Highlanders hand Blues a lesson

ROOKIE forward Shannon Frizell scored a hat-trick as Otago Highlanders heaped more misery on the injury-hit Auckland Blues with a bonuspoint 34-16 win in Auckland yesterday.

The Blues never recovered from a horror start that saw them down 12-0 in the first five minutes as the Highlanders ran in five tries to two.

The result means the Blues have failed to win their last 15 Kiwi derbies and leaves them at the bottom of the New Zealand conference with two wins from eight matches.

The Blues dominated possession and territory, but captain James Parsons said their finishing let them down.

“To give them a start like that was disappointing. We allowed far too many offloads that put them behind our line and that cost us in the end,” he said.

As pressure mounts on coach Tana Umaga, Parsons refused to write off the season.

“We don’t give up. We’ve got to keep together, keep tight, keep building and realise that if we get on a run we’re in with a sniff to get into the eight (final spots),” he said.

Highlanders skipper Ash Dixon was thrilled with threetry hero Frizell, a 24-year-old flanker in his debut season for the Dunedin-based team.

“He’s only just beginning. I’d hate to see what he’s like in a few years time. He’s going to be an absolute weapon,” he said.

The Highlanders stunned the Blues with a try after just 38 seconds, when Dillon Hunt charged down Auckland flyhalf Bryn Gatland’s kick for the simplest of five-pointers.

Frizell followed up with another four minutes later after the Highlanders worked the ball forward from a lineout.

Jonathan Ruru clawed one back for the Blues when he squeezed his way through a crush of bodies to ground the ball, and two Gatland penalties narrowed the gap to 12-11.

The home side laid siege to the Highlanders’ line and almost took the lead, but desperate defence kept them out. Then Frizell hit them on the counter with his second try. The flanker finished off a slick piece of running rugby when the ball passed through six pairs of hands across the width of the park as the Blues’ defenders flailed uselessly.

The Highlanders came out firing with a try to Kayne Hammington just after the restart, thanks to some eyecatching build-up work from Frizell and Tevita Li.

Frizell scored his third after a defence-splitting pass from All Black halfback Aaron Smith. The Blues hit back through Tamua Manu with 10 minutes to go, but the gap was too wide for Umaga’s team. —