Spotlight on Southland Sport: Friday Edition
Plenty of sport to delve into in this week's Spotlight on Sport: Friday Edition. Enjoy the read.
Welcome to The Southland Tribune’s Spotlight on Sport: Friday Edition offering. We’ll be back again on Sunday with our “Sunday Special”.
That moment a coach's season 'flashes before your eyes'
Southern Steel coach Reinga Bloxham explains the moment in its preseason showdown against NSW Swifts that provided one of the biggest mental tests of her coaching career. [READ MORE HERE]
Our Tribune Super Rugby picks panel….
We’ve managed to assemble three of Southland rugby’s more astute rugby minds and have put them up against each as part of a picks panel for the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season starting tonight (Friday).
Scott Eade, Matt Saunders and Jason Rutledge need little introduction.
All three have played at the professional level but most importantly all three have been and continue to be key figures in Southland rugby.
This is how it will work. They’ll get five points for each correct winner and one bonus if they get the margin right.
At the end of the season the person with the most points will be our first picks panel winner and will get a prize of some sorts. It’ll probably involve me shouting them a pint at the Northern. Good luck lads.
All the best Derms…
Saturday will be somewhat a milestone day for Southland rugby. Clarke Dermody is the first Southlander to take on a full campaign as a head coach of the Highlanders.
Dermody attended Southland Boys’ High School, played 92 games for the Southland Stags, many of them as captain, and started his coaching career with the Stags as its scrum coach under David Henderson just on a decade ago.
The task ahead of him is a challenging one. I don’t think I’d be out of line to suggest the Highlanders are probably the least resourced in terms playing firepower compared to the other New Zealand teams.
But in Derms we trust. Just maybe Dermody’s rise to the top might help reconnect Southlanders to the Highlanders.
That and the fact the Highlanders are returning to play a game in Invercargill in March. Add in Ethan de Groot, Marty Banks, Scott Gregory and other Southland connections in the squad are we are starting to get there.
From the Archives…. (From selling tractors to head coach)
Clarke Dermody’s rise to Super Rugby head coach has been a relatively quick but impressive one. In July last year, I talked to Dermody, and some people close to him, about his journey to head coach for a story for The Southland Times/Stuff. (READ MORE HERE).
Enjoy Otautau golfers….
The Otautau Golf Club is this weekend celebrating 100 years.
About 140 people have registered for the celebrations which will include a get-together this evening (Friday), an ambrose golf tournament on the Saturday, followed by a meal at the Otautau Sports Centre, and barbecues and more social events on the Sunday.
The club was formed in 1923 and its nine-hole course was originally close to the Aparima River before the present site was bought in 1954.
At one point the club did go into recess around the time of World War II and a meeting was held in 1946 to reform it.
New Zealand harness racing’s Yearling Sale in Christchurch this week proved to be another successful one for Southland breeders John and Katrina Price.
Price Bloodstock sold five yearlings for an average price of $82,000 and an aggregate of $410,000.
Included in the Price Bloodstock’s sales was the top lot the three days with its Bettor’s Delight colt out of Hartofdixie brought on by Barry Purdon and Scott Phelan for $240,000.
Meanwhile, as far as action on course this weekend, the Wyndham Harness Racing Club is holding a two-day meeting at Cromwell.
Day one is today (Friday) with the first race starting at 3pm. Day two is scheduled for Sunday with the first race starting at 12 noon.
Anahera Wilson. The Southland Girls’ High School pupil was this week named as a non-travelling reserve for the New Zealand under-18 White Sox squad.
The Junior White Sox will attend the Top Gun Invitational Tournament in Kansas City in June with the tournament being touted as one of the big showcase tournaments in the USA.
Wilson is a talented young pitcher and comes from strong sporting pedigree. Her uncle is former professional rugby player, and current Stags coach, James Wilson.
The was more good news for Southland softball with Teremaia Johnson, Nikiah Rouse both named in the New Zealand under-16 wider training squad.
Kergouzou in the mix….
Southland’s Nick Kergouzou is part on the New Zealand men’s sprint team currently competing at the UCI Nations Cup in Jakarta.
The men’s combination of Kergozou, Aaron Gate, Campbell Stewart and George Jackson clocked a strong 3:50.382 in their qualifying run, which was a fraction faster than Denmark, the Olympic finalists and more than two seconds ahead of Australia and Great Britain.
The times were similar to those at the recent European Championships, with the kiwis locked on similar timings to Denmark, going through the opening 1000m in 1:02, and settling on 56sec for next two kilos, and closing fastest at 55s to be half a second quicker than the Danes.
Australia was third fastest and Great Britain fourth fastest, over two seconds back.
They will now take on Denmark, with the winner going directly to the gold medal ride.
(Out & About)
Southland District Rugby League’s senior club rugby competition has reached the crunch time of the season with semifinal action to be played on Saturday.
Both semifinals will be played at SDRL headquarters at Elles Rd in Invercargill. For what’s worth The Tribune is picking the Cowboys and Fiji Bati to progress to the decider the following Saturday.
(On The Couch)
Super Rugby Aupiki gets underway on Saturday with South Island team Matatū hosting the Blues in Dunedin and 4.45pm.
Southland’s Black Ferns connections Amy Rule and Amy du Plessis are both part of the Matatū. You’ll can catch the action on Sky Sport.
Get in touch….
If you have something you think is worth featuring in either our Friday or Sunday Spotlight on Sport editions, please get in touch. NOTE: Please provide as much detail as possible to help us collate everything at this end. Email logan@southlandtribune.com
In case you missed it….
Touch bliss: “Our team’s ability to work hard for each other was great. After the first couple of games we started to see the results and we knew that it was possible to get a good placing." (READ MORE).
