Southland U19 topple Otago rivals
After leading 21-12 at halftime at the Les George Oval the Richard Jones-coached Southland Under-19 team closed out the confidence-boosting 36-27 win over rivals Otago.
Southland Under-19 picked up a 36-27 victory over its Otago rugby counterparts on Saturday continuing its encouraging start to its 2023 campaign.
After leading 21-12 at halftime at the Les George Oval the Richard Jones-coached Southland Under-19 team closed out the confidence-boosting 36-27 win.
Saturday’s Otago scalp followed victories over Otago Country and North Otago Development in an encouraging sign for Southland rugby’s future prospects.
Jones was pleased with Saturday’s victory, although he did temper it a little pointing out that the real test will be this weekend when they again take on Otago when there are competition points at stake.
Southland, Otago, Tasman, and Canterbury U19 teams will square-off in the next couple of weeks in a South Island competition.
Given Southland doesn’t have the playing depth at the U19 level as the likes of Otago and Canterbury they are able to call on some Under-20 players to bolster numbers.
Southland has also been aided this year by Rugby Southland’s approach to include Dunedin-based Southlanders in its academy setup and in turn allow them to play for the Southland U19 team.
Hunter Fahey, Rico Fisher, and Caleb Williams have been studying and playing their club rugby in Dunedin this year, but all played pivotal roles in lifting their home province Southland to a victory on Saturday.
Fisher, a hooker, scored two tries.
Lock Hunter Areatii-Burgess was another standout in the win, as was No 8 Billy Andrew and first five-eighth Sean Howlett.
“We’ve got a pretty capable group this year, there’s some talent coming through which is great. It’s always good to get a win over Otago,” Jones said.
