Rugby Southland say the "extremely challenging" rugby environment is behind the union's loss of almost half a million dollars.

The family of an elderly man found dead in a sewage pond in western Southland yesterday believe he was trying to rescue a lamb.

Making teachers' lives easier is the mantra for Invercargill company.

New Zealand's road to the 2012 London Olympic begins in Adelaide this weekend at the Oceania track championships.

An Invercargill teenager, who set three men alight after he threw petrol on a fire, was given a warning under the three strikes law today.