July 28, 2026 • 10 mins
Southland Stags rugby legend Jason Rutledge looks ahead to the upcoming Stag Day, and he reflects back on a massive career of his own which is still going.
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Whatever it's this says the Master on Hakanui.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Jason Rutler just fear to say he's a legend in
Southland rugby. And that's the term you don't use very loosely,
b less be honest. Looking at his stats here far
out one hundred and thirty eight caps for the Stags,
fifty nine for the Highlanders and over three hundred club
games for Woodlands on its own of course, his father
Lester and all black he played over one hundred games
(00:30):
for the Stags, and his son Gregor was signed up
for South And for twenty and twenty six. Jason, good afternoon,
there's some good jeans running in this family.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Yeah afternoon, yep by and then my other younger brother
played a couple of games in South and two. So yeah, no,
it's we've been blessed, I suppose, and the men of Thomas,
strength of the union and yeah both Obviously as a
young father going down, I watched dead and he didn't
go under the stands with all the other Southerners and
(01:02):
making all the players. And then greg has obviously done
a lot of that the same with me, and now
he gets the opportunity to do that for himself. As
it's pretty cool.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Now you just like I say, you've clocked up over
three or three hundred games for Woodies. I mean you
started back in nineteen ninety nine, for God's sake, this
when I was playing.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Yeah, I think more of the fact that the state
of how many years has probably better than the number
of games. Yeah, it's it's been a lot of years
out at Woodlands and yeah. No, and they took me
under my wing, under their wing when I turned up there,
players like Pup Schipper and there at Impsey and Craig
Hall when I first arrived and showed me the way.
(01:42):
And I find it's probably now my job to show
those other young boys what's going on. So and now
we roll out at Woodlands and yeah, I've had plenty
of success with Woodlands too, So I've been sort of
blessed in that regard to plenty of top rugby players
I've come through there in the last thirty years.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
And they talk about culture breeding success Woodland's case and point.
You've had your share of Galbraith's celebrations over the years
as well.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Yeah. No, well I think I think I've been in
seventeen finals in that time, so that's you know, I've been,
as I say, very spoilt, and probably a lot of
that goes down to the committee at Woodlands in regard
having the Kettle Fund, and there's a group of fifty
farmers at Woodan's Way that look after the club and
then that's reimbursed into the club to lights and the
(02:31):
club rooms, but also helping to get young guys out
to Woodlands and giving them some money for accommodation and
fuel and finding a job for them. So in that
regard that the Kettle Fund has been great for Woodlands.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Now you talk about the changes and rugby over the years.
Like back in the day, rucking was part and parcel love.
You look at it these days it's all about pods
and the likes. From your perspective, you're as good as
anybody to be a judge around this. Is it a
different game to play? Is it more enjoyable to play
the way it is now? Oh?
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Was that more enjoyable? It depends on what you enjoyed.
I suppose I didn't mind getting a few spring marks
on me. It always showed that you're you're probably in
the right spot. Really, like if you if you look
at it now, it's it's hard, like there's so many
people getting shoulder injuries because they're they're jackling over the ball.
But back in their day, we're just trying to dive
over the ball and get it back for our own teams.
(03:22):
So there's a lot of safety things that have changed.
You look at scrums too, like we used to fly
into scrums. Now it's perhaps buying set and it's a
lot more, a lot safer, but I think it takes
a lot of the contest out of probably scrums and
rucks in that regard. But yeah, a lot safer now.
And yeah, I think I probably enjoyed the back in
(03:44):
the days, probably in the two thousands, where things were
probably a bit you could get away with the punch
or you get away and you could sort people out
that way. Now you find if you've got someone who's
been a bit of a deckhead on the field, he
sort of get to it.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Well, that's the big thing, I suppose, like the sprigs
and the likes and people bunking the check by the
ref because they had twenty two or twenty four mill
sprigs and that was certainly something of a bygone era.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Yeah, definitely, although there's been they're all under these plastic
sprigs now and there's been two really big gashes that
have happened this year and Sean Kempden still struggling with
the cut on his cut on his shin, So yeah,
I'd never seen anything like these cuts that they're getting
(04:32):
off these plastic sprigs. So yeah, maybe they need to
make everyone go back to the twenty ones.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Yeah, that's a bit what will be a bad idea?
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Actually NOWS Day Stag's Day on Saturday, they're playing a tager.
You've played in a number of these fixtures. What does
it mean to be involved with in an event like that?
Speaker 3 (04:49):
There was always the big brother rivalry and yeah, like
I think it brings a lot out into the South
and Wonders especially. I suppose it's just the same as anyone.
If you going up against your big brother, you're going
to fly into it and try and prove that you're
you're the Donovan one in that competition. So I know
that they've been sort of struggling a bit with injuries
(05:11):
and flu and everything else, so I'm hoping that they
can really get a good squad the air and rippinged
with it. Yeah, it was always great occasions like closing
a care Has Brook we got to play there, so
that was awesome. Beating a Tago that day first game,
a foresight bar, the shield challenged down the end of
(05:32):
the cargo. Yeah, there's been some pretty awesome matches I've
been involved in against the Tago and most of the
time we hit the breaking rots over them. So it
was always good to go up to Highlanders and say, uh,
you've got one over here this year.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Just how important does that Raby Park crowd on the tirace?
Speaker 3 (05:47):
Is that?
Speaker 1 (05:47):
Like a sixteenth man?
Speaker 3 (05:49):
Yeah? I think so. Yeah, Well I drove past you
today just before and it's a higher activity, teams going
up and those trucks pulling in and everyone trying to
get it primed work. So yeah, I think they've got
a bit of a coup there, having stagged there even
three Yeah, yeah, so it's great for here. And I
(06:12):
suppose like a stag down the Tiger just doesn't have
the same effect. I suppose like they don't travel as
much as we do. But we've got so many UNI
students up and they need and they make a day
to come down and watch the Stags as well, So yeah,
I think it's a. It's an awesome crowd, probably the
best crowd in NPC. That's that happens every year, so
(06:34):
I don't think any other union can put anything on
what we do every year.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
So what does it make south and such a special
team to have such a large fan base. And let's
be honest, it doesn't matter where you go in the country.
It's a bit like the Waves. We have pockets and
fans turn up everywhere. Southland's the same.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Yeah. I don't actually know the reason for that, but
that's yeah, you did right, you go anywhere in the country.
Like I've just been in Gibbon and there was people
come up to me talking about how that dad was.
He borne up in the East Coast, but he loved
the Honders, loved the Stags. So yeah, I seriously don't
know what it is. It's maybe yeah, I don't know.
(07:13):
It's even love their jersey as well, like a Jerseys
sell out in no time. Yeah, there's something differently there.
It's something a marketing person needs to probably figure out.
I'm unsure what it is, but that's great for us now.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Athan the Great and Samsie two point Tyler Lowe getting
themselves under the aba Ethan's established Samisie though, going in
there with a rocky ab as such. But it must
be pretty cool, especially from your perspective, realizing the guys
can do that step up from the rural provinces.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
Yeah, no, SMSSI was. Yeah, he's been obet since he
came down here. In that first year playing club rugby
against him, he just he just would dominate club rugby
and throw people around, smash people. Yeah, so he definitely
had that look. But then his ability to step up
at every level. I suppose when he played for the
South and or he went to another level and didn't
(08:02):
get an opportunity, but then Steuthn pushed hard for him
to get into a training camp at Mona, and then
when he got his opportunity there, he stepped up again.
So I think you'd look at if Ardie is not
there for those three games, Samessi gets maybe two of them,
who knows he could he could push his way in
and maybe they look to move Ardie out of eight
and Submessi gets that chance. So yeah, he's he's been
(08:26):
given a bit of a goal to grab it, and
yeah he's taken it. I feel I thought I thought
Jack would have been close as well, so who knows.
With being in Africa, there'd be plenty of injuries, so
we might even see one or two more Staggs go
over there.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
There'll be a lot of injuries there.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
And regarding Athan to great though, this is just a
great story and he's in the form of his life.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Yeah, Like, jeez, I felt sorry for him when he
was sort of given that we've up and told he
needs to get fitter or swim down. I'm not too
sure what it was, but yeah, since then, he's made
every post winner, isn't he Like he's had a good
super campaign. I'm unsure of what he's changed a lot,
but he's I'm not very good at those backdoor passes,
(09:12):
but gee, he does that well. Like he sits up
in his pod and pulls back to those backs and
it's seems to be working really well. And then when
it's time to carry, he's caring well, scrummaging's going awesome,
and he's definitely fronting up on d So yeah, he's Yeah,
it'd be one of the first names they put on
the teamless when they're picking they're testing.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Hey, good on you, Jason, Thanks for some of your time.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
This afternoon, not the Stags on Saturday, and appreciated your time.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
Good man Chus Andy.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Laugh out loud with AG proud because life on the
land can be a laughing matter. Brought to us by
sheer Well Data working to help the livestock farmer.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Two termites walking to a bar. One looked around and asked,
is the bartender in here? Great to catch up with
Jason Rutler. You hit us stag Day this weekend, I
mean de meal at the show is brought to you
by Peterson DX and podcast is up shortly a Nightheart Radio.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Enjoy the afternoon, catch you tomorrow.
Whatever it's this says the Master on Hakanui.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Jason Rutler just fear to say he's a legend in
Southland rugby. And that's the term you don't use very loosely,
b less be honest. Looking at his stats here far
out one hundred and thirty eight caps for the Stags,
fifty nine for the Highlanders and over three hundred club
games for Woodlands on its own of course, his father
Lester and all black he played over one hundred games
(00:30):
for the Stags, and his son Gregor was signed up
for South And for twenty and twenty six. Jason, good afternoon,
there's some good jeans running in this family.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
Yeah afternoon, yep by and then my other younger brother
played a couple of games in South and two. So yeah, no,
it's we've been blessed, I suppose, and the men of Thomas,
strength of the union and yeah both Obviously as a
young father going down, I watched dead and he didn't
go under the stands with all the other Southerners and
(01:02):
making all the players. And then greg has obviously done
a lot of that the same with me, and now
he gets the opportunity to do that for himself. As
it's pretty cool.
Speaker 2 (01:10):
Now you just like I say, you've clocked up over
three or three hundred games for Woodies. I mean you
started back in nineteen ninety nine, for God's sake, this
when I was playing.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
Yeah, I think more of the fact that the state
of how many years has probably better than the number
of games. Yeah, it's it's been a lot of years
out at Woodlands and yeah. No, and they took me
under my wing, under their wing when I turned up there,
players like Pup Schipper and there at Impsey and Craig
Hall when I first arrived and showed me the way.
(01:42):
And I find it's probably now my job to show
those other young boys what's going on. So and now
we roll out at Woodlands and yeah, I've had plenty
of success with Woodlands too, So I've been sort of
blessed in that regard to plenty of top rugby players
I've come through there in the last thirty years.
Speaker 2 (02:00):
And they talk about culture breeding success Woodland's case and point.
You've had your share of Galbraith's celebrations over the years
as well.
Speaker 3 (02:08):
Yeah. No, well I think I think I've been in
seventeen finals in that time, so that's you know, I've been,
as I say, very spoilt, and probably a lot of
that goes down to the committee at Woodlands in regard
having the Kettle Fund, and there's a group of fifty
farmers at Woodan's Way that look after the club and
then that's reimbursed into the club to lights and the
(02:31):
club rooms, but also helping to get young guys out
to Woodlands and giving them some money for accommodation and
fuel and finding a job for them. So in that
regard that the Kettle Fund has been great for Woodlands.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Now you talk about the changes and rugby over the years.
Like back in the day, rucking was part and parcel love.
You look at it these days it's all about pods
and the likes. From your perspective, you're as good as
anybody to be a judge around this. Is it a
different game to play? Is it more enjoyable to play
the way it is now? Oh?
Speaker 3 (03:01):
Was that more enjoyable? It depends on what you enjoyed.
I suppose I didn't mind getting a few spring marks
on me. It always showed that you're you're probably in
the right spot. Really, like if you if you look
at it now, it's it's hard, like there's so many
people getting shoulder injuries because they're they're jackling over the ball.
But back in their day, we're just trying to dive
over the ball and get it back for our own teams.
(03:22):
So there's a lot of safety things that have changed.
You look at scrums too, like we used to fly
into scrums. Now it's perhaps buying set and it's a
lot more, a lot safer, but I think it takes
a lot of the contest out of probably scrums and
rucks in that regard. But yeah, a lot safer now.
And yeah, I think I probably enjoyed the back in
(03:44):
the days, probably in the two thousands, where things were
probably a bit you could get away with the punch
or you get away and you could sort people out
that way. Now you find if you've got someone who's
been a bit of a deckhead on the field, he
sort of get to it.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Well, that's the big thing, I suppose, like the sprigs
and the likes and people bunking the check by the
ref because they had twenty two or twenty four mill
sprigs and that was certainly something of a bygone era.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
Yeah, definitely, although there's been they're all under these plastic
sprigs now and there's been two really big gashes that
have happened this year and Sean Kempden still struggling with
the cut on his cut on his shin, So yeah,
I'd never seen anything like these cuts that they're getting
(04:32):
off these plastic sprigs. So yeah, maybe they need to
make everyone go back to the twenty ones.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Yeah, that's a bit what will be a bad idea?
Speaker 2 (04:38):
Actually NOWS Day Stag's Day on Saturday, they're playing a tager.
You've played in a number of these fixtures. What does
it mean to be involved with in an event like that?
Speaker 3 (04:49):
There was always the big brother rivalry and yeah, like
I think it brings a lot out into the South
and Wonders especially. I suppose it's just the same as anyone.
If you going up against your big brother, you're going
to fly into it and try and prove that you're
you're the Donovan one in that competition. So I know
that they've been sort of struggling a bit with injuries
(05:11):
and flu and everything else, so I'm hoping that they
can really get a good squad the air and rippinged
with it. Yeah, it was always great occasions like closing
a care Has Brook we got to play there, so
that was awesome. Beating a Tago that day first game,
a foresight bar, the shield challenged down the end of
(05:32):
the cargo. Yeah, there's been some pretty awesome matches I've
been involved in against the Tago and most of the
time we hit the breaking rots over them. So it
was always good to go up to Highlanders and say, uh,
you've got one over here this year.
Speaker 1 (05:44):
Just how important does that Raby Park crowd on the tirace?
Speaker 3 (05:47):
Is that?
Speaker 1 (05:47):
Like a sixteenth man?
Speaker 3 (05:49):
Yeah? I think so. Yeah, Well I drove past you
today just before and it's a higher activity, teams going
up and those trucks pulling in and everyone trying to
get it primed work. So yeah, I think they've got
a bit of a coup there, having stagged there even
three Yeah, yeah, so it's great for here. And I
(06:12):
suppose like a stag down the Tiger just doesn't have
the same effect. I suppose like they don't travel as
much as we do. But we've got so many UNI
students up and they need and they make a day
to come down and watch the Stags as well, So yeah,
I think it's a. It's an awesome crowd, probably the
best crowd in NPC. That's that happens every year, so
(06:34):
I don't think any other union can put anything on
what we do every year.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
So what does it make south and such a special
team to have such a large fan base. And let's
be honest, it doesn't matter where you go in the country.
It's a bit like the Waves. We have pockets and
fans turn up everywhere. Southland's the same.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
Yeah. I don't actually know the reason for that, but
that's yeah, you did right, you go anywhere in the country.
Like I've just been in Gibbon and there was people
come up to me talking about how that dad was.
He borne up in the East Coast, but he loved
the Honders, loved the Stags. So yeah, I seriously don't
know what it is. It's maybe yeah, I don't know.
(07:13):
It's even love their jersey as well, like a Jerseys
sell out in no time. Yeah, there's something differently there.
It's something a marketing person needs to probably figure out.
I'm unsure what it is, but that's great for us now.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
Athan the Great and Samsie two point Tyler Lowe getting
themselves under the aba Ethan's established Samisie though, going in
there with a rocky ab as such. But it must
be pretty cool, especially from your perspective, realizing the guys
can do that step up from the rural provinces.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
Yeah, no, SMSSI was. Yeah, he's been obet since he
came down here. In that first year playing club rugby
against him, he just he just would dominate club rugby
and throw people around, smash people. Yeah, so he definitely
had that look. But then his ability to step up
at every level. I suppose when he played for the
South and or he went to another level and didn't
(08:02):
get an opportunity, but then Steuthn pushed hard for him
to get into a training camp at Mona, and then
when he got his opportunity there, he stepped up again.
So I think you'd look at if Ardie is not
there for those three games, Samessi gets maybe two of them,
who knows he could he could push his way in
and maybe they look to move Ardie out of eight
and Submessi gets that chance. So yeah, he's he's been
(08:26):
given a bit of a goal to grab it, and
yeah he's taken it. I feel I thought I thought
Jack would have been close as well, so who knows.
With being in Africa, there'd be plenty of injuries, so
we might even see one or two more Staggs go
over there.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
There'll be a lot of injuries there.
Speaker 2 (08:43):
And regarding Athan to great though, this is just a
great story and he's in the form of his life.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
Yeah, Like, jeez, I felt sorry for him when he
was sort of given that we've up and told he
needs to get fitter or swim down. I'm not too
sure what it was, but yeah, since then, he's made
every post winner, isn't he Like he's had a good
super campaign. I'm unsure of what he's changed a lot,
but he's I'm not very good at those backdoor passes,
(09:12):
but gee, he does that well. Like he sits up
in his pod and pulls back to those backs and
it's seems to be working really well. And then when
it's time to carry, he's caring well, scrummaging's going awesome,
and he's definitely fronting up on d So yeah, he's Yeah,
it'd be one of the first names they put on
the teamless when they're picking they're testing.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Hey, good on you, Jason, Thanks for some of your time.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
This afternoon, not the Stags on Saturday, and appreciated your time.
Speaker 3 (09:39):
Good man Chus Andy.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
Laugh out loud with AG proud because life on the
land can be a laughing matter. Brought to us by
sheer Well Data working to help the livestock farmer.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Two termites walking to a bar. One looked around and asked,
is the bartender in here? Great to catch up with
Jason Rutler. You hit us stag Day this weekend, I
mean de meal at the show is brought to you
by Peterson DX and podcast is up shortly a Nightheart Radio.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Enjoy the afternoon, catch you tomorrow.
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