith’s game this year.
But first five-eighth appears to be an area Southland will again need to look at all possible options to improve in 2025.
Otago first five-eighth Cameron Millar was the obvious target, given he hails from Gore. But it’s understood Millar has decided to stick with Otago.
Otago fullback Finn Hurley and loose forward Will Stodart - who also hail from Southland - were other possible targets but it seems they will also remain with Otago.
Highlanders lock Mitchell Dunshea was a key off-season signing, but even with him on the books lock is also likely an area that the Stags will need to find some additional resourcing for 2025.
Quality locks are hard to come by right throughout the country though.
As solid and reliable as Rory van Vugt has been for the Stags over a number of years, Southland could probably do with a strike fullback to further improve their attack in 2025.
Where these new players will come from is the key question.
The Stags environment, and word and mouth from fellow players, are probably Southland’s best chance to lure more established Super Rugby talent south.
That was the case with Dunshea, with the likes of his Highlanders team mates Jack Taylor and Sean Withy playing key roles in his signing.
The Stags have had some success in recent seasons around unearthing some good NPC players who struggled to get a provincial opportunity elsewhere. Think Jack Sexton, Blair Ryall, and Faletoi Peni as key examples.
Although the depth of quality players across the board doesn’t appear to be as strong as it once was. It probably makes it a touch harder to unearth a star from, say, Canterbury B or Auckland B.
It probably has shown with more teams in 2024 looking at Australia, and even the UK, to try to bolster their squads.
Of course the most important factor to bolstering the playing group in future season will be the progress of players within Rugby Southland’s academy system.
Saunders was excited by the crop of young players coming through the Southland system which was encouraging for the future.
But the fruits of the impressive work being carried out by Rugby Southland pathways manager Scott Eade may still take a bit of time to transfer into an impact at NPC level.
That crop includes Tayne Harvey, Josh Augustine, Gregor Rutledge, and Shaun Kempton who were part of the Southland under-19 team this year.
Harvey came off the bench and played on the wing in the final three games of the Stags’ 2024 NPC campaign.
“We probably went a bit early on Tayne [Harvey] just because of necessity, and he fronted up really well,” Saunders said.
“There is a hell of a player there. He’s got a lot to learn because he’s only 19 and is first year out of school. This time last year he was probably doing exams or something and [on Saturday] he was marking Mark Tele’a or Kade Banks.”
Saunders acknowledged the “drums were beating” throughout the season from Stags fans for them to throw first five-eighth Kaea Nikora Balloch an opportunity.
He said Nikora Balloch had injury problems throughout the season, and they simply wanted to make sure he was ready before putting him in at NPC level.
Nikora Balloch ended up making his Stags debut in the final game of the season when he came off the bench against North Harbour with 20 minutes to play.
“You want them to succeed when they get a chance, and I thought Kaea was awesome [on Saturday].
“Hopefully he can get a full club season in next year at first five and he will grow. That wee taste will be good for him. I think we’ve handled him well and he’s ready to go now.”
Saunders has just completed his first season coaching at NPC level after adding that role to his director of rugby position at Rugby Southland.
He joined James Wilson as co-coaches for the 2024 season.
“I get frustrated. It’s probably like the fans,” Saunders said when asking how he has found taking on the coaching duties.
“The boys got sick of me saying we are close. We done some reviews during the week and there were a few comments that they were sick of hearing we were close.
“We were, we just weren’t quite good enough at the back end to get a couple of those victories to be a play-off team.
“But it is rewarding to see stuff like that [North Harbour] win, and I just get a kick out of seeing players like Semisi [Tupou Ta’eiloa] and that, and Jack Sexton and some of these young fellas.
“I’m only here to try and grow and get us back to somewhere good. I’m not here for personal gain, I just want us to go well.
“We’ve improved but it’s not finished yet by any means.”