Taihape lad tackles Lions

Taihape's Jack Statton scores the crucial try to give Canterbury the win over Counties in the 2016 Mitre 10 Cup final.

Taihape-born Jack Stratton will follow in his father's footsteps as he works his way through his top level rugby commitments in the coming weeks.

The 22-year-old Lincoln University halfback has been named captain of the New Zealand University team and is also in the New Zealand Provincial Barbarians side that will play the Lions in the opening match of the 217 tour in Whangarei on June 3. Stratton will take his place alongside Wanganui Heartland captain Peter Rowe in the Barbarians' line-up.

In the University side Stratton will link up with gifted Wanganui players Sam Malcolm and Jono Osbourne, who also plays for Lincoln.
Stratton has impeccable rugby breeding.

His father, Taihape real estate agent Peter Stratton, played 80 games for Wanganui, while his grandfather Bob Barrell stepped out 139 times for the River City.

Stratton senior played blindside flanker against the Lions in the opening match of the 1983 tour, while years earlier Barrell was supposed to have also played for Wanganui against the Lions, but a paddock accident while picking spuds sent him to hospital instead.

"While picking spuds a fellow worker threw one at Bob and hit him in the eye temporarily blinding him, so he spent the time in hospital when he should have been playing the Lions," Pete Stratton said.

As a youngster Jack Stratton played age group representative rugby, including for the Manawatu under-18 side while still at school at Feilding Ag.

"He then won a Canterbury rugby scholarship to attend Lincoln University and they're pretty hard to come by," Pete Stratton said.

"He is now in his fourth year as halfback for the Lincoln Rams that have won the Canterbury division one premier competition for the last two years. Jack was co-captain last season."

Stratton was also called up for pre-season training with the Crusaders two years ago playing in a development side against the Hurricanes in Ekatahuna.

Over the last two years Stratton has also played 16 times for Canterbury winning the Mitre 10 competition last year and also the year before when it was the ITM Cup.

"Jack has also defended the Ranfurly Shield for Canterbury," Pete Stratton said.

"He toured Japan in 2015 with NZ Universities. I toured Japan in 1982 with NZ Universities. Jack was also selected for the University's internal tour, but was called up as injury cover for the Crusaders by Todd Blackadder.

"He never got on the paddock for the Crusaders, but was compensated with captaincy of the Universities side that will play Kanto in Hamilton this Saturday as curtain-raiser for the Chiefs/Sun Hawkes Super Rugby match."