The team that likes to go unnoticed
On the eve of another Super Rugby season the Highlanders are where they like to be: under the radar.
The Blues are hogging the headlines and the Crusaders and Hurricanes are occupying the top two betting lines.
The argument goes the Highlanders don’t have a quality No 10 and might struggle this year. However, don’t hold your breath too tightly on that one.
While Lima Sopoaga is going to be missed, the Highlanders have the makings of a good pack – big and mobile – an outstanding group of loose forwards, the best No 9 in the country, serious gas out wide and a desire to send France-bound Ben Smith off on a high note.
In fact, when the Highlanders are good – as they were at times last year – they are very good.
They outplayed the Hurricanes in Dunedin in early June last year and at that point had a reasonable claim to be the form side in New Zealand.
It was the dreaded June test break that killed them. When Super Rugby resumed in late June last year the Highlanders were thumped by the Chiefs, thumped by the Crusaders, got out of jail against the Rebels and then lost to the Waratahs in the first week of the finals.
No side will be happier to see this year’s Super Rugby run from February to July in one continuous block. That is just one of the reasons the Highlanders might surprise a few this season.
Another is the continuity in their squad. Sopoaga’s exit aside, there hasn’t been a lot of player turnover, which means that there is a group of players coming through in their second or third years at Super Rugby level.
While we all love to see a player make a splash in their first season, for the majority the big improvements come after a year or two at the top level.
For the Highlanders, that means the likes of Josh Dickson, Pari Pari Parkinson, Shannon Frizell, Sio Tomkinson, Tyrel Lomax, Tevita Nabura and Josh Mckay can be bigger contributors this year.
No 10s Josh Ioane and Bryn Gatland come under the same umbrella. Popular opinion suggests the Highlanders will struggle in the position but as a combination they provide a mix of run-pass-kick skills with neither afraid to take on the line. Head coach Aaron Mauger should also feel more comfortable in his second season in charge.
The former Crusader comes across as an organised and thoughtful coach who would have picked apart last season and formed strong views about where improvements were needed.
Already in the pre-season there were signs that the Highlanders will play to their strengths out wide, where you can take your pick from a list of threats that starts with excellent centre Rob Thompson and expands to Waisake Naholo, Ben Smith and the explosive Nabura.
The Highlanders have a brutal first half of their draw – they play the Crusaders and Hurricanes twice between round 4 (March 8) and round 9 (April 12) – but if they emerge from that period in reasonable shape they can push on, particularly with two home games (Bulls, Waratahs) to finish their season. A top-two spot in the New Zealand conference is not impossible.
Highlanders 2019 squad: Forwards:
Daniel Lienert-brown, Josh Iosefa-scott, Ayden Johnstone, Siate Tokolahi, Tyrel Lomax, Sef Fa’agase, Liam Coltman, Ash Dixon, Ray Niuia, Tom Franklin, Jackson Hemopo, Pari Pari Parkinson, Josh Dickson, Jack Whetton, Luke Whitelock (cc), Liam Squire, James Lentjes, Dillon Hunt, Marino Mikaele Tu’u, Shannon Frizell, Elliot Dixon.
Aaron Smith, Kayne Hammington, Folau Fakatava, Bryn Gatland, Josh Ioane, Marty Banks, Rob Thompson, Patelesio Tomkinson, Teihorangi Walden, Richard Buckman, Matt Faddes, Thomas Umaga-jensen, Waisake Naholo, Tevita Li, Tevita Nabura, Josh Mckay, Ben Smith (cc).
Iosefa-scott, Johnstone, Fa’agase, Niuia, Whetton, Fakatava, Gatland, Banks.
Fletcher Smith (Hurricanes), Josh Renton, Dan Pryor (Sunwolves), Alex Ainley, Guy Millar, Greg Pleasants-tate.
Backs:
In:
Out: