Highlanders cruise to predictable victory
51 Highlanders 12 Rebels
If the Super Rugby organisers needed any other reason to look at cutting an Australian team from the competition, this was it.
As the old saying goes, you can only play what’s in front of you, but the Highlanders had to do without All Blacks fullback Ben Smith, ruled out with a hamstring injury, and it’s fair to say the Rebels were awful against the Highlanders in Dunedin last night.
Sadly, few would have expected much else.
Once Richard Buckman sent Malakai Fekitoa over for the opening try, and Luke Whitelock scored one to cement the Highlanders’ dominance in the first quarter, there was no way back for a Rebels team lacking anything in terms of attacking intent.
They hardly entered Highlanders territory in the first half and unfortunately for them did little for the argument that an Aussie team should not be culled from the competition. They and the Force remain in the firing line, with the Brumbies, t wo- time champions, not out of it either.
For the Highlanders, it was a winwin — a bonus point victory with few signs of serious injuries. In fact, their win boosted them into eighth place, and they will look to consolidate that after a difficult start which included losses to the Chiefs, Crusaders and Hurricanes.
A match against an Australian team was probably a relief, and they took to it with relish. They were never in danger of losing and replacement hooker Greg Pleasants- Tate put the icing on the cake with a try after the final hooter.
For the Rebels, it was all about damage limitation and, while that was a good thing for a Highlanders team looking for a boost up the table after a relatively difficult start, it wasn’t good for the competition.
The Rebels, who started this match last and remain there, had gone into this game with zero wins from four and no one but the most delusional of their supporters would have given them a chance against a team fired up to recognise Aaron Smith’s 100th match for the franchise.
The Rebels needed to show something — anything — to justify their existence as much for themselves as for anyone else watching this procession but were unable to.
Halfback Nic Stirzaker was a nippy threat, as he is, and loose forward Jordy Reid offered resistance, but there was nothing in terms of consistency, and what resistance they showed was too little, too late. Reece Hodge’s late try was nothing more than a consolation.
This is a team with an uncertain future, thanks to Sanzaar’s long overdue review of the competition, which i s in serious danger of losing their place in the competition, and they did little to suggest they should remain in it.
“In the first half, we could barely get out of our half, so they played really well,” Stirzaker said afterwards.
The Highlanders had it their own way from start to finish. All they had to do was run straight and deliver the ball to an expectant backline and they did it.
Fekitoa was a handful, scoring two tries, and even Buckman showed out in a relatively unfamiliar midfield position. Despite the unfamiliar lineup, they were always going to be too good, and so it proved. Highlanders 51 ( Malakai Fekitoa 2, Luke Whitelock, Richard Buckman, Gareth Evans, Greg Pleasants- Tate tries; Marty Banks 3 pens, 5 cons, Fletcher Smith con). Rebels 12 ( Tom English, Reece Hodge tries; Hodge con). Halftime: 20- 0