Southland will go bush for a couple of days.
It makes a change from pummelling each other.
Stags coach Dale MacLeod was thrilled with Thursday’s trial match played behind close doors at Les George Oval.
It was not your typical trial in some sense, either.
Instead of picking a shadow Southland side, MacLeod opted to split the talent evenly in hopes of a tough game.
He certainly achieved that. The team led by Scott Eade and Ethan de Groot edged the side being led by Greg Pleasants-Tate and Ray Nu’u 38-35.
"It probably reinforced a few things for us," MacLeod responded when asked if he had a few new selection dilemmas.
"Obviously, one game is not going to change a lot because we don’t want to be too reactive. Some people have good days, some people have bad days.
"The key thing for us is getting consistency.
"But it was really good to see the boys put their hand up.
"The intensity level was good and I was very happy with the purpose they played with. And it was a tight trial ... and definitely a step up from what the boys would have played this year."
The likes of Eade, de Groot, Nu’u, Joe Walsh and Mike McKee all performed well. The guys who you would expect to do well did well."
The next item on the agenda is some good old-fashioned team bonding. MacLeod has selected 40 players to attend the pre-season camp at Borland Lodge on the edge of the Fiordland National Park.
The Stags left yesterday and had planned taxing runs in the hills as well as more relaxing activities like fishing.
MacLeod will name his side for the Mitre 10 Cup campaign on Monday. The squad is expected be made public on Thursday before Southland’s pre-season match against Otago in Invercargill on Saturday.
Its opening Mitre 10 Cup game is against Hawke’s Bay in Invercargill on September 13.
