Highlanders bracing for backlash
Plodding through the destruction left behind by the unbeaten Crusaders is something Highlanders coach Tony Brown might just have to get used to.
He saw the Crusaders chew up the Stormers and spit them out in a 57-24 towelling in Christchurch last Saturday night, a result which hardly prompted him to pick up the blower and thank Crusaders coach Scott Robertson.
Rather than softening them up, Brown believes the 33-point thrashing has only made his team’s job more difficult tomorrow night, when they host the Stormers in Dunedin.
‘‘One-hundred per cent,’’ Brown said when asked if he’s expecting a backlash from the 6-2 Stormers.
‘‘No team wants to lose like that. I’d say there will be an edge in their team and in their trainings this week and that will lead into their performance. It’s up to us to go out there and match them or better that.’’
Last weekend’s 40-15 win against the Sunwolves in Invercargill was the first of four consecutive games the Highlanders will play against teams coming off games against the table-topping Crusaders.
Fresh off a 50-3 loss to the red and blacks, the Sunwolves were improved against the Highlanders, who must also play the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein and the Bulls in Pretoria after the Crusaders have unleashed their All Black-laden team on them.
Adding to the difficulty of Friday’s match against the Africa 1 conference leaders, the Stormers have had another week in New Zealand to settle.
‘‘The hardest game for any South African team is the first one in New Zealand and they were off their game against the Crusaders,’’ Brown said. ‘‘We’re expecting a pretty tough battle. Traditionally, the second game that South African teams play in New Zealand they perform best in. We’re not expecting a similar sort of per- formance that they had against the Crusaders . . . it’s going to be bloody tough for us.’’
Chasing a fifth consecutive win – and sixth in their last seven games – the Highlanders will again have to get by without first-five eighth Lima Sopoaga.
Sopoaga hasn’t played since picking up a hamstring injury against the Blues in round three and Brown said the game against the Bulls on May 13 was the the most realistic target for his return.
Up against a typically meaty South African pack, the Highlanders have lost a couple of key cogs to their own pack in the form of Luke Whitelock and enforcer Elliot Dixon.
Whitelock has been struck down with concussion-type symptoms on the back of the Highlanders’ win against the Sunwolves, while Dixon, a late scratching for that game due to a knee infection, has not recovered in time.
Losing the duo leaves five Highlanders loose forwards on the injury list, with Dan Pryor (knee), Shane Christie (illness) and James Lentjes (elbow) also still unavailable.
In another blow, midfielder Richard Buckman has been ruled out with an achilles injury, leaving Malakai Fekitoa to revert to his preferred centre position, while second-five eighth Rob Thompson will make his first appearance since a family bereavement last month.
Brown is hopeful Dixon, Whitelock and Buckman will be declared fit in time to travel with the team to South Africa on Saturday morning.
He was also hopeful the team would have an update on Shane Christie’s mystery illness, which has sidelined him all season, in the next couple of weeks.
‘‘It’s hard to say. It’s frustrating for Shane. We’re just not quite getting to the bottom of that one.’’
Winger Patrick Osborne, a former Chief and Crusader, will play his 50th game for the Highlanders against the Stormers.
Meanwhile, former Highlanders midfielder Shaun Treeby is set to make his Stormers debut against his former side tomorrow.
Treeby, who helped the Highlanders win their maiden Super Rugby title in 2015, signed for the injury-hit franchise earlier this month but has not yet played.
However, Stormers coach Robbie Fleck confirmed he would ‘‘definitely’’ name Treeby in his match-day squad this week.