Saunders: 'The belief that will come from this will be huge'
Southland has beaten Otago 22-13 to spark absolute scenes at Rugby Park in Invercargill on Saturday.
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Southland 22 (Blair Ryall, Viliami Fine, Isaac Te Tamaki tries; Byron Smith 2 con, 1 pen), Otago 13 (Liam Coltman try; Cam Millar 1 con, 2 pen). HT: 10-6
Tribune MVP points: Sean Withy 3, Dylan Nel, 2, Viliami Fine 1.
Stags coach Matt Saunders admits there was a fleeting moment on Saturday when it felt like Otago was still going to find a way to win, despite clearly being the second-best team on the field.
Southland had turned in one of the most dominant 40 minutes of rugby seen by a Stags team in many years during the first half of its Stag Day showdown against Otago.
The first-half stats were remarkable.
Otago was forced to make 109 tackles to Southland’s 26. The Stags had 71% percent of possession and 65% of territory.
The problem is the scoreline didn’t match those stats. Southland led just 10-6.
The frustration on the back of that lack of reward would probably have upended Stags teams of the past.
But a corner might just have been turned. Southland closed out a 22-13 victory to claim the Donald Stuart Memorial Trophy for the first time since 2020.
“We did a good job [at halftime], and the boys did a good job, of acknowledging that we just need to keep doing what we were doing and win. We were clearly the better team, it felt like we were,” Saunders said about the dominant first half.
“Otago are a top team, and it felt like they were going to still find a way to win, but credit to the boys for keeping under control.
“It is just a real credit to our guys, especially when [Otago] fought back and got within two [15-13] then we buried them again. It’s great.
“The belief that will come from this will be huge.”
Saunders was proud of his players but just as pleased for the massive and passionate crowd that showed up at Rugby Park.
Many people have labelled the NPC as being dead, but no one has convinced the thousands of people who showed up for Stag Day that that is correct.
The scenes on the terraces after the game were something to savour and Saunders said the players loved that moment.
“It would have been such a shame if we couldn’t get a result. It was great to do it for the crowd. They helped us as well; you could feel it.”
Saunders started to mention players after the game who had impressed, before eventually he stopped to say everyone played their part.
There were heroes across the park for all different reasons.
There was a feeling heading into the 2024 NPC season that the Stags’ key strength would be its loose forward stocks. That on Saturday turned out to be 100% correct.
Sean Withy was the best player on the park, and No 8 Dylan Nel wasn’t far behind.
Twenty-year-old Semisi Tupou Ta’eiloa as expected was ruthless off the bench while Blair Ryall turned in a performance against the odds.
Saunders said Ryall had been “crook as a dog” and to get through 50 minutes as he did was a massive effort.
Wing Viliami Fine is in his third season with Stags, but Saturday might just have been his best yet in a marron jersey. While the Stags also unveiled a talent in the unexpected debutant in second five-eighth Faletoi Peni.
Yeah Peni was a surprise injection so early on having missed the initial squad, but ended up being one of Southland's best.