Loss, injury woes for North Otago

NORTH Otago has an injury crisis to pile on its wounded pride after a rugged weekend in the Heartland Championship.

The relative gulf between the defending Meads Cup champion and its southern rival was highlighted in Fairlie as South Canterbury retained the Hanan Shield with a 3617 win.

‘‘Relative’’ is fair, as it was far from a demolition job.

In fact, the Old Golds dominated a chunk of the first half, and they had a brief sniff of a comeback late in the game before an intercept try crushed their hopes.

They were also regularly not at their best as they tried to halt South Canterbury’s remorseless winning streak, and they will feel they can get closer at the pointy end of the season if they find their best form.

For now, the priority is getting a healthy team on the paddock.

‘‘Unfortunately, injuries are the biggest thing for us to think about right now,’’ North Otago coach Jason Forrest said after the game.

‘‘That’s really going to test our depth.’’

Indeed, the list of players heading for medical assistance on Saturday was long. Influential lock Josh Clark was diagnosed with a possible torn bicep, fellow secondrower Manulua Taiti was going for a scan on his ankle, and big loose forward Seta Koroitamana was getting a concerning lower back knock checked out.

The Old Golds were already forced into a late change for the game with centre Jermaine Pepe sent for a scan on an injured shoulder.

That meant a debut seemingly out of nowhere for Oli Knopp, the former Green Island centre who is now based in Christchurch.

North Otago made a sensational start in the bucolic surrounds of Strathconan Park when left winger Mone Samate saw some space and rocketed down the flank to score after just six minutes.

Koroitamana had a few big runs, prop Kelepi Funaki was getting his hands on the ball, halfback Mataitini Feke was everywhere, and all looked promising for the Old Golds.

That all rather imploded when South Canterbury finally showed its credentials, scoring twice in three minutes.

Dangerous winger Kalavini Leatigaga chipped ahead, North Otago first five Jake Matthews copped a horrid bounce, and Leatigaga dived on the ball.

Then, with Josh RobertsonWeepu in the bin, No 8 Siu Kakala crossed right on halftime.

Sam Briggs banged over a couple of penalties, and when Leatigaga grabbed a second, it was 265.

Paea Fifita pulled a try back for North Otago, but the glimpse of a comeback was snuffed out when Zach McKay grabbed his intercept try.

Forrest was feeling ‘‘sort of 5050’’ about the performance.

‘‘We did OK, and we can take a heap of positives out of it.

‘‘But it’s also gutwrenching. We didn’t come up here and put the performance on the field that we wanted.

‘‘We just needed to control momentum a little bit better. The try just before halftime, and a try we didn’t get just after halftime, were really crucial.’’

Now it is the Old Golds’ turn to head to the heartland: they host Mid Canterbury in Kurow this weekend.