The mind games are in full swing.
Southland Boys’ coach Jason Dermody is holding on a little too firmly to the underdog tag before the Otago Schools Rugby Championship final against John McGlashan at Forsyth Barr Stadium tomorrow.
This is the team that had one hand on the ODT Cup last year until Otago Boys’ first five Finn Hurley wobbled over a late drop goal to clinch a 26-24 win.
John McGlashan coach Russell Lundy was also doing his best to release the pressure valve. Johnnies are unbeaten this season.
"We’re unbeaten but we are certainly not unbeatable," Lundy said.
"If Jason is talking his chances down then he is obviously playing a game.
"They have been really strong all year.
"We had a close win against them in Invercargill and a very close win against them at McGlashan, so there is nothing in it."
Johnnies edged King’s 22-15 in the semifinal. As a dress rehearsal goes, it could have gone better.
"When I look back at the game, we weren’t allowed to play the way we wanted to play the game," Lundy said.
"King’s did an awesome job and we didn’t adapt well.
"We’ve got away with playing a particular style of footy most of the year, which has been really successful for us. But when that came unstuck a bit on Saturday, we did not react as well as we might have."
Johnnies will lean on loosehead prop Charles Engelbrecht and locking duo Mitch Morton and Zackary Cleaver-Donovan to get some go-forward.
Out wide, second five Josh Whaanga attracts a lot of defensive attention which provides players such as Jack Timu a bit more space.
No 8 Phoenix Abbott has a big ticker and is another player to watch.
"We had an expectation of where we wanted to get to and the guys have worked tremendously hard to get to the final. But we don’t feel like making the final is enough."
Dermody is hoping for a better outcome than last year’s heartbreaking defeat. But he was also keen to pile a little more pressure on Johnnies.
"They are unbeaten this year and they are a good side right across the board, so they are the team to beat," Dermody said.
"McGlashan have beaten us twice quite easily, so we’ll have to step up against them."
Actually, both games were tight. That quote might be aimed at his players — a little extra motivation, perhaps.
McGlashan beat Southland Boys’ 23-17 in Invercargill and 10-3 in Dunedin. Those results suggest the final will be another tightly contested affair.
The Southlanders beat Otago Boys’ 27-19 in the semifinal and have a well-balanced team
Captain Caleb Williams is a quality player and will slot in at centre. He is an elusive runner and gets off some wonderful offloads.
Hooker Rico Fisher is a combative player and always gets the ball across the gain line, and midfielder Richie Kuresa is a creative player and strong carrier.
He is making his way back from injury, so will start from the bench.
"All the pressure is on [Johnnies], really. They’ve got the team to go to the top four. We’ll just turn up and see how we go."
Pretty sure a lot more planning went into it than Dermody is letting on.
