Southland wins mixed silver at youth touch nationals
It’s been an ‘interesting’ week for Academy Southland and Touch Southland representatives Madison Grieve and Jacob Mika.
The pair were part of a superb Southland under 18 mixed touch team that defied expectations to finish runners-up at the Youth National Touch Championships in Auckland at the weekend, before spending this week in voluntary quarantine after news of Covid-19 community transmission in Auckland.
Madison and Jacob both impressed at the tournament, although both were quick to attribute the team’s success to great coaching and an excellent culture within the side.
“It was so much fun. We played really well and I loved it,” Madison, who enjoyed playing in a mixed side for the first time at this level, said.
“I think we just all played well as a team. There were no individuals and that always helps.”
Jacob said while Southland was generally a solid semi-final contender, it was great to go one step further.
“It was an exciting tournament, to be honest. I think the under 18 mixed have made the semis three years in a row, but we usually just dropped off towards the end. This one just felt different. We weren’t able to train a lot, because people were away working, or lived in Queenstown. Everyone just came together as a team. We expected to win some games, but we didn’t expect to go that well.”
Southland beat Whanganui 7-6 with a try on the hooter and produced big wins over Horowhenua-Kapiti and Nelson to finish day one unbeaten.
A tight loss to Thames Valley left the Dennis Thompson and Scott Eade-coached side needing two more wins to make the play-offs.
Southland beat Te Tai Tokerau B 15-2, with Madison scoring five tries, to set up a virtual quarter-final against an Auckland team that had won the grade twice in the past three years.
In one of the better performances by a Southland touch team in recent times, the maroons won 10-7 to book a semi-final against 2019 champions Bay of Plenty.
Bay of Plenty fought back from a 6-3 deficit to level the scores with seven minutes remaining before Southland scored twice to earn a place in the final against Te Tai Tokerau.
After going into halftime locked at 2-all, Southland looked to go ahead in last five minutes of the final through a try to Archie Body. However, the try was disallowed due to a previous forward pass and the northern team made the most of the change of fortunes to win 8-5.
Southland’s silver medal was earned despite a lack of match play, with their closest grade opposition in Marlborough and Nelson. Compare that with North Island teams who play in competitive tournaments most weekends in the lead up to nationals.
Captain Lochie Earland led from the front throughout the weekend both on attack and defence, topping the try count with Madison Grieve with 10 a piece across the three days.
Wakatipu High Schools’ George Reedy proved a handful for opposition defences while Southland Girls’ High Schools’ Tia Fowle and Central Southland College student Riley Ballantyne both had outstanding tournaments.
Southland's female contingent were the strongest on show across the 13 teams competing in the under-18 Mixed grade.
Madison is now looking ahead playing for the Southland under 21 women’s team who will take part in the open women’s grade at the Open Nationals in Christchurch in three weeks’ time, while Jacob’s attention turns rugby and his final year with the James Hargest College first fifteen.
The pair are both starting the second year of the two-year Academy Southland programme, which supports talented Southland athletes to achieve their goals both on and off the field.
Meanwhile, the Southland under 16 mixed team also hopped back on the plane with some silverware after claiming the plate title to finish fifth in a hotly contested grade which featured 15 provinces.
After a strong 12-4 win first up against Te Tai Tokerau the team had close losses to Manawatu and Marlborough along with a tight win over rivals Otago to leave them in must-win territory on day two.
A 7-6 win over Counties set up a showdown with eventual winners Bay of Plenty. An 8-3 loss left Southland to play off for the plate title. They came out firing in the plate semi-final against Taranaki pulling away for a 7-5 win and setting up a rematch with Marlborough for the plate.
Southland probably saved their best for last, putting in a quality 30 minutes to take a 7-4 win and bring home the plate plaque.
Rico Fisher and Rico Muliaina led from the front for Southland creating plenty of opportunities on attack. Abbie Middlemass out of Southland Girls’ High School, playing in her first national tournament, was outstanding throughout in a great all-round display.
*additional reporting by Scott Eade
