Highlanders 6
Hurricances 10
Deja vu. Another close loss and another bonus point, but the Highlanders are still frustratingly winless after four rounds of the Super 14.
It was an old-fashioned slugfest at Carisbrook last night as the Hurricanes held on to a four-point lead in a tense final quarter.
Neither side gave any quarter as they went at each other like sore-headed bulls, and the game was still up in the air at the final whistle.
In the end, it was the Hurricanes who maintained their defensive composure in the face of a spirited Highlanders effort.
The hooter sounded but the Highlanders held on to the ball for a dozen phases, desperately searching for a way to the line. It could have ended in a thrilling victory, but Mike Delany's attempted cross kick was easily fielded for the mark.
The Highlanders' line-out was significantly better, their scrum was excellent and some of their one-up tackling against potent opposition was thoroughly admirable.
But you have to score points at this level, and you have to land your goalkicks.
The Highlanders missed three penalty attempts, two from handy positions. And four times in the final 12min they turned down gettable shots.
Possibly, it was because they backed their ability to attack from the close line-out, but it also reflected a lack of faith in the kickers.
They also spent 22min in the Hurricanes' red zone and could not score a try.
The Highlanders played some reasonable rugby and secured plenty of attacking ball, but their execution was too often astray.
It might sound like a broken record, but they need to start turning opportunities into points if they are to be more than makeweights in the Super 14. They don't lack for guts, and they are probably surprising some people with their heart, but they need to lift their execution.
It was no vintage display by the Hurricanes, either. They might be considered strong contenders for at least a semifinal placing but will have to cut out their handling errors and improve their discipline.
There was a sniff of a scoring opportunity for the Highlanders early in the second half. The Hurricanes stole a lineout throw, but Hoani MacDonald, on for the injured Isaac Ross, swooped and ran to within a few metres of the line.
The Hurricanes were then reduced to 14 men when Ma'a Nonu was sent to the sin bin. He had jumped off the ground to wrap his arm around Clint Newland's neck.
It shaped as a crucial 10min, with the Highlanders needing to turn their territorial and personnel advantage into points. But their attack stalled, the Hurricanes shut up shop and held on to the ball well, and a golden opportunity to score evaporated.
Things got a little feisty in the final stages, with referee Bryce Lawrence - controlling his 100th game - having to gently warn the sides to cool it.
The Highlanders started strongly through a combination of physical scrummaging and devastating running from Steven Setephano.
It has been a long time since the Highlanders had a No 8 with the strength and power running of Setephano, and time and again he was the focal point of the attack.
And for a scrum unit that was tipped to struggle in the absence of Carl Hayman, Jamie Mackintosh and his men up front did an excellent job in the tight.
Fetu'u Vainikolo also, unsurprisingly, got into the act, and the Highlanders looked good when they recycled the ball quickly and charged forward on the pick and go.
Plenty of ball, plenty of territory - it should have been the Highlanders who scored first.
But the good work was ruined by a sloppy turnover, with the Hurricanes moving the ball at pace through seven sets of hands before All Black flanker Jerry Collins scored the opening try.
Jimmy Cowan and James Wilson were kicking intelligently to turn the Hurricanes around, and Wilson landed two penalties in the half, but also missed from 52m and 34m, the second right on half-time.
The Highlanders had two gilt-edged opportunities to get their own try, but proved luckless both times.
From a 5m scrum, winger Paul Williams hurled himself at the line, only to be stripped by Piri Weepu.
Then, in the closing minutes of the first half, the Hurricanes overthrew a line-out near their line and Highlanders flanker Tim Boys, basically needing only to fall over the white stripe, dropped the ball cold.
The Hurricanes had huffed and puffed a bit, with a high level of handling errors hurting their ability to string phases together, but the Highlanders could not take advantage and went to the sheds feeling they could have had more points.
Hurricanes 10 (Jerry Collins try; Jimmy Gopperth conversion, penalty goal), Highlanders 6 (James Wilson 2 penalty goals). Half-time: Hurricanes 10-6. Referee: Bryce Lawrence (Bay of Plenty). Crowd: About 8500.
