Too much helter-skelter rugby
The idea of running a team off their feet is a good one, if you do it well. But there is a difference between playing a fast-paced game and being reckless. In this instance the Highlanders were the latter and it cost them their second home game.
They were too inaccurate, throwing too many loose passes and not adapting to the situation.
It seemed as though there was no Plan B, with the only alternative being to throw the ball around and hope the defence was going to crack. But it did not crack and when that happened they needed to try something different.
Lima Sopoaga had the right idea with the kick in behind that led to the first try, but it was seldom used again. There is a lot to be said for going back to playing some territory, get the ball in behind the defence and force them to stop rushing up.
The Cheetahs defence was outstanding
In saying all that about the Highlanders, much credit has to go to the Cheetahs who defended very well. It is true they let in three tries, but for the amount of ball and good field position the Highlanders had, it should have been far more than this.
They used an umbrella defence, rushing up on the outside to stop the dangerous outside backs getting the ball. It was this that put the Highlanders under pressure and caused them to throw the number of loose passes that they did.
With the Cheetahs having shown the blueprint for containing this dangerous backline, it is now up to the Highlanders to show that they are not one-dimensional and can counter this. Otherwise they will struggle as they did on this occasion, as so far their attack has been far too predictable and too easy to shut down.
The lineout
This one worked both ways. On one hand the Cheetahs lineout was simple, with very little movement, but was extremely effective. On the other hand, the Highlanders lineout was still a mess, albeit slightly improved from their first match against the Chiefs.
A moment in the 61st minute summed this up more than any other. The Highlanders called a short lineout with lifters at either end and Jarrad Hoeata standing out to walk in. After a few moments of nothing happening Brad Thorn ran over and proceeded to walk in, jump and win the lineout.
Now just think about this one. The man who was supposed to be getting the ball was not even at the lineout, do they really know what is going on here?
Too many turnovers
In contrast to last year, the Highlanders are putting far less emphasis on the contact areas and the breakdown. That is okay if you do not want to play like that, but you still have to do enough to get some go-forward for the backs.
In this instance not only were they not doing this, but they were not even protecting their own ball.
The body positions were at times too high, the support players too far away and not enough players were at the breakdown, which saw the Cheetahs snaffle too much ball. To go with this they were dropping too many passes. All in all, this is not a recipe for winning games of rugby.
Lack of physicality
It was here that the absence of Nasi Manu was really noticed. It is him that normally gets the go-forward, always gaining momentum when carrying the ball and adding a physical presence in tight-loose.
But there was no-one to do this with him on the sideline and it made it hard for the backs to get anything going. They are no longer a team that is looking to smash the opposition at the breakdown, or one who is going to grind their way around the fringes. The mentality now is to play a fast-paced game, commit few players to the ruck and unleash the danger men.
The backs can't operate effectively on the back foot though and they have seen this in the past two games. There is nothing wrong with the concept they are employing, they just need to be more flexible and get more dominance in the tight before going wide.
