Home side dispatch lowly Reds

The Highlanders dispatched the Queensland Reds 40-17 in Dunedin on Friday night to secure the seventh seed ahead of the looming Super Rugby playoffs.

All they can do now is sit back and wait to see if they have to travel to Johannesburg to play the Lions or to Christchurch to play the Crusaders in the quarterfinals, something they might not know until about 5am on Sunday morning.

Waiting to find out their fate might be tougher than their game at Forsyth Barr Stadium against the bumbling Reds.

The Highlanders, without stars Ben Smith and Aaron Smith, outscored the visitors six tries to three to secure a bonus point win in their final regular season match.

First-five eighth Lima Sopoaga, in his first Super Rugby start since pinging a hamstring in round three (March 11), kicked four conversions, while loose forward Liam Squire, playing his first game since breaking his thumb against the Cheetahs in May, impressed with his power running in his 51 minutes.

It was far from a perfect display by the home side, but the result was never in doubt.

Not only did the win extend New Zealand’s record against Australian teams to 25-0 on the season, it ensured the Dunedinbased franchise will head into the playoffs having won 10 of their last 11 Super games.

It’s hard to imagine anyone wanting to play them when the sudden-death games kickoff next weekend, particularly if they play with the tempo they started with against the Reds.

Electric wing Waisake Naholo only needed two minutes to dive over inside the right-hand corner flag, the final result of a sweeping attack.

The Highlanders simply stretched the hosts from the get-go, and took a 21-5 lead into the halftime break after flanker James Lentjes and halfback Kayne Hammington crossed.

Lentjes’ try, highlighted by a brutal fend on Reds fullback Karmichael Hunt, was the Highlanders’ second try inside the first 10 minutes and fears of a cricket score were real.

But, despite losing Hunt after 15 minutes with a leg injury, the Reds showed some ticker and had the better of the middle stages of the first half.

However, their finishing wasn’t up to scratch and the Highlanders were never seriously threatened as they scored two more tries.