A suspicious fire has destroyed a recently-vacated Mongrel Mob house in Invercargill this morning.

Invercargill police are appealing for information after several buildings in the central city, including the court house, had concrete thrown through their windows on Friday night.

Colin Slade will finally make his return to first class rugby, having fully recovered from a broken jaw in pre-season.

Three of the five Rugby World Cup pool matches that were to have been held in Christchurch will remain in the South Island, it was announced this afternoon.

Southern Steel delivered their best performance of the year with a hard-fought 52-48 win over Adelaide Thurnderbirds in a trans-Tasman netball league match in Invercargill tonight.

A specialist fire investigator is being sent in, to find the cause of a house fire in Invercargill.

Rugby Southland say the "extremely challenging" rugby environment is behind the union's loss of almost half a million dollars.

Skipper Jamie Mackintosh is adamant Southland rugby has nothing to hide despite concerns over the union's financial situation.