Plenty to like in Stags’ opening effort
‘‘We as a group this year have decided we are not going to be the sympathy team, it doesn’t matter who we play we are going to win.’’
Southland Stags coach Dale MacLeod.
The SBS Bank Southland Stags’ 2022 campaign started on a promising note in Blenheim on Sunday with the team overcoming a horrendous travel schedule against the competition favourite Tasman, to snare a deserved bonus point.
Coach Dale MacLeod has quickly turned his attention to this weekend’s home opener with Auckland making the trek south to take on the Stags at Rugby Park on Sunday afternoon.
Auckland opened their Bunnings Warehouse NPC season with a come-from-behind victory over North Harbour, showing an expansive style to turn a 15-26 deficit into a 36-26 bonus-point victory.
McLeod was equal parts proud and frustrated after Sunday’s opening round clash with the Mako, knowing his side showed tremendous grit to claw its way back into the contest when it looked like the game could get away from them, but also let costly errors creep into their game at inopportune times to let Tasman off the hook.
‘‘We as a group this year have decided we are not going to be the sympathy team, it doesn’t matter who we play we are going to win.
‘‘We created enough but our own execution let us down in key moments and we probably bombed a couple of tries in the first half while they probably got a couple of tries in the first half.’’
‘‘Then, in the second half we dominated. We talked at halftime about winning the second half and we did that, but we still left a couple of tries out there.
‘‘So there are some real positives and we’ve had 50 points put on us the last three years coming up here (to Tasman) so that in itself speaks volumes, but that’s not good enough anymore.’’
For us in this competition we’ve got to be winning games and taking these opportunities. We’re not where we need to be yet but it’s a pretty special group and hard-working but until we get our execution right, we are probably going to be having the same conversations,’’ MacLeod said.
The second half effort was admirable but even more so when one considers the 36 hours it took Southland to get from Invercargill to Blenheim for the encounter.
‘‘We landed at 3.30 on Sunday afternoon and basically had something to eat, got into our rooms and then had a bit of a walk through on the park just to get the boys moving.
‘‘Then we were down to play the game.
‘‘So, I’m not going to use it as an excuse, but the boys were cramping up at the end of the game and we didn’t have the guys to bring on because of the way things played out,’’ he said.
To add to the pre-game challenges, Southland lost lock Ben Morris to a serious knee injury leaving MacLeod shaking his head before a whistle was blown.
‘‘Ben and I were laughing about it before the game. I mean he was in pain, but we were thinking ‘‘wow, what else can go wrong?’’
We did miss him out there on Sunday and having another player on the bench would have helped but I just feel for Ben. He’s a very good footballer and it’s a shame that it looks like that will be his season which is a real tough one for Ben and the team, MacLeod said.
Despite all that adversity, Southland began well with an early Marty Banks penalty and Isaac Te Temaki try giving Southland an early lead 10-7 lead, something MacLeod said was a real focus on Sunday.
‘‘We talked about the mindset we needed to bring to win the first minute and to keep winning those exchanges and we did a pretty good job until Tasman started to get their game going and we dropped off the odd tackle.
‘‘The boys felt really good at halftime, there was no panic and we just focused on getting out there and winning the second half, so again a lot of positives but you don’t get many chances to beat teams like Tasman in Tasman, so it does hurt a bit and that’s not a bad thing either,’’ MacLeod said.
The coach does expect it to take a few weeks for the team to be fully up to speed.
‘‘The biggest thing for us is that 30 of these boys played club rugby in Invercargill and I’m not saying that club footy is where it needs to be, but what I am saying is that the guys we are coming up against are playing Super rugby and it will take us a couple of weeks to get used to the intensity and physicality where you are getting hit a bit harder and carrying a bit harder and they are cleaning a bit harder.’’
‘‘Everything is a bit tougher, faster, and harder.
‘‘So, give us another couple of weeks and everyone else will start improving as well so for us it is those little things like our execution under pressure and when fatigued that we’ve got to get better at.
‘‘But we are improving every week and that will continue to get better the more time we spend together, and I have no doubt we will.’’
MacLeod has made significant progress in changing the mindset of both those inside and outside the team on what Southland should expect from the Stags on the paddock. He knows he operates in the win/ loss business but at the same time speaks in glowing terms of the group that Southland has put together in 2022.
‘‘I don’t want to sound doom and gloom because I’m not. We’ve talking about changing things.
‘‘This group is different. We’ve got to be better, and we’ll keep charging at that but I’m really proud of the effort in week one and we are looking forward to Auckland coming down on Sunday.’’
‘‘We all understand it’s only game one and the competition isn’t won in the first week, so we’ve just got to keep working hard and do everything we can to make that top eight, MacLeod said.
That pride that is returning to the Southland jersey is obvious when you speak with captain Josh Bekhuis.
After six years away from Invercargill the veteran lock returned to the deep south this season and said captaining his province on Sunday was a highlight of his career.
‘‘I just had to hold my emotions a little bit running out of the tunnel, especially leading the boys out for the first time.
‘‘We talked about the mindset we needed to bring to win the first minute and to keep winning those exchanges and we did a pretty good job until Tasman started to get their game going and we dropped off the odd tackle.’’ Dale MacLeod.
‘‘When I arrived back, they were training hard early on and the skill level was a lot higher than when I left the Stags, as was their fitness levels so that was great to get back into and got me excited for the season.’’
Southland Stags captain Josh Bekhuis.
Just being back, wearing the S on the chest is so special and obviously as a group we gave it our all but didn’t get the result but to be able to lead the boys out on Sunday was awesome,’’ Bekhuis said.
‘‘It was an honour to get the role as captain because there is a large group of leaders within the team and there could be many guys that could stand up and do the job. ’’It was a real honour and privilege to get the job and just to be asked to do it and I’m pretty lucky to have those leaders there to help me along.’’
‘‘I’m just stoked to be out there and be available to play at this age (36), and I’m just wanting to be my best to represent the jersey.
‘‘I had a great role model when I was at the Highlanders in Brad Thorn who was 38 or 39 when I played with him, and he taught me a lot and down here we’ve got Cabbage (former Stag Jason Rutledge) who’s probably in the best nick of his life and has got a few years on me.’’
As long as my body is feeling ok and I can get out there and represent the jersey well, then I’m happy to do it and I’m a pretty competitive guy and I want to beat my opponent every time, so if further opportunities came along (Super rugby) I wouldn’t shy away from it,’’ Bekhuis said.
He also speaks to the improvement he has seen in the Stags’ set-up he has returned to this year.
‘‘I wasn’t too sure what to expect, being away for so long and with the changes in New Zealand rugby which is obviously a lot different to the Japanese-style and the way they train but I was super impressed with what Southland were doing.
When I arrived back, they were training hard early on and the skill level was a lot higher than when I left the Stags, as was their fitness levels so that was great to get back into and got me excited for the season,’’ he said.
The captain said he and his players were bursting to play in front of their home fans this weekend.
‘‘Auckland love to play expansive rugby and are a really dangerous team but we will be looking to focus on our game and how we can expose them and hopefully our set piece can carry on the way it did on Sunday night.
‘‘We are all really looking forward to ripping into it hopefully in front of a big crowd on Sunday,’’ Bekhuis said.
Tickets for Sunday’s game at Rugby Park are available at ILT Stadium Southland or via Ticketek.co.nz. The game kicks off on Sunday at 2.05pm