Lincoln McClutchie preferred to start as Magpies ready for Southland Ranfurly Shield challenge

The return of last year’s top NPC points-scorer to the starting line-up is the feature of the Hawke’s Bay Magpies team named for Saturday’s Ranfurly Shield defence and Bunnings Warehouse NPC match against the Southland Stags at McLean Park, Napier.

Recently returned from playing in the American Major League Rugby championship, Lincoln McClutchie was a reserve for last Sunday’s away 2024 NPC opener against North Harbour.

McClutchie was the only player to appear in all 13 Magpies NPC matches in 2023, and scored 125 points.

With 64 appearances for the Magpies under the belt since his debut as a teenager in 2018, the 25-year-old McClutchie was subbed-on in the second half, reuniting with former Hastings Boys’ High School First XV teammates Folau Fakatava, and Danny Toala, and, after missing two conversions, kicked seven points as the Magpies came back from 32-17 down 14 minutes into the second half to win 41-32.

McClutchie has 461 points for the Bay, the fourth-highest in 140 years of Magpies rugby, behind only Jarrod Cunningham (1291 in 1990-1998), Ian Bishop (631 in 1963-1972) and Ihaia West (628 in 2012-2017).

This Saturday, he comes in for Harry Godfrey, now on the subs’ bench in the only starting line-up change.

Lincoln McClutchie in the big win over Southland in Napier in 2022 and in the goal-kicking form which has helped him to 461 points for the Magpies since his debut as a teenager in 2018. Photo / Warren Buckland

Also added to the reserves are Māori All Blacks prop Pouri Rakete-Stones, returning in place of squad newcomer and former Whanganui and Heartland XV prop Hadlee Hay-Horton, who had a big debut off the bench on Sunday as a late replacement for Lolani Faleiva.

Former New Zealand Under-20 player Hunter Morrison is in for Isaia Walker-Leawere, who was called into the All Blacks squad as injury cover during the week.

Southland, who opened with a morale-boosting 22-13 “Stag Day” win over Otago in Invercargill, has been seen as the Bay’s nemesis in NPC rugby.

The view stems mainly from the 1994 Division Two final, which Southland won 20-18 in Invercargill. Southland had home advantage – the reverse of the round-robin match which the Magpies won 43-10 in Napier.

While the New Zealand Rugby Union amended the rules so that playoffs home advantage would go to the higher-seed sides from the regular season, it was the result which sparked the thinking that led to Hawke’s Bay merging with Manawatu as the Central Vikings for NPC purposes, and for the Division Two campaigns of 1997 and 1998.

Hawke’s Bay didn’t make it back to the top division until it was expanded to 14 teams in 2006, Southland winning four of the first five clashes in the new format.

But in the 12 matches since 2011 the Bay have won nine and Southland have won two, nearly stealing the Ranfurly Shield off Hawke’s Bay with a 20-20 draw in 2014.

Southland last won the Magpies-Stags match 16-10 in Invercargill in 2020, but the Magpies have dominated the last two, winning 69-24 in a Shield defence in Napier in 2022 and 33-7 in Invercargill last year.

Hawke’s Bay and Southland have played four Ranfurly Shield matches, with the Bay winning defences in 1925, 1967 and 2022, and Southland successfully defending with a 9-6 win in Invercargill in 1930.

Saturday’s match will be part of a Magpies and Hawke’s Bay Tui women’s team double-header, with the Tui opening their 2024 Farah Palmer Cup campaign against Counties Manukau Heat.

The Tui will be at McLean Park for the first time since beating Northland Kauri in a Division Two semifinal in September 2022.

The Tui opened last season with a home win against eventual champions Auckland Storm, and made the semifinals, despite being beaten 63-26 by Counties Manukau in their last match before the playoffs.

The team is to be announced on Friday, but one who will be missing is prop Moomooga (Ona) Palu, who is now playing for Canterbury.

The Hawke’s Bay Magpies for the Ranfurly Shield defence and Bunnings NPC match against Southland Stags at McLean Park, Napier, on Saturday: Tim Farrell, Jacob Devery, Joel Hintz; Geoff Cridge, Tom Parsons (captain); Frank Lochore, Sam Smith, Josh Kaifa; Folau Fakatava, Lincoln McClutchie; Ben O’Donnell, Danny Toala, Nick Grigg, Freedom Vaha’akolo; Matthew Protheroe. Reserves: Kianu Kereru-Symes, Pouri Rakete-Stones, Joe Apikotoa, Hunter Morrison, Cooper Flanders, Sam Wye, Harry Godfrey, Neria Fomai.