Southland Stags prop could be World Cup-bound
Injuries have struck the Tongan propping stocks with Latu called in for its test against Canada in Tonga on Tuesday.
Southland Stags prop Paula Latu has been called into the Tongan squad and could now line up in the Rugby World Cup starting in France next month.
Injuries have struck the Tongan propping stocks with Latu called in for its test against Canada in Tonga on Tuesday.
Latu has been named on the bench and may now be playing for a ticket to the World Cup.
Rugby Southland director of rugby Matt Saunders expected to find out later this week if Latu will head to the World Cup.
Saunders said it would be nice to have another Stags player involved in the World Cup, the other being All Blacks loosehead prop Ethan de Groot.
“We support him, we said; ‘you go and do what you’ve got to go’.”
Although it would come at a cost for the Stags, both in terms of playing resources and finances, given there is no compensation.
Latu has played 17 games for Southland across the 2021 and 2022 seasons and plays his club rugby for Woodlands.
If Latu is selected in the Tongan World Cup squad Saunders indicated they would probably need to look elsewhere to find a replacement tight-head prop to join Morgan Mitchell and Quinn Harrison-Jones in the Southland setup.
Although Saunders added NPC quality props were in limited supply at the moment, not just in Southland but nationwide.
Toyota Verblitz prop Shunsuke Asaoka has been training with the Stags, but it seems he is viewed as being not quite up to the mark at this point and will head back to Japan.
Ben Ruzich is the first-choice tight-head prop in the Southland Development team and the Stags decision-makers may take a closer look at him as an option.
Southland’s next assignment is a Ranfurly Shield challenge against Wellington in Wellington on Saturday.