On a windy day at Milton, the Southern Region premier side defeated Central Otago by 24-12 in a physical encounter built on passion and heart.
In the first half, Southern attacked with the wind at their backs, but it was the visitors who drew first blood. A routine scrum for the home side resulted in a simple knock-on and Central capitalised on the error. Five phases after securing possession, halfback James Valentine spotted a hole down the blindside and opened the scoring for his side.
The next 15 minutes gave both sides the opportunity to size up one another, with the breakdown a melee of shoulders and knees.
Southern hit back after a prolonged period of attack through replacement loose forward Kael Merrett, who scored with his first touch of the ball handy to the uprights. Thomas Johnson converted the try to give Southern a slim lead.
The home side managed to secure possession off the kickoff and forced their way down field. Poor discipline from Central gave Southern a prime attacking opportunity in which flanker Max Pennell broke a tackle and scampered down field and linked with halfback Sam Stratford to extend Southern’s lead.
Central defended well towards the end of the half and kept Southern out. The halftime score was 14-5 to Southern, who perhaps would have been hoping for a few more points with the wind behind them.
First points in the second half were crucial as the side who took them would be favoured as conditions began to worsen. It was Southern who managed to score the opening try of the half through winger Kairus Booth, who ran a fantastic support line on the shoulder of flanker Liam Turnbull. Booth received the ball and finished acrobatically in the corner to extend his side’s lead to 19-5. With both sides making numerous changes, the match began to open up. It was Southern again who fought their way down field into the breeze to set up an attack 30m out from the Central line. Replacement forward Kace Shaw took a short ball and proceeded to march his way down the field. Shaw took at least four Central defenders with him as he crossed for Southern’s fourth try to rapturous applause.
With the match 24-5 in the home side’s favour it was Central’s turn to go on the offensive. Central used the wind well at times, which forced them into Southern’s red zone, only for them to lose possession through poor handling or poor decision-making.
Central scored a consolation try to prop Ben McKeich towards the end of the match but the result was never in doubt as Southern ran the clock down to take a strong victory and give the Topp Cup a new home for the summer.
The Southern Region Development side had a strong win in the curtain-raiser. The home side beat Central Otago 51-19 in a rather one-sided effort.
— Francis Parker
