ODT Online rugby writer Jeff Cheshire looks at five things from the Highlanders' victory over the Chiefs 36-9 in Invercargill on Saturday night.
Kick and chase pressure from Highlanders
The Highlanders defence deserves plenty of credit for the troubles the Chiefs had holding onto the ball. Their kick and chase in particular was evident in the second half. While it may have seemed a negative tactic to continually bomb the Chiefs back three, it was effective one, as they proved vulnerable under the high ball. Indeed it was their inability to secure this ball that saw them unable to get out of their own half and prevented them from launching an attack. Meanwhile it enabled the Highlanders to continue to pile on the pressure, forcing the Chiefs to defend inside their own territory for most of the half. Eventually this told, as the Highlanders ran in two tries in the final ten minutes.
Breakdown intensity
It was the intensity at the breakdown which upset the Chiefs early on, although this intensity was given back in return. Both sides looked to commit numbers on defence to disrupt the other's ball, while also getting at least one man there quickly to effect a turnover if the attack was a second too slow. Quite often it was backs doing this job too, meaning the forwards were not run ragged in the first half. Malakai Fekitoa was fairly prominent, as were Waisake Naholo and Richard Buckman. The result was that neither team was really able to get their attack going, as the ruck became a messy affair where quick ball was hard to come by.
Manipulating the defence
In a tight game such as this one, manipulating the defence into positions which allow you to make breaks becomes important. It is not something we often see the Highlanders having to rely on, as they are so good at striking from anywhere at any time. Against a strong defence who is doing a good job of slowing down your ball though, it can be a bit harder to attack randomly like this. The Highlanders were up to the challenge though,as they showed great patience and intelligence in setting up three of their four tries via using forward runners and changes of direction to draw the Chiefs defence to where they wanted them. Aaron Smith seemed to be doing plenty of organising and decision making during these periods and he was outstanding in this regard. Eventually they were able to get some go-forward and quick ball, which enabled them to pass it wide and run at a not so organised Chiefs defence, which is always going to be easier to break through.
Tight five played 74 minutes
In this day and age it is almost unheard of to see a starting tight five remain intact for more than 60 minutes. Indeed it is probably more likely the first change will come closer to 50 minutes, as so many tight forwards, particularly front rowers, are simply not capable of playing any longer. It shows the fitness of this Highlanders tight five then, that they all played 74 minutes. Not only did they play, they played well throughout and did not seem to be struggling for fitness. It is yet another pointer to how good the Highlanders tight forwards are around the park and the value you get out of them outside of set-piece.
Taking your chances
The Highlanders did not have too many chances to score, but they did a good job of taking the ones they got. They were not always easy ones either, with Ben Smith and Patrick Osborne both having to go through multiple defenders to score their tries, while Waisake Naholo went through a gap that never should have been there to score his. It is what good teams do though and this Highlanders side is a good team. They take their opportunities and when the opportunities are not arising, they go and create one from nowhere, as Naholo did. Their ability to do this has made them dangerous all year. Even if they are not seeing regular ball, they are capable of relying on scraps to create something from nothing and can stick with a dominant team, provided they do not leak too many points themselves.
