Highlanders embrace the high life

RUGBY: Ellis Park. Two words that used to strike fear into the hearts of international sides destined to play at the citadel of South African rugby.

Since the All Blacks beat the Springboks 7-6 to open the ground in 1928, New Zealand teams have invariably found the combination of a hostile atmosphere, altitude and opposition in Johannesburg difficult to master.

But for Aaron Smith it is the ideal location for the Super Rugby champions to overcome the latest obstacle to securing back-to-back titles on Sunday (NZ time) against a Lions side that mirrors the Highlanders’ own transformation.

Exiled from the competition in 2013, the Lions are in the midst of a rebuilding programme that leaves John Mitchell’s successor Johan Ackermann on the brink of leading what was South Africa’s underachiever to unprecedented success. Yet first he has to prevent the Highlanders’ saviour, counterpart Jamie Joseph, from guiding his side though an onerous travel schedule this month to contest the final next weekend either in Dunedin or Wellington.

Joseph, the replacement blindside flanker when the All Blacks lost that epic 1995 Rugby World Cup final at Ellis Park, was brought up realising how tough it was to win at the ground, or any venue in the Republic.

Smith, one of his key decision makers is unburdened by history, even if his last visit to Ellis Park for the Highlanders saw a 20-3 halftime lead disappear into thin air as the Lions finished strong to record a five-point victory in May last year.

The 27-year-old doesn’t dwell in the past so, after shaking off his latest jetlag with a 5pm coffee to stay awake, the 50-cap All Black was enthusiastically anticipating a firm surface, afternoon kick-off and an opposition that bears little resemblance to, say, the Bulls up the road.

"We play half our games under a roof and look to play a positive mind set of rugby.

‘‘So three o’clock at Ellis Park, it doesn’t get much better,’’ said Smith, happy to move on from last Friday’s struggle and slog against the Brumbies on a frigid Canberra night.

A tense quarterfinal victory showcased the Highlanders’ resilient, resolute defence, but after narrowly avoiding an unexpected setback Smith was relishing an open encounter, even though visiting teams are stressed aerobically in the final quarter.

‘‘They play a real positive game of footy, they’re very similar to New Zealand teams,’’ said Smith, of the competition’s biggest points scorers in 2016.

‘‘One thing you have to respect about the Lions is they play their footy for the full 80. I’ve seen a lot of footage of them just quicktapping in the 76th minute, they don’t stop until the whistle goes.’’

The same philosophy applies to the Highlanders, although they had to defend grimly for the final 10 minutes of their 15-9 win over the Brumbies, a phase of play Smith thought defined their campaign.

‘‘The last 10 minutes, it was our season really. You could see how much it meant to our boys.

‘‘I just loved our forwards’ efforts. We’d been struggling in the scrum all night and then to really come through when it really mattered, that’s a good feeling to have.’’

The Highlanders were still in good spirits despite training under overcast skies since starting their preparations. Joseph names his team tonight.