As reported at

Stags deal to weakened Harbour
By NATHAN BURDON - Friday, 25 July 2008

Southland completed its preseason with a confidence boosting 22-3 win over North Harbour at Rugby Park last night.

Two tries in as many minutes early in the second half ensured victory for the Stags, but there will still be plenty to work on next week ahead of the Air New Zealand Cup opener against Otago at home on August 2.

Last night's result was not as convincing as the scoreline would suggest.

It came against a North Harbour team that will get flogged this season if it can't find some first division-quality tight forwards, or at least some who are fit enough to get themselves involved.

If anything, Southland had too much ball to play with in the first half, and it struggled to use it well.

Too often halfback Dane Shelford had the ball sitting at his feet while the Harbour defence reorganised itself, and the game opened up noticeably when Scott Cowan came on at halfback in the second half.

The rulings at the breakdown seemed to be as mystifying for the home team as they did for the crowd as the adjustment to the experiment law variations continues.

On the plus side, Southland's lineout in the first half was sharp and decisive and the scrum had the push on Harbour's, even with the loss of Chris King to a back injury before kickoff.

Wing Pehi Te Whare was prominent for Southland as he continued his comeback from a serious knee injury, while Mark Wells was assured at fullback.

Jason Kawau led the home team well in the absence of new skipper Jamie Mackintosh, but there will be concern over James Wilson.

Southland played a little fast and loose with rugby convention by including Wilson as a 23rd man on the bench despite it being a first-class game. The plan had been to use him for a short burst in the second half to test his injured groin, but he ended up hobbling off after an even shorter time with a problem to his left ankle.

Southland looks as ready for the start of the cup as it has at any time under co-coaches Simon Culhane and David Henderson, but the real test will come against Otago.