Derby drought played down
Highlanders captain Billy Harmon has a short and sharp answer when asked if the 16-game losing streak against New Zealand sides is hanging over the side.
“No.”
The Highlanders haven’t beaten Kiwi opposition since April 2021, when they defeated the Blues in Dunedin, but the southern franchise is redefining itself as a “new” side this season, for whom the weight of recent history has little relevance.
“It hasn’t been mentioned at all,” said coach Clarke Dermody, mirroring Harmon’s approach. “We feel like this is a real new team this year.
“We’ve had a big turnover of players, so we don’t get dragged down by what’s happened. We’re looking forward. We are excited by the group we’ve got ... and it’s going to be a good test of where we’re at [against the Blues in Melbourne tonight].”
Dermody has a point. Of the Highlanders’ match-day squad that lost 16-9 to the Blues in the last regular season game of 2023, only 12 have been named for the opening game of Super Round in Melbourne.
Perhaps just as importantly, the Blues are much changed too, with the “load management”-related absences of All Blacks Finlay Christie and Rieko Ioane meaning they have only 13 players available from that fixture.
However, as much as things change they stay the same, and both Dermody and Harmon anticipate nothing less than the customary physical challenge from a Blues team stacked with big loose forwards.
The Highlanders are trying to make strides in that area, too, with the effects of their pre-season combat sessions in the dojo evident against Moana Pasifika last week.
Harmon confirmed that training had been modified to stiffen up the defence.
“It’s just growing the boys’ mindset around that collision area, because when you’re doing it out in a game, it’s a bit easier, but when you have to do it at training, that’s quite tough.
“So, it’s getting the boys up for that to go at each other and have a crack.”
But, the Highlanders’ preparation this week has not been all about whacking blokes in anticipation for the Blues.
Dermody hinted that the kicking approach used against Moana Pasifika – with Jona Nareki putting boot to ball a lot – could be scaled back under a new plan devised by attack coach Kenny Lynn.
That has been reflected in selections as well, with playmaker Ajay Faleafaga’s acceleration and natural attacking game favoured over Cam Millar on the bench.
“He’s got a different game to the other two No 10s [Millar and Rhys Patchell], so we want to see what that looks like coming off the bench,” Dermody said of potential debutant Faleafaga.
Meanwhile, lock Fabian Holland’s shift to the bench was prompted by a desire to manage the Highlanders’ locking stocks over the first month or so, with Mitchell Dunshea and Will Tucker coming back from injuries.