Steve Hepburn

When Otago prop Sam Hibbard first came south, turning out in the blue and gold was not his top priority.

Eben Joubert did not know what was worse - dislocating his shoulder or standing on the sideline watching the shield dream fade away.

Otago cannot afford to dwell too long on its unsuccessful Ranfurly Shield challenge, coach Phil Mooney says, although he concedes discipline must improve.

The top seats for Dunedin's World Cup games have been heavily oversubscribed - due to the small number of prime seats at Carisbrook - and that has led to some people missing out on tickets, organisers say.

Otago coach Phil Mooney has looked to inject some energy into his forward pack to play Southland in the Ranfurly Shield challenge in Invercargill tomorrow.

So this is it. The big one. The chance of all chances. The opportunity to get rid of 53 years of hurt.

Otago captain Alando Soakai will bring up 50 games for his province this weekend in the most important of games but says he will not be stressing the importance of the Log o' Wood before kick-off.

Phil Mooney is about to launch into his first season as Otago coach. Rugby writer Steve Hepburn talks to Mooney about his hopes for the national championship and what needs to be done to ensure Otago finishes in the top seven.

Jamie Joseph said, in a rugby sense, it was not a hard decision to move to the Highlanders.

Coach Phil Mooney says Otago must be resilient and bounce back from its poor performance against Counties-Manukau on Saturday.

Definitely a pass mark but still plenty to work on for Otago after its 27-15 win over a lacklustre Tasman at Carisbrook yesterday.

He has just become a dad second time round and is about to go in for knee surgery. Steve Hepburn talks to the cricketer about life on and off the field.

The only man who publicly stated he wanted the Highlanders head coaching position did not get an interview.

Attacking and enterprising rugby ... 2. Dull, kick-first and so-last-year rugby ... 0.

Adam Thomson has rejoined Otago after being dropped by the All Blacks. Rugby writer Steve Hepburn catches up with the loose forward, who has had a roller-coaster few weeks.

After a stroll in the park last week, this afternoon's match against Tasman is a definite step-up in intensity for the Otago side.

Otago lock Tom Donnelly says the benchmark has now been set and the All Blacks will be looking to improve this weekend.

New Zealand Football boss Frank van Hattum says the sport has had a year of absolute excitement but it will not be easy to maintain that momentum.