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Kerry Marshall / Getty Images
Southland players after the second round of the 10 Miter Cup, lost 17-14 to the Bay of Plenty at Rotorua International Stadium on Saturday.
It only took 160 minutes, but the Stags 2020 team has added some pride to the Southland jersey.
The last four years have been painful for Southland rugby as it has struggled to keep up in the 10 Miter Cup.
However, it has been well documented. Looking back at the moment would do the current group a disservice.
After a tenacious first 16-10 win over Hawke’s Bay, Southland headed to Rotorua, where on Saturday night they faced a main team in the Bay of Plenty, which was littered with Super Rugby players and led by the captain. of the All Black, Sam Cane.
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SPORT OF HEAVEN
Bay of Plenty fires Southland to deny the annoyance of another NPC.
At one point in the lead-up to the game, the TAB had the Stags as 12 to an outsider, indicating what the gap was between the two teams in some people’s minds.
Southland fell short 17-14 in a contest that went to the wire. With him came some applause from New Zealand’s rugby royalty.
“Part of the desperation of that Southland team in terms of defense was first class and they forced us to make mistakes,” Cane said.
Kerry Marshall / Getty Images
Southland captain Tony Lamborn in action during the Miter 10 Cup second round against the Bay of Plenty at Rotorua International Stadium on Saturday.
Stags coach Dale MacLeod admitted he was proud of the “ticker” his team showed in the three-point loss after scoring closed at 14-14 at halftime.
But he said they went to Rotorua to win and he was devastated not to get that result.
He was disappointed that the Stags did not show the patience and precision necessary to complete scoring opportunities, while MacLeod was also frustrated with some of the umpires’ decisions late in the game.
Most notably after a starting line with three minutes to play.
Down 17-14 with the clock ticking, the Stags were awarded a penalty.
They turned down the archery shot and instead kicked to tap to push for the win.
The Stags seemed destined to score as the maul got a little closer to the line before it got messy.
It looked like there were Bay of Plenty players in offside positions, but referee Dan Waenga didn’t see it that way and eventually Bay of Plenty received a penalty of its own.
MacLeod also felt that Bay of Plenty players were offside and was upset that they weren’t stopped.
“That’s rugby, I guess, obviously he didn’t see it that way.”
Captain Tony Lamborn also made no secret of his frustration after the game.
“To be honest, I was not happy with that call at the end with that maul,” Lamborn said.
Southland had every opportunity to level the scores at 17-17 late in the game, which would have sent the contest into the gold points overtime that has been introduced this season.
However, Lamborn said they were there to win and wanted to get the job in the normal time.
“Look, we’re here to win games, I think the Southland teams a couple of years ago would probably have been happy with that result, maybe even with a draw, but that’s not this team this year. We are looking for a victory, we are not looking for a draw. ”
MacLeod was also encouraged by the fact that while it showed a lively display, there was real disappointment from players after the game.
“We were devastated to be fair. The boys in the sheds were gutted, and I was so happy to see that. It’s a very good sign, what we are doing is starting to go backwards in intention. ”
The importance of having Manaaki Selby-Rickit and Captain Lamborn locked in the setup this year has been obvious during the first two rounds.
However, the signs of improvement in some other players should not be underestimated.
Lock Ray Tatafu was huge on defense when he came off the bench against Hawke’s Bay and backed it up with another good performance in his first start Saturday night.
Wing Rory van Vugt looks like he’s also finding his feet and showing the skills to indicate he belongs to Miter Cup level 10.
Southland’s focus now quickly turns to North Harbor in Invercargill on Saturday.
