They say defence wins games and the Highlanders did a pretty good job of showing that in their 23-10 win over the Brumbies in Invercargill tonight.
Playing with just 27% of the possession, the Highlanders were forced into tackling for long periods and had to withstand plenty of pressure as they held the Brumbies to one try.
They finished the match having made 160 tackles, in contrast to the Brumbies' 37. More telling was the fact they only missed 10, while the Brumbies missed 12.
It was that type of game though. Heavy rain fell early and attacking chances were few and far between.
The key moment came as the Highlanders defended their line for 20 phases, had a TMO decision go in their favour, then forced a mistake on the first phase from the following scrum.
The score was 17-10 at that stage and the game still very much in the balance. From the mistake, Sopoaga kicked the ball 70m downfield and the Brumbies conceded a penalty - which was turned into three points - shortly afterwards.
That gave the Highlanders breathing room, as did another penalty four minutes later.
For much of the game, that comfort was not there.
The Brumbies dominated the play in the first half, holding the ball for long periods and working through phases like the Brumbies teams of old.
For all their dominance, they managed just three points in the half, points which came when Highlanders winger Jack Wilson was in the sin bin after a high tackle. While their ball retention was good, they offered little on attack and the Highlanders rarely looked to contest possession.
It wasn't until the 10 minutes before the break that the Highlanders had an opportunity in good field position, as they gained the upperhand to close the half. Crucially they turned this into points, with an Aaron Smith pass from the base putting Lima Sopoaga into a gap one-off the ruck, to cross close to the line.
That came on the stroke of halftime and if that wasn't demoralising enough for the visitors, Ben Smith added another five-pointer five minutes after the break.
It was classic Highlanders, with Malakai Fekitoa getting past Tevita Kuridrani and hitting a gap hard to create something from nothing, before throwing a pin-point pass to Smith outside him, who ran 25m to score.
The Brumbies hit back with a try from a lineout drive, but it was a tactic that did not work well for them. They turned down a lot of shots at goal to kick for the corner and more often than not, they were not able to cash in on the gamble.
Three times Sam Carter was penalised for obstruction in setting the maul, while the second half saw the Highlanders successfully thrawt the attempts to score from the drive.
The win sees the Highlanders move to fourth in the Australasian Group, although could fall to fifth if the Hurricanes beat the Lions tonight.
