Mauger: It’s been challenging
Highlanders coach Aaron Mauger admits the Highlanders’ five-game losing stretch tested his side but says they have emerged stronger after beating the Blues 24-14 in Dunedin on Saturday.
‘‘I’m extremely proud of the fortitude and resilience of our team, not just tonight but over the past four or five weeks,’’ Mauger said after the victory.
‘‘It’s been challenging. Tonight’s performance is a reflection of just how much our boys care about each other and they care about representing the Highlanders.’’
The Highlanders have been under the pump since their last win, against the Reds in round two. They suffered the agony of four close losses before being well beaten by the Crusaders last week, but Mauger said the win against the Blues meant more than proving the critics wrong.
‘‘The most important people to the group is ourselves. So, I think we went a long way today. There are some areas where we need to be better. We probably bombed a couple in that first half.
‘‘We could have been a little bit further ahead at halftime.
‘‘We played some good footy but there’s still plenty left in us.’’
The Highlanders scrum had another strong evening, resisting the Blues’ attempts to create a pushover try at the end of the first half and then turning the tables with a penalty try of their own in the 49th minute.
Mauger was particularly pleased for loosehead Daniel Lienert-Brown, who was excellent against All Blacks tighthead Ofa Tu’ungafasi.
‘‘He’s been building really well over the last month,’’ Mauger said. ‘‘It’s great for him around the scrum.
‘‘I thought they wanted to have a crack and they backed that up, so that’s all you can ask.’’
Mauger also paid credit to the Highlanders defensive attitude, which kept the Blues to just one try in the first 20 minutes despite the visitors dominating possession and then created an intercept try for Matt Faddes.
‘‘The defence was outstanding tonight,’’ Mauger said.
‘‘They created opportunities for us through their pressure and it’s nice to finish a few of them off.’’
A bitterly disappointed Blues coach Leon MacDonald said he was perplexed by the Blues’ error-ridden performance and their continued inability to win on the road.
‘‘We haven’t played well away yet and that’s something we need to address as a group,’’ MacDonald said.
‘‘At home we’ve been playing good rugby but away we haven’t quite matched that so it’s something we need to address.’’
The Blues coach was also exasperated by the inconsistency of his set-piece.
‘‘It’s good to have a good scrum but when you concede a pushover try . . . we weren’t able to get one, so we’re frustrated as a group to let those tries in,’’ MacDonald said. ‘‘Overall the scrum has been working really well for us this year. It’s just those little moments we’re not getting right.’’