 In his debut season for the Southland Stags he was named Southland player of the year, scoring two highly memorable NPC tries off kick offs.The first was an intercept and an unopposed run to the line off a Southland kickoff, while the second was against Canterbury in a Ranfurly Shield challenge, when he fielded a Canterbury kickoff and ran 60 meters to score.This form won him a Super 12 contract with the Highlanders in 2002.