Sav's Sidelines: Credit where credit is due
Sav's Sidelines - the weekly column that looks at all things Southland rugby, from the grassroots to the professional game.
This week’s Sav’s Sidelines column highlights how the Stags and Southland under-19 performances at the weekend were almost identical, he points out Southland rugby’s most versatile player, and provides some credit where credit is due around some improved promotion of the NPC.
There’s also an update on a couple of Stags returning from injury, and a look back at the 1994 Division 2 NPC final.
Credit where credit is due…
I’ve written a few opinion pieces in my time around the wish that New Zealand Rugby showed the NPC more love and in turn give it a better chance to thrive.
I had a relatively lengthy yarn with former Southland coach and now Northland coach Dale MacLeod who shares very similar views to me on the topic.
“NPC is pretty special; they’ve just got to believe in it and promote it more,” MacLeod said.
“I know NRL has got lots of money, but they promote their game. When you look at the NPC how hard do they promote that?
“Cost cutting here, cost cutting there, but hold on, you want people to watch your product, but you are not prepared to invest in it.
“If money is the excuse, get some people in who know how to run it then and promote the game.”
I agree with MacLeod, although it would be wrong if I didn’t point out a shining light in helping promote of the NPC this year.
Whoever runs the Bunnings Provincial Rugby social media accounts on behalf of New Zealand Rugby deserves some credit. The bar has certainly been lifted.
There’s been a significant step forward on that front whether it be the coordinated team naming content, unique stats, or game highlights.
Well done, it’s a good start.
Is Rico Fisher Southland’s most versatile rugby player?…
The correct answer is, yes.
Rico Fisher was initially a loose forward with the Southland Boys’ High School first XV before being transformed into a hooker where he impressed.
Following his school days he has continued playing in the front row for Kaikorai in Dunedin and played for hooker for the Southland Under-19 team in 2023.
However, the 2024 Southland Under-19 team is well-resourced in the hooking department, as well as the loose forwards for that matter.
So, the under-19 coaching group has come up with another plan for Fisher this season - they have used him as a winger.
Not surprisingly he has proved a bit of a handful on the wing given his explosive skillset. He played an important role on the left wing in Southland Under-19’s victory over Otago at Rugby Park on Saturday.
I did have a chuckle on Saturday when late in the game Fisher - from his wing - provided some frontrow binding advice before a scrum.
An Otago Country player - warming up ahead of the main game - scoffed and muttered; “you’re a winger”. He might not have realised the back story to Fisher.
Technically he’s a hooker playing on the wing so has earned his right to provide some frontrow input.
Time to unleash the speed…
The Stags have had some annoying injury setbacks through the first few weeks of the competition.
One of the more disappointing ones was wing Michael Manson who pulled his hamstring at training on the Thursday before round one against Otago.
It’s meant he has missed the first four games - a big blow given it appears the Stags decision-makers were keen to base a bit of their attack around Manson’s outright speed this season.
The good news is Manson could well be ready to go for this Saturday’s round five game against Wellington in Porirua.
Loose forward Hayden Michaels is also expected to make a timely return from an elbow injury on Saturday.
Dylan Nel, Sean Withy, and Semisi Tupou Taeiloa have been huge for the Stags through the first four games. Although it is unlikely Southland will just keep rolling the three of them out week-in-week out, particularly with a storm week still to come.
Nel has been particularly banged up. It wouldn’t be surprising if Leroy Ferguson got a start against Wellington and Michaels made his return via the bench against Wellington.
Southland Uunder-19 team follows Stags blueprint…
Less than 24 hours after the Stags mounted a remarkable comeback from 26-7 down at halftime, Southland Under-19 replicated it - almost identically.
Southland Under-19 found itself 26-7 down at halftime in its showdown against Otago at Rugby Park before delivering a comeback that probably toppled the Stags in terms of drama.
Otago dominated the first half before the momentum swung Southland’s way and the Scott Eade-coached Southland team found itself within striking distance at 26-24.
Although when Otago scored with 10 minutes to play to push the margin out to eight at 33-24 it felt like Southland U19’s attempt to repeat the Stags’ heroics might be a stretch too far.
Enter Ethan Dudin.
The replacement winger who plays his club rugby for Ohai-Nightcaps-Otautau in the Division 2 competition.
He scored with four minutes to play to bring the scoreline to 33-31.
Then with time up in the game, Dudin was delivered the ball 30m out on the right wing on the grandstand side of the field.
In the 83rd minute he went about brushing off three Otago defenders to score a special matchwinner.
It’s a huge result for Rugby Southland’s development pathway which is making some big strides under Scott Eade’s watch.
There are some players in the Southland U19 setup that seem certain to be future Stags.
Powerful second five-eighth Tayne Harvey is the most obvious one. He will probably be the first of them to play NPC rugby.
His 2023 New Zealand Secondary Schools team mate Shaun Kempton is another with plenty of promise, as is flanker Gregor Rutledge.
But whatever this group of Southland U19 rugby players go on to do they can look back on August 31, 2024 fondly.
Blast from the Past…
Last week we took a trip down memory lane with the highlights of the 1994 NPC Division 2 semifinal when Southland beat Northland in Whangarei.
It appears quite a few people enjoyed that, so I thought I better follow it up with the highlights of the 1994 Division 2 final when Southland hosted Hawke’s Bay in Invercargill.
Scott Eade needs a massive pay rise. He has now setup a pathway much like the Melbourne storm. We won’t really taste the fruits of this for a couple of years but we are going in the right direction. Big ups to Scott and the rugby Southland squad
Re Rico story, it should be mentioned that his athletics training contributed significantly to his strength and speed and the influence if Chris Knight, his atlhetics coach