Shoddy 10minute patch costs Southland match
THE record player seems to be stuck.
Another Southland Stags loss and another similar assessment from its leadership group.
This time it was hardworking flanker Tony Lamborn who lamented the fact Southland showed some positive signs in a 2610 loss against Northland, but ultimately a 10minute period sank its hopes of ending its losing streak at 16 in a row.
‘‘It’s the same old story for us for the last few weeks. We have some really good patches and we have some really average patches.
‘‘ With a bit of consistency, we could do the job. It just seems at the crucial times we lose a bit of concentration and a bit of execution,’’ Lamborn said.
It all started well for Southland. During the first 15 minutes. Northland struggled to get into the game as the Stags dominated territory and possession.
The Southland lineout, in particular, operated well and it was the Stags who opened the scoring in the ninth minute when James Wilson landed a penalty.
However, when Northland finally grabbed a decent chunk of possession and racked up some phases the Stags started to fall off tackles.
Northland scored three tries from the 16th minute through to 26th minute in a 10minute period which this week provided the slippery slide for the Stags to which we have become accustomed.
The Dave Hewettcoached team trailed 193 at halftime and, to add to the headache, Southland lost cocaptains James Wilson and Flynn Thomas midway through the first half through injury.
It meant Lamborn took up the captaincy duties.
While there was little penetration in Southland’s attack during the second half there certainly was some spirit in the Stags’ game.
It led to the visiting side having a mortgage on the ball and, midway through the second half, Southland finally got some reward for that effort.
Lock Manaaki SelbyRickit stuck his long arm out from a lineout drive to score and with the Broc Hooper conversion it reduced the score to 1910.
Southland continued to work hard but when Northland was finally able to get some possession and territory late in the game it put any sort of hope of a possible Stags victory to bed.
It was lock Murray Douglas who crossed for Northland’s bonuspoint try to wrap up the 2610 victory.
SelbyRickit impressed in the loss, while replacement hooker Jesse MacDonald also proved his worth after being drafted into the Southland squad.
For Southland, again there will be some work to do in regard to assessing player fitness in the coming days with concerns around the likes of Thomas and Wilson.
If the Stags are in search of some motivation they should find it in bucketloads this week with the lure of the Ranfurly Shield sitting in front of them as they prepare to take on Waikato in Hamilton next Saturday.