Star’s turn as original Stag Mitchell changes sides
DO not expect to spot any sort of welcome mat for Morgan Mitchell when he makes a return to the Gore Showgrounds tomorrow.
The Stags tighthead prop will line up for Star in its roundtwo Southland premier club rugby fixture against his former club, EasternNorthern Barbarians, in Gore tomorrow.
Mitchell was an original at the Barbarians when the team was formed in 2012 to provide a presence from the Eastern and Northern subunions in the premier competition.
He linked with the club after his time at Gore High School and went on to play close to 70 games for the country side. That included helping the Barbarians to their first and only Galbraith Shield title in 2016.
Now based in Invercargill, Mitchell has opted this season to join the Star club, where his older brother and fellow Stag Brayden Mitchell also plays.
In the leadup to the season, Barbarians coach Sean Hurley expressed his disappointment to lose a player who had been an integral part of the team since its inception six years ago.
‘‘He called me to say he was sick of travelling. It was a bit disappointing; the Barbarians was set up for guys like [Mitchell],’’ Hurley said.
Mitchell’s tussle upfront on Saturday with the likes of Billy Christie and James Matheson is likely to be intense.
In fact, the battle upfront, in general, will be intriguing.
Star has plenty of quality in the forward pack with the likes of Manaaki SelbyRickit, Jack Capil and the Mitchell brothers, all in the Stags mix last season.
The Barbarians, however, possess a nononsense forward pack that very rarely takes a back step, given it has the likes of Lachie and Rory McCall, Scott McKee and Brenton Howden to call on.
Star and the Barbarians were both roundone winners: Star pipped Blues 2017 and the Barbarians grabbed a 245 victory over PiratesOld Boys.
In other games tomorrow, Woodlands will host PiratesOld Boys, while Marist and Blues will meet at Miller St in Invercargill.
Marist and Blues are both flush with promising players who are very much on Rugby Southland’s radar.
Included are New Zealand under20 representatives Flynn Thomas (Marist) and Jay Renton (Blues).
The pair will line up for the New Zealand team at the Oceania Championships on the Gold Coast later this month.
The plan for the two former Southland Boys’ High School pupils is to also book a spot in the team for the World Championships in France in June.
Southland’s lower senior grades, divisions 1, 2 and 3, will start tomorrow.
The division 1 competition will kick off with a repeat of the 2017 final between neighbouring towns Wyndham and Edendale.
Wyndham will be looking for some revenge after losing last year’s final.