Stags boost: de Groot to play, Reece to run water
All Blacks Ethan de Groot and Sevu Reece will both join the Stags group on Thursday with de Groot to play on Saturday and Reece to run some water.
The lowdown:
All Black prop Ethan de Groot will play for the Stags on Saturday.
All Black wing Sevu Reece has joined the Stags in Invercargill but won’t play.
All Black wing Mark Tele’a is expected to line up for North Harbour against Southland.
Pirates-Old Boys first five-eighth Kaea Nikora Balloch is in line for a Stags debut on Saturday.
Isaac Te Tamaki will play his 50th game for Southland against North Harbour.
Rugby Park has been renamed Bekhuis Park for the week in honour of Josh Bekhuis who will become Southland’s most-capped player.
All Black loosehead prop Ethan de Groot will make his second Southland Stags appearance in 2024 when he lines up at Bekhuis Park in Invercargill on Saturday.
Southland coach Matt Saunders confirmed the All Blacks management has given de Groot the greenlight to play for his beloved Stags against North Harbour in Southland’s final game of the 2024 NPC season.
de Groot will link with the Stags for training on Thursday, as will All Blacks wing Sevu Reece who flew into Invercargill on Wednesday afternoon.
However, Reece hasn’t been given clearance to play but will run the water for the Stags at Bekhuis Park in Invercargill.
Saunders was keen to get Reece involved in a playing capacity but added the next best result was to have him within the setup to mix with the group and the Southland public.
“He’s in [with the team on Thursday] and he’ll be there on Saturday. He’s been keen to get down so that’s real cool and you saw the antlers up from him in the weekend, so he’s bought in.”
de Groot’s presence in the frontrow will be a significant boost upfront as Southland looks to put in a good performance.
He played for the Stags earlier in the season against Canterbury at Rugby Park and was a real presence in his 50 minutes on the park.
On the flipside, North Harbour will also likely call on some All Black firepower with wing Mark Tele’a expected to be named in the North Harbour team when it’s announced on Thursday afternoon.
There are plenty of other noteworthy elements attached to Saturday’s game including the fact Rugby Park has been named Bekhuis Park for the week in honour of Josh Bekhuis who will become Southland’s most-capped player with his 144th appearance.
Isaac Te Tamaki will also play his 50th game for the Stags on Saturday, while his Pirates-Old Boys team mate Kaea Nikora Balloch will potentially make his Stags debut from the bench.
Saunders said there were plenty of reasons for people to get along to Bekhuis Park on Saturday and the team was determined to put in a good performance.
“We are not short of motivation,” he said.
“I’m sick of sugar-coating it. We have to win this game to show the respect to those guys, Josh [Bekhuis] and Isaac [Te Tamaki].”
Saturday’s game between Southland and North Harbour will kick-off at 4.35pm.