Highlanders too strong for Stormers
The Highlanders recorded their first win over the Stormers in eight years, as they overpowered the visitors 39-21 in Dunedin on Saturday.
The game is about attack and defence.
The Highlanders won the attack and, when it mattered, the defence as well and so they won the game by even more than the score suggests was fair.
Oh, the Stormers had their moments, but there are more than moments in a match.
If in 43 minutes you score no points while your opponents score 31 points, you are not winning the match.
In the end the Highlanders, who taught that attacking means scoring tries and taught it well, scored their highest score this year.
They scored five tries. Three were by strong wings, one by a perky scrumhalf and one by a loose forward who was playing at outside centre at the time.
Two of the three Stormers' tries came in the last 20 minutes, when the match was won and lost, and they came at a time when their loose forwards adopted creative roles rather than just being 'fetch and carry' men.
When he ran onto Forsyth Barr Stadium first, everybody applauded.
The Highlanders kicked off and the Stormers mauled and then ran, and then Demetri Catrakelis kicked out on the full.
The Stormers' kicking was the worst aspect of their game, a meaningless and unprofitable product branded defeat.
At one stage they lost a kicking duel which became a drop-out to the Stormers and a try to the Highlanders.
If you valued a kick by when and where you next get possession, kicking was a poor investment for the Stormers.
The Stormers attacked first, but the Highlanders nearly scored first when flyhalf Lima Sopoaga intercepted a pass from Catrakelis. Dillyn Leyds covered and saved when the TMO, after Sopoaga had loped over the goal-line, discovered a tiny Highlander knock-on after the ball had struck Nic Groom's boot.
But just after that Siyabonga Ntubeni threw a long pass to Cheslin Kolbe and the bravest player in the world set off on a run down the right. The ball came back wide left, where Burger, who had already handled in the attack, bowled a pass to Juan de Jongh who got the ball despite Highlander interference, cut inside and scored. Demetri Catrakelis converted - 7-0 after 18 minutes.
There was no time for complacency as Leyds made a horrible hash of the kick-off and the Highlanders attacked. They were over but were frustrated by a knock-on though they stayed attacking.
Under great pressure, Kolbe could not clear far, and from the resultant line-out James Lentjes drove at the Stormers' line and after much bashing Aaron Smith cunningly dabbed the ball against the base of the post protector for a try that levelled the scores. It was a moment of wonderful cheek - 7-all after 22 minutes.
An iffish penalty against Damien De Allende at a tackle when he dabbed his right hand on the ground as he won the ball with his left, made the score 10-7 to the Highlanders after 32 minutes.
The Stormers were playing deep and passing to their left when De Jongh passed straight to Waisake Naholo who went through the empty half of the field for a try at the posts. 17-7 after 34 minutes.
Just before half-time, Aaron Smith went blind from a scrum and grubbered. Groom stuck out a foot and the ball ricocheted into the arms of Naholo who ran over Kolbe and scored in the right corner, whence Sopoaga kicked the conversion. 24-7 which was the half-time score and the Stormers had the gallows look.
In the first half the Highlanders had suffered greatly in the scrums, largely destroyed and penalised three times but in the second half with some adjustments they owned their own scrums.
Early in the second half the Highlanders advanced in purposeful phases. The Stormers were penalised and the men from the south tapped and Patrick Osborne forced his way through Burger and lock Jean Kleyn to score. 31-7 after 48 minutes, and the Highlanders had a bonus point.
With half an hour to play the Stormers made several changes and changed tactics to the more direct pick-'n-drive. When they had a drop-out Ntubeni took it quickly and Burger was off racing down the field till Nizaam Carr looked as if he were going to score. But the visitors attacked and Aaron Smith cheated and was sent to the sin bin. The Stormers drove the maul from a five-metre line-out over the line but were held up. Twice they swapped penalties for five-metre scrums and eventually Michael Rhodes, on for Carr, forced his way over for a try. 31-14 after 61 minutes.
The Stormers looked on the way to scoring again when Burger, then Siya Kolisi and then De Jongh raced down the middle of the field. A pass from Groom would surely have led to a try but instead he took a tackle and eventually the Highlanders won a turnover and ended attacking down the right when a chip by Fumiaki Tanaka produced desperate defence on the Stormers' line. The Highlanders stayed on the attack and were given the ball by a Rhodes knock-on after a horrible Groom pass and went wide to their right where Pryor was in an outside centre position and raced 20 metres to score. 36-14 after 72 minutes.
From a scrum Kolbe was at flyhalf and took an outside gap just inside his own half. He gave to Huw Jones who played inside to De Jongh who scored his second try. 36-21 with five minutes to play and the Stormers hopeful of a fourth try. Instead they were penalised at a tackle, Marty Banks goaled and the final whistle went.
The last time the Highlanders beat the Stormers was in 2007 and this was a comprehensive victory.
Man of the Match: Schalk Burger was the best of the Stormers and Aaron Smith promised to be the best of the Highlanders till he cheated and missed the last half an hour of the match, sin-binned and then substituted. Our Man of the Match is big, determined, overpowering Waisake Naholo.
The scorers:
For the Highlanders:
Tries: A Smit, Naholo 2, Osborne, Pryor
Cons: Sopoaga 4
Pen: Sopoaga, Banks
For the Stormers:
Tries: De Jongh 2, Rhodes
Cons: Catrakilis, Coleman 2
Yellow card: Aaron Smith (Highlanders, 56 - professional foul, cynically killing the ball at the tackle)
Teams:
Highlanders: 15 Ben Smith (co-captain), 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Shaun Treeby, 11 Patrick Osborne, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Nasi Manu (co-captain), 7 James Lentjes, 6 Elliot Dixon, 5 Joe Wheeler, 4 Tom Franklin, 3 Josh Hohneck, 2 Ash Dixon, 1 Brendon Edmonds.
Replacements: 16 Liam Coltman, 17 Daniel Lienert-Brown, 18 Pingi Tala'apitaga, 19 Mark Reddish, 20 Dan Pryor, 21 Fumiaki Tanaka, 22 Marty Banks, 23 Jason Emery.
Stormers: 15 Cheslin Kolbe, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Juan de Jongh (captain), 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Dillyn Leyds, 10 Demetri Catrakilis, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Manuel Carizza, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Siyabonga Ntubeni, 1 Steven Kitshoff.
Replacements: 16 Mbongeni Mbonambi, 17 Oliver Kebble, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Michael Rhodes, 21 Louis Schreuder, 22 Kurt Coleman, 23 Huw Jones.
Referee: Rohan Hoffmann (Australia)
Assistant referees: Mike Fraser (New Zealand), Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand)
TMO: Chris Wratt (New Zealand)