NZ Rugby World

TACKLING THE BIGGEST PROBLEM HEAD ON

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There are a lot of questions and concerns Highlander­s fans might have heading into the season from not knowing for sure who their first-choice No 10 will be to their struggles in trying to stop their opposition from scoring.

In 2018, they allowed teams to score more than 25 points on 11 occasions, including playo s, and only hit the mark nine times themselves.

When their o ence is firing they’re a joy to watch, but their defence was a liability last year which was exploited when the attack was quiet.

Working a new No 10 into the system, there’s bound to be a few early hiccups on attack which brings extra importance to their defensive set up. The Highlander­s made the most tackles of any team last year (2592) at a success rate above 80 per cent, but more often than not they were unable to keep the damage o the scoreboard.

The forwards could be the key to improvemen­ts in 2019, but certain members of the backline will need to lift their defensive game in the new season.

There were a number of players to make starts for the side across the backline who missed almost 30 per cent of their tackles, and that can prove to be costly in close fixtures.

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