Steve Hepburn

Otago will bring plenty of rawness but some excitement into its side to take on Auckland tomorrow.

The Highlanders are not rushing to appoint a head coach but say they have some very capable candidates in house.

Tom Donnelly came down to Dunedin 20 years ago with no real plan mapped out.

The Otago scholastics team should have one big thing in its favour when it heads to Kaikoura for the national championships.

More than 100 sporting clubs and organisations from Otago have dipped into the second round of money granted through the Sport New Zealand community resilience fund.

Auckland is able to bring its heavy artillery south for the opening round of the Mitre 10 Cup.

An injury crisis has led to veteran hooker Jason Rutledge being called into the Southland squad and he could take to the field at the age of 42.

For the first time in the professional era, Otago has no players in an All Black squad.

Otago started well, Southland came home strongly but the blue and golds got up in the last score of the game to win their pre-season match 45-43 in Invercargill on Saturday.

It will be the first and only real test for Otago and Southland at what will be a deserted Rugby Park Stadium this afternoon.

The North-South games used to be a staple on the agenda.

An All Black squad will be named tomorrow to play against — who knows? At least it brings a bit of normality back to the sport which has been badly hit by the pandemic.  Rugby&nbsp...

Jamie Joseph has ruled out taking charge of the Highlanders but admits nothing is for certain in the current world.

Otago has named a couple of exciting newcomers in its side to take on Southland in a pre-season match in Invercargill tomorrow.

Otago midfield back Aleki Morris-Lome will get to see plenty of Ryan Martin over the next couple of years.

Many players at a young age are tipped to rise through the ranks.

The Highlanders are likely to look for an experienced head coach for next season, although money may limit their options.

It has been one man and his dog in clubrooms in the past few weeks, hitting them hard in the back pocket.