Highlanders thrashed after truly woeful first half
APPARENTLY, it was a commercial success but memo to the Highlanders — it is about the scoreboard, not the balance sheet. Too many more like this and they will have a very red balance sheet.
The Highlanders put on probably the worst 40 minutes of their history to be roundly thumped 4522 by the Chiefs in Suva on Saturday night.
The southern franchise could have not have played worse if it had gone out there with a plan to play particularly badly in the opening 40 minutes. Perhaps it did, because it was a truly woeful performance which resulted in the side conceding six converted tries to be 420 down at halftime.
What could go wrong did go wrong for the Highlanders in that first half into a strong wind. Tackles were missed, handling was awful, there was no composure, no accuracy and everything was rushed. Luke Whitelock was yellowcarded for a dumb deliberate knockon and Lima Sopoaga once kicked the ball out on the full from the kickoff. Yes, it was that sort of night. The side came back in the second half and scored four tries to make the scoreboard a tad more respectable but the race had been run and the Highlanders were still a distant second at the finish line.
It was a complete fishoutofwater performance from the Highlanders in the first half. Perhaps the side had spent too much time drinking kava and handing out flags and forgot it is actually about the game.
Highlanders coach Aaron Mauger did not mince words when describing the firsthalf performance.
‘‘We were poor in that first half and the Chiefs played really well. Credit to them; they executed their game plan very well and put a lot of pressure on around the physical part of the game,’’ he said.
‘‘We just could not match them in the intensity and could not get any momentum into our game.
‘‘They dominated at the breakdown and made metres with the ball. We had a couple of chances in that first half that we needed to nail but we made a couple of errors and that cost us.
He said the Chiefs won all the battles in the first half.
‘‘I was happy with the preparation we had during the week. We worked hard at home and got over here and made sure we did not go too overboard with the welcomes and the festivities.
‘‘The boys are really disappointed, really down about it. They’re proud men, proud of the jersey and the region. I don’t doubt the passion of the men who wear the jersey.’’
He was proud the side came back well in the second half and showed spirit.
The Chiefs scored a try in the first two minutes and did not let up. The Highlanders were way too passive in defence and their work at the breakdown was laboured and inaccurate.
Referee Paul Williams got into them and the Highlanders were just in the reverse gear the whole time.
Admittedly, the side was playing into a strong head wind but no wind is worth 42 points.
It would be hard to find a decent performance but centre Rob Thompson ran well and Elliot Dixon was busy.
Waisake Naholo went off for the Highlanders with cramp, in an unhappy homecoming for him, while prop Siate Tokolahi damaged the back of his knee but it is not thought to be serious.
Naholo was one of many of the key men who did not fire for the Highlanders and the side was simply well off the standards it had set in the opening 13 games of the competition.
One can understand the commercial realities of taking the game to Suva but one doubts whether the Chiefs would have been so good if that blustery wind was coming off Foveaux Strait.
Liam Messam wound back the years for the Chiefs with a vintage performance from No 8 while Charlie Ngatai stamped his class on the game.
KAIKORAI moved into the top four with a tenacious defensive effort to beat Southern 2019 on Saturday.
Taieri slipped to fifth spot following its 3711 loss to University, which consolidated its spot on top of the standings.
Harbour climbed into second place with a convincing 288 win against the giantkilling Green Island, while AlhambraUnion dispatched ZingariRichmond, 4715.
University can tick the box labelled ruthless.
The competition leaders pounced on three mistakes by Taieri in the last quarter of the game to win 3711 and retain the Challenge Shield at the University of Otago Oval.
The final margin suggests a dominant display by the home side. But the game was in the balance with 20 minutes to play.
The Eels had run the ball from everywhere and were building again. But someone in the University pack won a crucial turnover and Gavin Stark took off.
He was caught but flicked off a brilliant pass behind the back of his tackler to left winger Tyler Beary, who ran in from 40m to score what proved to be a gamechanger.
Taieri was suddenly trailing 2311 and looked increasingly desperate.
Marc Rooney made a howler of a mistake. The left winger ran back to field a nothing kick but took too long to clear it.
Meanwhile, University fullback Taylor Haugh had chased hard and charged down the belated clearance.
The ball popped up nicely for him and he ran in from 20m to dot down under the posts.
There was further calamity when Nick Henderson, who had a good game on the blindside, fired off a speculative pass which was intercepted by impressive second fiveeighth Emeka Ilogu.
Three mistakes — 21 points. The rest of the match was evenly contested. Taieri’s Matt Whaanga was a threatening presence in the midfield and openside Josh Brown scored a first half try and had a busy game.
His opposite, Jack McHugh, enhanced his reputation with another tigerish performance in the loose, and Mike Williams drilled all four conversions and landed three penalties in a tight display of goalkicking. The Hawks are circling. After a lacklustre start to the season, Harbour is building some momentum and has moved into second place in the standings following a convincing 288 win against Green Island at Watson Park.
Harbour produced another clinical opening 40 minutes of rugby to lead Green Island 213 at the break. Its powerful tight five wrested control of the game from a Green Island team missing some of the main protagonists from the 4210 upset over University last weekend.
Lock Joketani Koroi is a powerhouse in the middle row for the Hawks and he was impressive at lineout time.
Frontrower Aiden Spence, playing his 50th game for the senior side, made a solid contribution.
Hardrunning No 8 Solomon Pole scored just before the break from a pushover scrum, while Logan Allen ran play brilliantly from first fiveeighth. He got a lot of front foot ball and Harbour’s backs were able to run on to the ball a lot faster than Green Island, which had to make the most of some static ball.
The visitors arguably had the better of the second spell but could not find a way through Harbour’s defence. Green Island hooker JakeLane Fowler put in a solid shift for his side.
AlhambraUnion ran in seven tries to beat ZingariRichmond 4715 in the battle to avoid the wooden spoon.
The match will not go down as one of the great spectacles. There was a lot of clumsy handling and sloppy play at Montecillo.
ZingariRichmond defended well in patches but the team has been struggling in the second half of the season, stringing together some heavy losses.
Still, it kept its opponent to under 50 points which is the first time it has managed that since round 8 when it lost to Green Island 286 at Miller Park.
The Colours have not won since recording a 2515 win against Harbour in their opening game of the season.
AlhambraUnion has made a
habit out of losing close games in the last few seasons — it could have registered another three wins this year had it been better in the closing moments.
But it was too good for ZingariRichmond. It also unveiled a new player, in England under18 representative JJ Tonks, making his debut for the club. He arrived in the country on Tuesday and looks to be a loose forward with potential.
Brad Morgan had a good game in the midfield for Alhambra, while fullback John Tapeluluheu scored twice.
Ben Tuiomanufili was dynamic in the loose, while Thomas Johnson was probably the best of ZingariRichmond players.
He did his best to hold the team together at centre rather than his usual slot at first fiveeighth. Veteran No 8 Chris Bell had a solid game for the Colours as well.
Kaikorai won a tight encounter at Bathgate Park, getting home 2019 after it led 205 at the break.
Southern had a chance to win the game with the last kick of the match but the penalty attempt from Mackenzie Haugh flew to the left.
It had been awarded against Kaikorai halfback Kane Johnston, who was redcarded after referee Caleb Neilson ruled he threw a punch.
The penalty was about 35m out and handy enough but Haugh could not find the posts.
Southern had started well and scored through winger Jono Hayes after just a couple of minutes. But Kaikorai took over and dominated the rest of the first half.
A nice chip and chase led to a try to winger Jordan McEntee swiftly followed by a try to hooker Sam Wyber. Winger Corey Miller scored right on halftime to give Kaikorai a comfortable lead at the break.
Southern got more ball in the second half and Haugh showed his speed to score early on in the second half. Southern poured on the pressure but the visiting side stood strong.
The defence broke eventually though and Southern halfback Wilson Driver scored with a couple of minutes left.
Best for Southern was hooker Sam Pene and captain and No 8 Kyle Harris, while Haugh was lively at fullback.
The Kaikorai tight five was abrasive and No 8 Patrick McCurran got through plenty of work.
Ben Miller showed some nice touches while TJ Ane was lively in the Kaikorai midfield.