Stags pair arrive with high hopes

BARRY HARCOURT/Southland Times

SOUTHBOUND: New Southland rugby recruits Mike Newman (left) and Jason Morgan are pleased to have followed the Ranfurly Shield from Christchurch to Invercargill.

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Jason Morgan and Mike Newman have jumped off the impressive Canterbury rugby production line and are confident Southland can be their ticket to future success.

The two former New Zealand secondary schools representatives have been in Invercargill this week familarising themselves with their adopted province.

They've been through fitness testing, hunted for jobs, met prospective clubs and looked at possible accommodation options during their first stint in their new province.

Morgan and Newman, along with New Zealand under-20 player Elliott Dixon, have opted to shift away from the Canterbury and join Southland for at least the next two years.

Both Morgan and Newman were not concerned with stepping away from Canterbury, a union known for producing a prodigious number of All Blacks.

"Southland were ranked second best (academy) this year, I think, and they've been pretty successful lately winning the Shield and everything," Morgan told The Southland Times yesterday.

"It's just about opportunities. It's hard to crack it in Canterbury. It's hard down here, too, but up there you don't really know what's going to happen, if someone will get drafted in ahead of you or not," he said.

The three 20-year-olds had been deliberating since midway through the year about a possible shift south. It was word from a former Canterbury age-group team-mate that gave the trio the final nudge towards choosing the south as the destination to chase their rugby dream.

Lock Alex Ryan moved to Southland at the start of last year and has thrived in the Rugby Southland setup, to the point he pushed his way into New Zealand under-20 selection.

Ryan made sure he talked up Southland when his former Canterbury buddies quizzed him for some information.

"He wouldn't lie to us," Morgan said with a smile.

Morgan and Newman have also previously played, or trained, alongside other rising Southland rugby prospects Robbie Robinson, Brayden Mitchell and Alex Taylor, so there will be plenty of familiar faces for them in the south.

Newman shares a common interest with many in the current Stags setup, including coaches Simon Culhane and David Henderson, which will make his transition to the south that bit more comfortable.

That interest is a love for hunting and fishing.

"I'm looking forward to getting out (for a hunt)," Newman said yesterday.

Newman, Morgan and Dixon will all play their club rugby in Southland next season but haven't yet confirmed which clubs they will line up for.

Morgan and Newman weren't wanting to make any bold predictions for next season but hoped they could do enough to gain some game time for the Stags in the coming year.

Morgan is a fullback who can also play on the wing, while Newman is comfortable at either second five-eighth or centre.

Newman at 95kg is a solid back while Morgan hopes to bulk up from his current 88kg.

- © Fairfax NZ News