The nucleus of a good Highlanders team in coming years might have been unearthed in Taupō, an encouraging sign for the Super Rugby club with the smallest pool of young players to pick from.
The Highlanders finished the inaugural under-20s Super Rugby competition in the North Island – which finished last week – with two wins and a close loss, finishing their campaign with a satisfying win against the Crusaders.
Baby Highlanders captain Sean Withy, a tough No 7, was subsequently named player of the tournament, but coach Mark Ozich was also thrilled with another quartet of players who announced themselves on the national stage.
“A successful environment also looks like guys being able to promote themselves to higher honours, and to create a game plan where people can be acknowledged for their performances,” Ozich said.
“I thought guys like Sean Withy, Nathan Hastie, Noah Hotham, Cam Millar, Fabian Holland, they are all examples of guys who have rugby potential and talent who were able to play well and get some pretty good accolades, and hopefully promote themselves into higher honours.
“This campaign is not about winning a tournament, there are many other parameters of success.”
Crucially for the Highlanders, halfback Hastie (Otago) Withy (Southland) and No 10 Millar (Southland) are all local products, while blockbusting Southland No 8 Arese Poliko also provided some big charges from the base of the scrum and Thomas McKenzie, also from the Southland region, looked promising in the midfield.
The Highlanders have traditionally been active importers of talent to fill up their Super Rugby squad, and that will continue.
Classy lock Holland headed south from the Christchurch Boys’ High rugby nursery to study at the University of Otago, while lively outside back Jermaine Pepe (Rangiora High School) and hooker Harry Press (Hutt International Boys’ School) were attracted to Dunedin by university scholarships.
But the presence of a nucleus of Highlanders region talent in key positions should make it easier for the club to develop the players through club rugby, the Bunnings NPC and then Super Rugby.
