Spartans prevail over Sassenachs

Southland Stags coach Hoani MacDonald isn’t getting carried away, despite the Southland Spartans picking up an encouraging 38-19 win over the Otago Sassenachs at Kettle Park in Dunedin yesterday.

The Southland selection was made up of a combination of Southland Stags, Southland B and club players who hadn’t received much game time recently.

The selection showed plenty of endeavour in the match.

‘‘The feet are firmly on the ground, we know that there is still a heck of a lot of work to do and that is basically a shadow side of what Otago is going to produce,’’ MacDonald said.

‘‘So there were a couple of things that were really pleasing for us and there were a couple of work-ons that are always good, so we will just keep boxing on.’’

‘‘They played pretty well, still pretty patchy, they turned up with a good attitude and got into it.’’

The Spartans’ tries were scored by Sam Stewart, Jordan Stewart, Lewis Ormond, Raymond Tatafu, Jay Renton and Bill Fukofuka, with the conversions shared between Greg Dyer and Willie TalatainaMu.

Scoring six tries encouraged MacDonald, although the lack of Highlanders and Otago club rugby players involved in the Dunedin semifinals depleted the Sassenachs side for the encounter.

‘‘It was pretty good, it was a pre-season game so it was a bit patchy in areas, but the attitude towards tackling and the ball was really good, there were a few inaccuracies around the breakdowns, but those can be ironed out with a bit of practice and a couple of video sessions,’’ he said.

Southland’s next game is against Mid Canterbury in Waikouaiti on Saturday, with the Ashburton-based team preparing for a Ranfurly Shield challenge against Canterbury.