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Kavinda Herath / Things
Southland Stags coach Dale MacLeod speaks to players during a training session at Surrey Park in Invercargill.
Southland Stags coach Dale MacLeod has questioned his player’s cruelty and wonders if they were passionate enough to win against Northland on Sunday.
The Stags were defeated 18-14 in the fifth round of the 10 Miter Cup despite amassing nearly 80 percent territory and nearly 70 percent possession.
For most of the last 15 minutes, Southland was camped in Northland’s 22-meter territory trying to find the winner of the match.
It’s the third game Southland has lost by four points or less this season and MacLeod says enough is enough.
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Fiona Goodall / Getty Images
Southland’s Isaac Te Tamaki of Southland scores a try on the tackle by Northland’s Jone Macilai during the round 5 Miter 10 Cup match between Northland and Southland at Semenoff Stadium in Whangarei.
“There were guys that just weren’t getting along hard enough, we just needed a little more passion for what we were doing,” McLeod said.
“I’ll be honest, a couple of guys came in, and we didn’t get the same spark from our bank. I didn’t think the bank would come in and add value like the previous weeks.
“I think if the bank had come and added something today, we would have got what we wanted.”
“It’s about smelling blood and drinking it, we didn’t have that ruthless streak, I guess we have to grow that.
“It’s a team that has spent years losing, and today we have a chance to win, and we didn’t know how to do it, so it’s a matter of growing and learning from it.”
“We made the whole play and I don’t know how we lost it to be fair.”
“If we are serious about being semi-finalists and giving ourselves a chance to reach a final, well, we have to be better than this, or we will just be the ‘doing well’ team, not that. ”
Fiona Goodall / Getty Images
Southland captain Tony Lamborn scores a try during Miter 10 Cup Round 5 between Northland and Southland at Semenoff Stadium in Whangarei.
MacLeod admitted some frustration in the coaches’ area when late in the game the Stags opted to scrum despite the message to kick to the corner and return the maul.
Adding to the frustration after Sunday’s close loss was the possibility of key player Manaaki Selby-Rickit being sidelined for some time.
The impressive blocking, who has been one of the Stags’ best in both offense and defense this season, was forced to leave the field in the 35th minute with a knee injury.
Speaking to Stuff shortly after the game, MacLeod wasn’t 100 percent sure of the extent of Selby-Rickit’s injury, but he was preparing for the worst.
“He looked pretty sore at halftime in the sheds, so I’d say it might even be the end of the season, I’m not really sure. I would be very surprised if he was racing in the next two or three weeks. ”
Despite the loss, Captain Tony Lamborn again proved how vital he is to the Stags setup.
He showed shared strength to score the first of Southland’s two attempts and created the turnover that led to the Stags’ second attempt, which was a spectacular long-range effort that Isaac Te Tamaki finished.
The rally now heads to Invercargill Saturday night, where Southland will face Taranaki in a major showdown.
Southland is fourth in the championship division with 11 points and Taranaki fifth with 10 points.
