The Southland under-19 team has felt the wrath of Canterbury rugby through a 68-0 loss at Rugby Park in Invercargill on Saturday.

The two teams met in a what is a South Island grading type fixture before next month's national under-19 tournament in Taupo. Southland struggled to contain Canterbury letting in 33 first half points and a further 35 in the second half in the 68-0 loss. Southland coach Daryl Thompson conceded the Canterbury outfit was a 'slick team' and included players which wouldn't look out of place suiting up at Mitre 10 Cup level.

However, he said they didn't help themselves given they were guilty of handing the ball over too easily with basic errors and Canterbury took full control. Thompson estimated Canterbury racked up about 80 percent possession throughout the game and the 20 percent they had most of the last two phases before they coughed up the ball. The Southland under-19 team has seven days to lick their wounds and bounce back when they take on Otago in Dunedin on Saturday.

Article credit - Logan Savoury, Southland Times