Highlanders back on top

Although their stay at the top may be short-lived - with fellow New Zealand franchise the Chiefs to play the Brumbies on Saturday - the Dunedin-based outfit have now won five on the trot, after losing their opening match of the season.

It was a brutal encounter - with the Highlanders reduced to uncontested scrums at one stage in the first half and the Force losing three players in the space of a few minutes to second-half head knocks.

As it was, the Highlanders were forced into a late change when All Black flyhalf Lima Sopoaga withdrew after injuring himself in the captain's run the day before.

Despite racing into a 14-0 lead inside the first 10 minutes, the Force were unable to maintain their intensity and the Highlanders drew level just before the half-hour mark - putting the game to bed with a more commanding second-half showing.

The result snapped a decade-long winning streak for the Force in Dunedin, where the Australians have been an unlikely bogey team for the Highlanders.

"They put some pressure on us in the first 30 [minutes] and we just managed to get some momentum in the second half. I was stoked with the way we finished," Highlanders co-captain Shane Christie said.

Going into the match, the Highlanders had only won three of nine previous meetings with the Force, with their last win in Dunedin way back in February 2006.

But they have maintained last year's sparkling form in 2016 and now have five wins on the trot.

In contrast, the Force have managed only one win from six and were thumped 53-10 by the Chiefs last week.

Coach Michael Foley said before kick-off that the Australians were hurting and determined to salvage some pride in the last match of their New Zealand road trip.

They backed his tough talk on the field, racing to a 14-0 lead with two tries in the first 10 minutes.

The first came when fullback Ben Smith coughed up the ball after Patrick Osborne threw him a hospital pass on the line, allowing Dane Haylett-Petty to swoop in.

Then Ben McCalman's run split the Highlanders' much-vaunted defence after centre Ben Tapuai held off two tacklers to set him up with a one-handed offload.

Osborne made up for his earlier blunder to put the Highlanders on the board in the 16th minute, crossing from out wide after a sweeping backline move.

They levelled at 14-all against the run of play when flank Dan Pryor found himself in the right place after Osborne launched a run from deep within his own half.

The New Zealanders used their counter-attacking skills again to take the lead when Matt Faddes chased down a chip kick for the Highlanders' third try.

Osborne had another try disallowed but helped seal the game four minutes from time when he made yet another break to set up Jason Emery for a five-pointer.

Man of the match: Dane Haylett-Petty had his moments, especially in the opening exchanges of the first half, while Matt Hodgson and Ben McCalman provided the grunt and energy. Matt Faddes again proved his worth on attack, Hayden Parker used the chance after coming in as a late replacement for Lima Sopoaga and Pat Osborne gave his team momentum at crucial stages in the game. Liam Squire and Dan Pryor showed the immense value of the Highlanders' loose forwards, but our award goes to Highlanders scrumhalf Aaron Smith - who was the conductor for the home team.

The scorers:

For the Highlanders:

Tries: Osborne, Pryor, Faddes, Emery

Cons: Parker 2, Banks

Pens: Parker 2

For the Western Force:

Tries: D Haylett-Petty, McCalman

Cons: Grant 2

Pens: Grant 2

Teams:

Highlanders: 15 Ben Smith (captain), 14 Matt Faddes, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Rob Thompson, 11 Pat Osborne, 10 Hayden Parker, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Liam Squire, 7 Dan Pryor, 6 Elliot Dixon, 5 Tom Franklin, 4 Alex Ainley, 3 Siosiua Halanukonuka, 2 Liam Coltman, 1 Brendon Edmonds.

Replacements: 16 Ash Dixon, 17 Daniel Lienert-Brown, 18 Josh Hohneck, 19 Joe Wheeler, 20 Shane Christie, 21 Fumiaki Tanaka, 22 Marty Banks, 23 Jason Emery.

Western Force: 15 Dane Haylett-Petty, 14 Luke Morahan, 13 Ben Tapuai, 12 Solomoni Rasolea, 11 Semisi Masirewa, 10 Peter Grant, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 Matt Hodgson (captain), 6 Angus Cottrell, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Ross Haylett-Petty, 3 Tetera Faulkner, 2 Heath Tessmann, 1 Pekahou Cowan.

Replacements: 16 Nathan Charles, 17 Chris Heiberg, 18 Jermaine Ainsley, 19 Sitiveni Mafi, 20 Richard Hardwick, 21 Ryan Louwrens, 22 Ian Prior, 23 Albert Nikoro.

Referee: Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)

Assistant referees: Nick Briant (New Zealand), Paul Williams (New Zealand)

TMO: Chris Wratt (New Zealand)

@rugby365com & AFP