Mossburn farmer answers SOS
They are an excited bunch out Mossburn way at the moment.
Those attached to the small northern Southland town are bubbling with pride as a 18-year hiatus is set to end for the Mossburn Rugby Club.
Ryan Carter is in line to make his Mitre 10 Cup debut for the Southland Stags at Rugby Park in Invercargill on Saturday. He has been named on the bench as the back-up hooker for the round six game against Counties.
The 26-year-old sheep farmer is preparing to become the first Mossburn player to play for Southland since Kelvin Coghlan in 2001.
Mossburn Rugby Club president Brendon Duffy says it is not only a special moment for Mossburn but also for the division one club competition and country rugby in general.
‘‘Everyone is pretty excited. We wish Ryan all the best, I am sure there is going to be a big [Mossburn] contingent at the game,’’ Duffy says.
Carter will join father Rex – who played a couple of games for Southland in the 1980s – and uncle Brent ‘‘Pup’’ Shepherd – a Stags centurion – as family members who have pulled on the Southland jersey.
Carter concedes the call-up has come as a surprise given he had put his rugby aspirations to one side this year. Instead the focus centred on having some fun with his mates at the Mossburn club. He showed promise at Southland Boys’ High School and as a result, was included in Rugby Southland’s academy system.
After his school days, Carter joined Woodlands to play in Southland’s premier club competition as he tried to crack the Stags ranks but he eventually felt the door had closed on that option. In May, after returning from a stint playing in Britain, Carter took up a job on the family farm and linked up with the Mossburn Rugby Club.
He helped Mossburn win Southland’s division one competition, the competition which sits below Southland’s 12 premier clubs.
Following the club season, Carter was picked to play for Southland Country, then whisked into the Southland B setup, before on Sunday he fielded a call from the Stags selectors asking if he could join the camp on Monday. ‘‘People often say you play your best rugby when you are just playing for the fun of it. It is weird how it has worked out,’’ Carter says.
His first task after receiving the good news was a call to the farm manager to ask for some time off during the busy lambing period.
He spent two full days in Invercargill with the Stags on Monday and Tuesday, swotting up on the team’s various plays, before returning to the farm on Wednesday to help with the lambing beat.
Carter has been leaning on experienced Stags hooker Greg PleasantsTate this week for advice and says he has been a great help.
Carter’s call-up came after Flynn Thomas joined the Stags’ evergrowing injury list when he left the field against Manawatu¯ with a shoulder injury. Southland has 10 players out injured: Mike McKee, Flynn Thomas, Ethan De Groot, Chris Apoua, Manaaki Selby-Rickit, Taine Te Whata, Ben Fotheringham, Phil Halder, Scott Eade, and Lausii Taliauli. On top of Carter’s selection, fellow Southland B players Craig Smith and Tauasosi Tuimavave have been named in the 23 for the Counties game. Rory van Vugt returns from injury to start on the wing.
Stags team to play Counties: Josh Moorby, Lewis Ormond, Isaac Te Tamaki, Ray Nu’u, Rory van Vugt, Marty McKenzie, Logan Crowley, Charles Alaimalo, Matt James, Brayden Mitchell (c), Craig Smith, Ray Tatafu, Morgan Mitchell, Greg Pleasants-Tate, Joe Walsh.
Reserves: Ryan Carter, Shaun Stodart, Howard Sililoto, Bill Fukofuka, Lio Tosi, Jay Renton, Mitch Taylor, Tauasosi Tuimavave.