ODT Online rugby writer Jeff Cheshire looks at the key reasons for the Highlanders' loss to the Waratahs on Sunday night.
Speed of Waratahs ball
It was the speed at which the Waratahs played that the Highlanders struggled with so much. They ran the ball dangerously and supported the carrier well, enabling them to recycle the ball quickly and have clean usage of it. This meant that the Highlanders defensive line was never able to organise itself and the forwards were often stretched across the field, leaving gaping holes which the Waratahs exploited.
The most noticeable of these holes were close in, where Bernard Foley and Kurtley Beale were able to wreak havoc, making numerous breaks. Once these breaks were made, the Highlanders had to scramble, which they did well initially, but it told eventually and they simply could not keep out such a dangerous team. Not only this, but the Waratahs offloaded well and ran good support lines, which caused the Highlanders problems all night, especially when using the inside ball.
Under pressure on attack
The Waratahs' defensive systems were not dissimilar to those the English used against the All Blacks. Unfortunately the Highlanders did not cope with them as well as the All Blacks, and found themselves under pressure almost every time they got their hands on the ball. It was a well-executed gameplan from the Waratahs, who were able to ensure that the dangerous Highlanders backs did not get the ball, and when they did get it, had no space to work with.
This was achieved by using a narrow system, applying pressure around the ruck and getting up quickly, particularly in the midfield to cut down the wider pass. They were offside for a lot of the time they were doing this, but they got away with it, meaning there is nothing to do but deal with it.
Scrum
It is amazing how a scrum can be so dominant and then become so awful so quickly. But it did just that when changes were made ten minutes into the second half. This really was a huge turning point, as it saw the Highlanders fall under all sorts of pressure on their own line at a time when they really needed to be the next team to score. You have to question why the initial front row was changed so early in the half, given that the scrum was so dominant for a second consecutive week up until this point. In fact you could say it was the big positive to take from the first 50 minutes of the game. It was poor for the final 30 though and the Waratahs made use of this, putting the Highlanders under even more pressure that they just could not cope with.
Too many mistakes
It was probably somewhat a result of the pressure of the Waratahs defence, but there were just too many mistakes from the Highlanders. Poor kicks, bad passes, dropped balls and wrong options. It stopped them getting any flow on and applying any of their own pressure.
