Enlarged Southland B squad to boost depth

An enlarged Southland B rugby squad has been named ahead of the 2017 South Island Invitational tournament, in an attempt to boost the depth of players in the province.

The 34-strong squad has been named with an eye to giving more players exposure to senior representative rugby, with the B team playing a handful of games over the next month.

Southland B will be coached by Ben McHugh, with help from assistant coaches Jeff Clearwater and Mal Dermody.

‘‘The bulk of the 2017 Southland B team has been made up of the standout players in premier club rugby and academy levels, as well as a few first division standouts,’’ Southland B coach Ben McHugh said.

‘‘Our coaching team have been travelling around Southland during the club season watching games from division two through to premier to find the right players for the team.’’

The new-look B team coaching combination and squad have been encouraged by the Southland Stags management, with players likely to utilise the opportunity of playing against various South Island teams to push for a spot in the Southland Stags Mitre 10 Cup squad.

‘‘Southland Stags coaches Hoani Macdonald and Jason Kawau have opened the door for us as a coaching unit this season,’’ McHugh said.

‘‘This has been fantastic for us to upskill ourselves as coaches and help select a group of local talent in our squad to provide a pathway for players to hopefully pull on the Stags jersey one day.

‘‘We have chosen a bigger squad than normal as we want to upskill a wider range of talent to hopefully create more depth here in Southland rugby and give a few more players exposure at a higher level.’’

The Stags start their campaign against Hawke’s Bay on August 19, but with the condensed nature and high attrition rate of the competition, players from the B team could be called to step up into the national provincial championship.

The B team includes a sprinkling of players who have worn the Southland Stags jersey in recent seasons, while there will also be plenty of interest in the performances of first-five-eighth William Talataina-Mu who has shifted south from Auckland to further his aspirations.

With Lima Sopoaga likely to have All Blacks commitments this season and the absence of Wharenui Hawera from last year’s campaign, there could be an oppor- tunity for a call up to the Stags at some stage for the Ponsonby pivot to boost the first-five-eighth stocks.

Southland B take on the Southland under-19 team on Saturday, followed by a pre-season game against Otago Metro on August 5 in Dunedin.

They will then tackle the Canterbury Maori combination on August 19 and a Tasman team on August 26, with potential further matches, if they qualify for the playoffs.