Rebels collapse to Southland: Strachan's rollercoaster 2024
“The talent within the squad is there, we’ve just got to be consistent throughout the year and the results will look after themselves.”
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The outlook appeared pretty bright for Jake Strachan in August last year.
After five seasons and 28 Super Rugby games with the Western Force Strachan decided to take up a deal with the Melbourne Rebels.
There was a fair bit of excitement attached to the move.
“I think the Rebels are building something special down in Melbourne,” Strachan said at the time of his signing.
“They’ve built a great squad with a strong coaching staff, so I’m looking forward to learning and growing my game and doing my job as best as I can for the team.”
For Strachan - and all of his fellow team mates for that matter - it came crashing down in January when the Rebels were placed into voluntary administration with over $22m in debt owing to creditors.
In May it was firmed up that the Rebels would be no longer beyond the 2024 Super Rugby season.
“It was tough, but all the off-field noise brought the boys closer together which also made it enjoyable. It was tough circumstances and I thought we did well considering,” Strachan told The Southland Tribune.
The Rebels ended up reaching the quarterfinals before being knocked out by the Hurricanes. Throughout that time the players - Strachan included - were contemplating their rugby futures.
The 27-year-old’s manager scoured the world for an opportunity with Southland one of the options that landed on the radar.
It’s understood the first five-eighth-cum-fullback did have a gig lined up in France but it fell through late in the piece.
The Stags then pounced with Strachan one of Southland’s final signings before the naming of its 2024 NPC squad this month.
Landing a Super Rugby quality back who could well slot in the all-important first five-eighth job was naturally appealing for the Stags coaching setup.
Strachan said he had followed the NPC closely from Australia over the years and was looking forward to getting to play in the New Zealand competition.
“My old man is from New Zealand so I’m excited to be here. He’s from Hastings. [NPC] is something I’ve always wanted to tick off, so I am excited to be here.”
Strachan played 10 games for the Rebels this year with five of those in the starting lineup and five from the bench.
He played a mixture of first five and fullback for the Rebels this year and said he is more than happy to slot in where needed in the Stags lineup.
“I guess at 10 you get your hands on the ball a bit more which is good, but wherever the team needs me I’ll play.”
Strachan joins youngsters Byron Smith and Kaea Nikora-Balloch, along with former Waikato, Bay of Plenty, and Counties player Jason Robertson as No 10 options.
As far as fullback options it appears to be relatively light in depth with Rory van Vugt and now Strachan the only obvious options in the main Stags squad.
Strachan isn’t 100% sure, at this point, where he will end up following the NPC campaign with the Stags.
“Not too sure yet, I’ve got to have a good NPC and we’ll see what happens,” he said.
The introduction to Southland this month could have been better for Strachan given he had a delayed flight getting to Invercargill and then when he did arrive, he picked up a bout of gastro on his first day in the south.
“It was a rough start, but the boys are awesome, and it is good to be here. It’s a great group and hopefully, we can do some good things this year.”
Strachan played the second half of the 33-24 preseason loss to Otago in Gore on Friday in what was the first hit out together as a group.
The Australian is happy with what he has seen in a short time with the Stags preparing for the NPC season opener against Otago in Invercargill on Saturday, August 10.
“The talent within the squad is there, we’ve just got to be consistent throughout the year and the results will look after themselves.”
The Stags will have their second and final preseason hit out against Tasman in Christchurch this Friday.
They are expected to take 26 players to Christchurch to play Tasman and are likely to name a close-to-first-choice lineup.