Team naming: Southland Stags draft in loosehead prop
Team naming: Southland Stags draft in loosehead prop
Jack Sexton is likely to be fast-tracked into the Stags 23 for Saturday’s game against Hawke’s Bay at Rugby Park in Invercargill.
Former New Zealand secondary schools prop Jack Sexton has joined the Southland Stags to help ease the loosehead propping concerns.
Sexton, 22, has been playing for Canterbury B this season while setting on the fringes of the Canterbury squad.
However, he is now in line to make a debut with the Southland Stags on Sunday.
The son of former Crusaders hooker Matt Sexton played for the Crusaders Development team earlier this year.
He represented New Zealand at secondary school level in 2019 in a national team that featured now Stags team mate Ben Strang.
Sexton will start from the bench in Saturday’s game against Hawke’s Bay at Rugby Park in Invercargill.
Rugby Southland director of rugby Matt Saunders said prop wasn’t a position that they could manufacture a replacement from within the squad. They also had to factor in safety matters when weighing up all the options they had available.
The Southland Stags propping stocks are being severely tested with two further loosehead props ruled out for the remainder of the season.
It was confirmed last week that the Stags’ first-choice loosehead prop Joe Walsh would miss the remainder of the season after picking up a calf injury against Counties.
Jonah Aiona replaced Walsh in the No 1 jersey for the Canterbury game and impressed through 40-odd minutes before picking up a hamstring injury. He had to be helped from the field.
He too will now miss the Stags remaining three 2023 games.
To add to the nightmare, fellow loosehead prop Shaun Stodart has also been ruled out for the remainder of the NPC campaign.
Stodart was named on the bench for the Canterbury game but injured his hamstring at the captain’s run in Invercargill on Saturday, before the team departed for Christchurch.
It meant Dunedin-based Hunter Fahey was sent an SOS to make the trip to Invercargill to join the team for the flight to Christchurch.
The New Zealand under-20 prop was expected to spend some time training with the Stags this season but has now racked up three games from the bench.
Fahey will now start against Hawke’s Bay on Saturday on the back of the loosehead propping injuries.
In other notable changes for the Hawke’s Bay game, Greg Dyer gets a start at first five eighth, while Scott Gregory returns from injury and slot in at centre.
Rory van Vugt also comes in to start at fullback.
Saturday’s game against Hawke’s Bay will kick-off at 2.05pm.
SBS Bank Southland Stags team to play Hawke’s Bay.
1.Hunter Fahey
2.Jack Taylor
3.Morgan Mitchell
4.Mike Mckee – 50th Game
5.Josh Bekhuis ©
6.Hayden Michaels – Blazer game
7.Leroy Ferguson
8.Blair Ryall
9.Connor McLeod
10.Greg Dyer
11.Michael Manson
12.Tevita Latu – Blazer game
13.Scott Gregory
14.Viliami Fine
15.Rory Van Vugt (vc)
16.Nic Souchon
17.Jack Sexton - debut
18.Quinn Harrison-Jones
19.Danny Drake
20.Semisi Tupou Ta’eiloa
21.Jahvis Wallace
22.Dan Hollinshead
23.Angus Simmers
Congratulations to Mike McKee who brings up his 50th game, Hayden Michaels and Tevita Latu who earn their Blazers and Jack Sexton who is making his debut.