The North Otago Heartland side has been named for round two of the 2024 Bunnings Warehouse Heartland Championship. North Otago will take on Thames Valley at Boyd Park in Te Aroha, with kickoff at 2:30pm. A livestream for this match will be provided via the Thames Valley Rugby Facebook page.
In the fowards, Bradley Harewood has been elevated from the bench to start at prop. While a new back row has been named for this week, with Manulua Taiti, Cameron Rowland and Kasimila Vaihu all named in the starting lineup.
A reshuffle in the backline sees Greg Dyer shift to fullback, with Tyron Davies moving into first five. Sam Walsh comes onto the reserves for his potential debut, after playing for the Development side last week.
Two further potential debutants have been named in the reserves, Valley flanker Jacob Pledger and prop Max Sawers who joins the squad as a returning New Zealand player via the Kalamunda Rugby Club in Perth Australia.
Starting XV:
Jake Greenslade
Ryusei Kato
Bradley Harewood
Anthony Docherty
Fergus Read
Manulua Taiti
Cameron Rowland (cc)
Kasimila Vaihu
Jake Matthews
Tyron Davies
Mavaetangi Finau
Mataitini Feke
Hayden Todd
Seva Druma
Greg Dyer
Reserves: 16. Cullen Johnstone 17. Max Sawers* 18. Lisivani Tuifua 19. Savenaca Rabaka 20. Mat Duff (cc) 21. Jacob Pledger* 22. Matia Batavotavo 23. Sam Walsh*
*Potential North Otago First Class debut
Management: Head Coach: Jason Forrest Director of Coaching: Barry Matthews Assistant Coach: Scott Barnes Manager: Marty McAtamney Logistics/Communications: Colleen Carroll Trainer: Scott Mayhew Physio: Mike Wheeler