Victory over the old enemy always tastes sweet for Otago.
And perhaps the golfers have delivered a good omen for their rugby counterparts when they head to Christchurch for the NPC final.
Otago regained the South Island interprovincial men’s title with an impressive clean sweep of the tournament at the Pleasant Point club on Saturday.
They had wins over Aorangi (5-1), Tasman (4-2), Southland (4.5-1.5) and, most satisfyingly, defending champions and longtime rivals Canterbury (4.5-1.5).
It was so convincing that it has to be seen as a relatively good sign that Otago can stage a title tilt at the New Zealand interprovincial at the Manawatu club in December.
“That was a really good weekend,” Otago captain Duncan Croudis said.
“All the boys played well and it was a step in the right direction, I guess.
“Nationals is always the big goal but we always like beating Canterbury and ticking this one off.”
Croudis said the Pleasant Point club was in magnificent condition and the greens were particularly impressive.
The Otago men always felt comfortable across the board and each of their wins was fairly smooth.
Experienced left-hander Ben Patston led Otago with three wins and a half from his four matches, while youngsters Ricky Kang, Noah Novacek and Connor Howes had three wins.
“I played with Noah all weekend and he was great,” Croudis said.
“He’s so talented and he was clutch down the stretch.
Howes is a former member at Pleasant Point so was able to call on his knowledge of the course, while Kang adjusted well to being No 1 in the order.
“It’s great for us to see the young ones coming through at this level.”
Another young gun waiting for his opportunity is Wanaka golfer Raphael Anderson, who won his home club’s 36-hole tournament with two rounds of 69.
Otago will finalise their team — five plus a reserve — after the Otago matchplay at Balmacewen this weekend then the New Zealand Amateur at Invercargill.
The Otago women performed reasonably well in their three-team tournament at the South Island interprovincial tournament.
They beat Aorangi twice (3.5-2.5 and 4.5-1.5) but lost twice to Canterbury (4-2 and 5-1).
Otago No 1 Yoonae Jeong had a fantastic tournament with three wins and a half, Tracey Storer had two wins and a half, and Savannah Neal had two wins.
