Highlanders stay in title hunt with sparkling win
The Highlanders go into the final round of Super Rugby TransTasman still in the fight for a place in the final after a 59-23, nine-try demolition of the Waratahs in Dunedin last night.
The win temporarily moves the Highlanders into second on the ladder – ahead of the Crusaders on points differential – with the Hurricanes to face the Brumbies in Canberra last night.
In a high-scoring affair when both defences were found wanting at times, the in-form Jona Nareki and Ethan de Groot both picked up two tries apiece as the Highlanders blasted away from the Waratahs in the second half to record their highest score against the Australians.
The final quarter was one-way traffic as the Waratahs fell apart and the Highlanders found gaps at will and blew out the scoreline with tries to Kazuki Himeno and replacement Teariki BenNicholas. The nine tries equals
the Highlanders’ record for fivepointers in one game.
Ethan de Groot’s second try of the night shortly after halftime gave the Highlanders a handy 40-23 lead, with the 126kg loosehead proving unstoppable from close range.
The Waratahs had a few opportunities to get back into the game, but when they couldn’t capitalise their heads dropped and they look destined to finish 2021 without a single win.
With Aaron Smith and Shannon Frizell missing, the Highlanders were in the rare position of a Kiwi team taking the field with only one test player –
Japanese No 8 Himeno.
As expected, the All Blacks pair were missed, although No 9 Kayne Hammington made the most of a rare start with some good work around the ruck and a sharp short passing game.
Himeno was industrious at No 8 and the lineout worked efficiently, although big lock Pari Pari Parkinson didn’t offer as much impact around the paddock as might have been expected.
The Highlanders had scored within the first two minutes with Michael Collins finishing a wellworked lineout move that found a big hole in the visitors’ midfield defence.
The ease at which the Highlanders constructed the try suggested they would have it all their own way but the Waratahs had other ideas.
Nareki was beaten on the outside by a wide pass from Waratahs No 10 Will Harrison, allowing fullback Jack Maddocks to race in for a try after 11 minutes.
Sio Tomkinson struck back after fine work by Collins, but the Highlanders were shaky in the first half.
Their attack was too lateral and pressured by the Waratahs line speed, and they coughed up a try to Waratahs wing Mark Nawaqanitawase after a mistake under the high ball.
Defensively, they also missed the sting of the injured Frizell, with the Waratahs able to generate plenty of quick ball.
However, they found a way into the game from the Waratahs’ repeated failure to clear their own lines, and profited handsomely from it. Prop de Groot – the young bull of a Southlander
who was one of the Highlanders best on the night – Ash Dixon and Nareki, just before halftime, picked up five-pointers to send them into the sheds leading 33-23.
That scoreline flattered the Highlanders after a 40 minutes that would have frustrated coach Clarke Dermody, but he would have been a happier man after their second-half efforts, and they travel to Canberra next weekend on the back of a fourth straight win.
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