Highlanders make Chiefs pack their bags
The Super Rugby play-off permutations are no longer as clear as mud, in New Zealand at least, after the Highlanders maintained their recent dominance over the Chiefs to enable the Hurricanes to secure home advantage for the finals series.
A dramatic New Zealand conference – the hardest-fought in the competition – appropriately went down to the wire in Dunedin last night as the reigning champions secured a frenetic 25-15 victory that still couldn’t prevent Jamie Joseph’s travel-weary squad from repacking their bags for the quarterfinals.
However, the Highlanders sixth successive win over the Chiefs mean they finish second in the conference and fifth overall and have to venture only as far as Australia; the Chiefs drop to sixth and face an arduous journey to Cape Town to face the Stormers.
A 73rd minute try to Lima Sopoaga – after Matt Faddes was initially ruled to have knocked on by referee Glen Jackson before TMO Chris Wratt overturned the call – sealed the victory and sent raptures through Forsyth Barr Stadium - and the Hurricanes’ fan base.
After the Hurricanes posted their biggest win over the Crusaders in Christchurch, a 35-10 masterclass, the Chiefs needed two points – and the Highlanders a bonus point win – to claim top spot scenario eventuated.
The competition’s overall standings will be confirmed only after the Lions play the Jaguares in Buenos Aires this morning and, with the South Africans fielding a second-string team, the Hurricanes could have even more cause for celebration with the potential to host the August 6 final.
‘‘If the Chiefs score in the last two or three minutes we’re on our way to Cape Town so that’s pleasing,’’ Joseph said, after the team kept the Chiefs at bay to deny them a bonus point.
‘‘The key is we don’t have to go back to South Africa. The boys can relax for 24-48 hours, otherwise we’d have been on the plane again [on Sunday morning].’’
Now counterpart Dave Rennie has to contemplate that travel schedule, though captain Sam Cane was bullish about taking on the Stormers, who claimed the Africa 1 conference without facing Kiwi opposition.
‘‘We’ve made it a wee bit tougher on ourselves ourselves but we know we can do it. We just have to pick ourselves up from the disappointment,’’ he said.
In a contest that again emphasised the gulf between New Zealand teams and their Australian and South African rivals, the Highlanders overcame a tough trip to Port Elizabeth and Buenos Aires to bank one of their best wins.
The signs were ominous but neither early after Wratt ruled out two tries inside the opening 22 minutes – he decided No 8 Luke Whitelock had not conclusively grounded the ball after being propelled to the line by the uprights and then that Malakai Fekitoa obstructed Aaron Cruden before Waisake Naholo charged between the posts.
Undeterred by those setbacks, the Highlanders finally cracked a resolute defensive screen on the half hour when Naholo’s produced an acrobatic touch down in the right hand corner. Sopoaga missed the difficult conversion and though the Highlanders promptly swept out of their own territory, they were still trailing 7-5 at the break.
McKenzie and Sopoaga traded penalties after the resumption before the yellow carding of Tom Sanders for a lifting tackle on Ben Smith in the 54th minute provided the Highlanders with advantage to exploit.
(Waisake Naholo, Dan Pryor, Lima Sopoaga tries; Lima Sopoaga 2 pen 2 con) (Toni Pulu, Lachlan Boshier tries; Damien McKenzie pen con) HT: 5-7 a numerical