Progress pleases development coach

Southland and Southland Development players contest a lineout during the "Game of three halves"...
Southland and Southland Development players contest a lineout during the "Game of three halves" in Te Anau in July. PHOTO: ALISON CROSSAN
The Southland Development Rugby team kicked off their campaign straight after the club season.

A lot of work led by Scott Eade was put into creating a meaningful campaign that consisted of seven fixtures over an eight-week period.

Coaches Mike McKenzie and Ben McHugh assembled a 32-man squad with a good mix of youth and experience, led by backline players such as Keanu Kahukura and Tauasosi Tuimavave.

McKenzie said it could be a challenge being a feeder team to the NPC side but his players understood their roles and embraced the opportunity to play at a higher level.

The season kicked off with the "Game of three halves" in Te Anau.

The first 40 was against the Stags and the team won the physicality battle for the first 20 minutes.

The inability to exit their red zone was punished by an effective Stags set piece.

After that 31-7 loss the boys beat North Otago 26-19 in the final 40 minutes.

The following weekend Southland showed their attacking skills in excellent conditions in Oamaru to beat Mid Canterbury 43-10.

Next was a night game against Southland Country. A traditionally dry track at Limehills was anything but after an afternoon downpour.

The Development side had 11 Stags squad members in their team and got out to a 33-0 lead at the break. You could not tell the teams’ muddy jerseys apart in the second half and Country reduced the margin to 33-7.

Otago Development team were next on an excellent pitch at University Oval. Both sides featured six players from their respective NPC sides. Attack dominated defence, with Southland going to the oranges with a slight advantage.

Otago had the better of the second half and with time almost up, they scored in the corner to claim victory.

The team made a 10-hour bus trip to Christchurch to play Canterbury Development. Canterbury punished Southland’s mistakes to head into the sheds 26-5 up. Southland was probably the better of the sides in the second half but lost 47-26.

The team let themselves down in the penultimate game against Otago Country in Queenstown. Southland dominated all facets of the game but were not clinical when it mattered. Inside the final minutes the locals scored to take a gritty 29-26 victory.

The final game was a return fixture with Otago Development at the Les George Oval.

Played in scorching conditions, Southland held a 14-7 lead at halftime but faded over the closing stages, leaking a couple of late tries to give Otago a flattering 33-14 victory.

McKenzie gave the campaign a pass mark; the team illustrated its attacking prowess, though discipline and inability at times to exit the danger zone proved the achilles heel.

A number of players enhanced their reputations; 2m-tall lock Woody Kirkwood was a workhorse in every fixture. McKenzie said he was a player with the ability to play at the next level.

The Henderson brothers were strong contributors. Openside flanker Nick, as captain, led from the front. Jayden became renowned for his impact off the bench into the front row.

Wing Hughan Sharp grew in confidence across the campaign, impressing with his work rate, accuracy and finishing ability.

With this exposure McKenzie hopes the players take this experience back into their club environments in 2024 which can only be positive as Rugby Southland tries to lift the quality of the club game.

 - By John Langford