Highlanders grab late win
The Highlanders had to dig deep for this one.
A late Dillon Hunt try has secured the southern men their second win of the season with a 36-31 victory, but they were pushed all the way by Brad Thorn’s spirited young Reds side in a Super Rugby match at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin last night.
In the end, Hunt’s five-pointer and another strong goalkicking performance by Josh Ioane got the job done despite being hampered by a malfunctioning lineout and disrupted by midfield injuries.
Earlier, the Highlanders’ All Blacks quartet of Aaron Smith, Ben Smith, Waisake Naholo and Shannon Frizell showed their class, with Aaron Smith picking out runners superbly and Frizell displaying his power with two tries from close range.
They needed to be good. The home lineout cost the home side two first-half tries and kept the Queenslanders in the game just as it appeared the Highlanders would bury them in the first 40 minutes.
Indeed, that was the story of the game as the Highlanders scored and then let the Reds back into the game.
Nowhere was the shift in momentum more evident than in the 49th minute, when the Highlanders missed a giltedged chance to take a healthy lead as Tei Walden dropped the ball and was smashed in a heavy tackle.
The Reds hacked downfield to set up a try for Izack Rodda and it was game on until Hunt’s late score.
It was a second straight fightback win for the Highlanders, who beat the Chiefs 30-27 in their first match last week.