Sav's Sidelines: Could propping depth be an area of Stags concern?
Sav's Sidelines - the weekly column that looks at Southland rugby, from the grassroots to the professional ranks.
This week’s Sav’s Sidelines column covers off plenty from the Stags through to a shout to those who have ensured Rugby Park is being utilised more in 2025.
Could propping depth be an area of concern for the Stags?…
There is a lot to like about the 2025 Stags squad, but one potential area of trepidation might be the depth in the propping stocks.
If we take All Black Ethan de Groot out of the equation, the Southland Stags don’t have any current fulltime contracted Super Rugby props.
There will be very few NPC teams without any Super Rugby representation in its propping stocks.
Loosehead Jack Sexton was part of the Highlanders wider squad this year and with a good NPC season he could change that for Southland next year.
The Stags have had a lot of injury troubles in the propping department in recent seasons and there have been questions raised whether that has something to do with having a group of props largely coming out of club rugby, rather than being accustomed to the rigors of professional rugby.
Paula Latu is an interesting returnee prop for the Stags.
Latu had been part of the Stags setup since 2021 but there initially wasn’t a lot of interest in re-signing the 29-year-old for the 2025 NPC season.
It was thought Sean Paranihi, who played last year for the Stags, was returning but that has since fallen through.
There are also some question marks, at this point, whether young rookie tight-head Liam McIntosh will be up to the rigors of NPC rugby.
It’s meant Latu is now all of sudden back into contention to add to his 19 Southland caps. He’s also back in time to try to help Woodlands to a Galbraith Shield title on Saturday.
In the off-season Latu picked up a gig playing for Dragons RFC in Wales.
You can’t doubt Latu’s commitment to the Stags given his sports a Stag tattoo on his right thigh.
McIntosh is preparing for his first NPC season and another Stags propping newbie is 30-year-old Jone Tiko.
Tiko played seven games for Fijian Drua in 2022 and 2023 and played two games for Tasman at NPC level last year.
They join Sexton, Hunter Fahey, and Morgan Mitchell who all return from last year, as other propping options.
Bravo, Rugby Park is being utilised…
Rugby Park has finally been getting the use that it should be, and that needs to be celebrated.
Over the past close to six years or so - in between covering sport - I’ve had my head buried in council meeting agendas covering Invercargill City Council happenings for different media outlets.
The matter of Rugby Park has been raised countless times around the council table. Most notably how much needs to be spent on the place and how much ratepayers would be willing to put into the region’s premier outdoor stadium facility.
I’ve watched on as members of the public, and some councillors, have questioned if further investment was warranted given Rugby Park, in most years, would host five Stags games, a club final, and the odd random other game. But not a heap else.
During my chats with Mayor Nobby Clark over the years he has enjoyed throwing a verbal jab my way labelling me a one-eyed rugby man.
Look, I have had a strong connection to the sport since I was in nappies, I’m not hiding from that.
But I also like to think I’m not completely blinded by that.
When members of the public, and some elected members, questioned why the council should pour money into Rugby Park, when in reality it had got so little use, that was hard not to agree with.
I saw the point they were making.
The gates at Rugby Park, during the past decade or so, remained locked more often than they were open on Saturdays during a rugby season.
It has dramatically changed in 2025, and it needs to be celebrated.
To date this year, rugby wise, there has been a Junior Rippa carnival (full day with 15+ schools), 16-plus teenage games, seven senior games, and five to six weeks of teenage girls Monday night rugby (12-plus games).
All in all, this year to date there has been over 40 games, not including the Stags’ five games and the two planned curtain raisers (Southland Country vs Otago Metro and one other).
Compare that to 2023 when there were five Stags games and two senior games, and that’s it at Rugby Park.
In 2024 there was just five Stags games due to Rugby Park not being available to use for much of the year.
The use Rugby Park is now getting needs to be acknowledged and celebrated.
In the past three weeks alone, I’ve watched my 15-year-old nephew play at Rugby Park, seen the Southland premier women’s final played at the venue, and on Saturday watched Pirates-Old Boys and Marist battle it out a premier men’s semifinal.
I’ll be back there this Saturday for the Galbraith Shield final.
The new council, following October’s election, will decide the future of Rugby Park.
That decision will be guided by a report being prepared by the council’s community spaces and places group manager Rex Capil.
There’s been suggestions a new boutique stadium - with maybe a 3000-4000 capacity - at Surrey Park might be a better long-term option.
My personal belief, as I wrote in February, is the sweet spot is probably an outdoor stadium that can cater for around 8000 people, maybe 10,000.
And the most cost-effective option for the community to achieve that is probably investing in what we already have at Rugby Park.
That 8000-10,000 will ensure the Stags continue to have a viable home and potentially continue to put Invercargill in contention for the odd higher-level fixture, like a Highlanders outing.
But in between that, like has been happening this year, Rugby Park needs to be well utilised at a community level to further justify the spend.
And of course it doesn’t need to be just rugby.
From the backs to the forwards, and back again…
Justin Shaw made a name for himself in 2023 when the then Year 13 pupil played a key role in helping the Southland Boys’ High School first XV win a national schools title.
He played No 8 that season after coaches Jason Dermody and Peter Skelt decided to convert him from a back into a forward.
He has since gone on to represent the Highlanders U20s as a looseforward and has been mentioned in dispatches as a potential Stags looseforward of the future.
Although in recent weeks Shaw has found himself back in the backline. He lined up on the right wing in Woodlands’ semifinal victory over the Barbarians on Saturday.
Woodlands are pretty well-served in the looseforwards, and at the same time there is a feeling the backline needed a bit of bolstering.
Hence Shaw’s move into the backline.
“He is a good footy player,” Woodlands coach Richard Jones said.
“He has got a massive boot and is quite fast and quite big, and can defend at one.”
Jones said if there is an injury in the looseforwards during the game Shaw could still move into the looseforward, providing Woodlands with some handy options.
“It is just something we have needed to do, and he has been really good around it because it is obviously not his preferred position. But he is saying he will do what is best for the team.”
