Southland
Official emblem
UnionRugby Southland
Nickname(s)Stags
Founded1887; 137 years ago (1887)
LocationGeorgetown, Invercargill, New Zealand
Ground(s)Rugby Park Stadium (Capacity: 18,000)
CEOSteve Mitchell[1]
Coach(es)Dale MacLeod
Captain(s)Josh Bekhuis
Most appearancesJason Rutledge (143)
Top scorerSimon Culhane (980)
Most triesBruce Pascoe (46)
League(s)Bunnings NPC
202314th
Team kit
Official website
www.rugbysouthland.co.nz

Southland (often known as the Southland Stags) are a New Zealand professional rugby union team based in Invercargill, New Zealand. The union was originally established in 1887, with the National Provincial Championship established in 1976. They now play in the reformed National Provincial Championship competition. They play their home games at Rugby Park Stadium in Invercargill in the Southland region. The team is affiliated with the Highlanders Super Rugby franchise. Their home playing colours are maroon and gold.

Current squad

The Southland Stags squad for the 2023 Bunnings NPC is:[2]

Southland Stags squad

Props

Hookers

Locks

Loose forwards

Half-backs (scrum-halves)

  • New Zealand Liam Howley
  • New Zealand Connor McLeod REP [a]
  • New Zealand Jay Renton
  • Japan Kaisei Tamura REP [d]
  • New Zealand Jahvis Wallace

First five-eighths (fly-halves)

Midfielders (centres)

Outside backs

(c) Denotes team captain, Bold denotes internationally capped, REP denotes a replacement squad player, INJ denotes an injured player.
  1. ^ a b c Fahey, McLeod and Souchon weren't named in the original Southland squad, but were announced in the side for Round 5.[3]
  2. ^ Sexton wasn't named in the original Southland squad, but was announced in the side for Round 8.[4]
  3. ^ Tuipulotu wasn't named in the original Southland squad, but was announced in the side for Round 6.[5]
  4. ^ Tamura wasn't named in the original Southland squad, but was announced in the side for Round 2.[6]

Honours

Southland have never been overall Champions. Their full list of honours, though, include:[7][8]

National Provincial Championship Second Division South Island
National Provincial Championship Second Division

Current Super Rugby players

Players named in the 2023 Southland Stags squad, who also earned contracts or were named in a squad for any side participating in the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific season.[9][10][11][12]

Player Team
Marty Banks Highlanders
Josh Bekhuis Highlanders
Ethan de Groot Highlanders
Scott Gregory Highlanders
Mike McKee Moana Pasifika
Jack Taylor Highlanders
Matt Whaanga Highlanders

References

  1. ^ "Board and Staff". Rugby Southland. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  2. ^ "SBS Bank Southland Stags Squad Named for 2023 Bunnings Warehouse NPC". Rugby Southland. 10 July 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  3. ^ "Bunnings NPC Round 5: Team Lists". Bunnings NPC. 31 August 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Bunnings NPC Round 8: Team Lists". Bunnings NPC. 21 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
  5. ^ "Bunnings NPC Round 6: Team Lists". Bunnings NPC. 7 September 2023. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  6. ^ "Bunnings NPC Round 2: Team Lists". Bunnings NPC. 7 August 2023. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  7. ^ "National Provincial Championship winners, 1976–2014". Te Ara. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  8. ^ "Mitre 10 Cup". Rugby Heartland. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  9. ^ "Highlanders 2023 Squad Announcement" (Press release). Highlanders. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  10. ^ "Highlanders Named to Play Force in Invercargill" (Press release). Highlanders. 17 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  11. ^ "Highlanders named to play Fijian Drua" (Press release). Highlanders. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Match Centre - Super Rugby - Highlanders vs. Reds". SANZAAR. Retrieved 26 May 2023.

External links

National Provincial Championship (2006–present)
Southland – current squad
Categories