Otago tackle their way past Southland
They had to make about a million of them against Southland in the NPC opener in Invercargill on Saturday.
The Stags dominated most of the key statistics.
They had more possession and more territory, but Otago took the lead in the 16th minute through a converted try and stayed in front to reclaim the Donald Stuart Memorial Shield with a 24-15 win.
The second half was an exercise in hanging on by their fingernails.
Southland battered away. The Stags perhaps lacked some imagination and could benefit from a course in creative back play, while Otago will take a parallel course in tactical kicking.
They put themselves under pressure with some poor exits.
But this was a good, gutsy win for Otago.
And while the second half was a tough watch, the visitors played some sparkling rugby at the end of the first half to establish a buffer.
Otago coach Mark Brown was reluctant to single out players after his first game with the province, but Charles Elton got a special mention.
Lock Will Tucker got injured "in literally the first play of the game, so that was a great shift from [Elton]".
"He slotted in there and didn't miss a beat."
Brown was thrilled with the character Otago showed on defence, too.
"I haven't got the exact numbers yet, but we made a lot of tackles.
"I think it was about what we are building in the group. You don't defend like that if you don't care and have a lot of trust in the guy beside you."
Southland took control of the ball early and had it most of the game.
They built pressure and hooker Jack Taylor struck. He tucked himself into the back of the lineout drive and barged over.
Otago responded quickly.
They took a quick tap and got the ball out to the captain Sam Gilbert, who skipped through the defence and stretched out to score in the tackle.
Millar converted and added a penalty.
But it was a late burst at the end of the half that proved the turning point.
Having repelled wave after wave, Otago got some ball in Southland's 22m and All Blacks No 8 Christian Lio-Willie pounced.
He charged towards the line but was brought down in a tackle. He got back to his feet quickly and carried a couple of defenders for a few metres on his back on the way to the chalk.
Otago attacked from the restart. Millar put in a deft chip kick and winger Jona Nareki gathered it and took off.
He was eventually collared, but Otago kept the ball alive for phase after phase.
Halfback Nathan Hastie made a dart at the line and was stopped.
But Will Stodart, who had a strong game, scooped it up and crashed over.
Otago led 24-8 at halftime but were locked out from then on.
Taylor burst free from a ruck early in the second spell, scampered up field, put in a grubber and got the home side into a prime attacking position.
Otago scrambled out of trouble, but they were pinned in their territory.
Southland halfback Nic Shearer snuck over from a quick tap midway through the second spell, and Gilbert got sent to the bin for 10 minutes.
The game was poised for a Southland comeback in front of about 10,000 noisy fans.
But the visitors remained resolute on defence.
"It is all very well stopping tries, but we want to be scoring them as well," Brown said.
"There were moments [in that second half] we can look at and question whether we made the right decisions. And I think when we did have the ball, we were probably just a bit flustered.
"But we'll have opportunities to correct that."
In the other Saturday games, Highlanders star Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens unleashed a dazzling attacking run that set up a try to ensure Taranaki retained the Ranfurly Shield with a 23-3 win over Northland, and fullback Johnny McNicholl scored two tries to lead Canterbury to a 33-15 win over Wellington in Porirua.
Yesterday, Bay of Plenty made a statement when they ran away in the second half to beat Tasman 37-7, while Hawke's Bay showed their firepower in a 54-14 win over Counties-Manukau. NPC
The scores
Otago 24
Sam Gilbert, Christian Lio-Willie, Will Stodart tries; Cameron Millar 3 con, pen.
Southland 15
Jack Taylor, Nic Shearer try; Byron Smith pen, Mika Muliaina con.
Halftime: Otago 24-8.
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