The Highlanders have muscled their way back to beat the Blues 26-20 in a desperate Kiwi Super Rugby derby in Dunedin.
Trailing 20-13 at halftime, the vastly-improved hosts slowly wrestled control of a clash between the two bottom-placed teams in the New Zealand Conference and retained the Gordon Hunter Memorial Trophy.
One of the few highlights of a scoreless second half for the Blues was the debut of cross code star Sonny Bill Williams, ending eight months out of rugby after rupturing his Achilles tendon at the Rio Olympics.
All Blacks midfield back Williams made one lightning break and offload but otherwise had little impact as the Highlanders dominated the closing stages.
It was the third successive win for the Highlanders, who improve their record to 4-3 while the Blues slip to 3-4.
Like their 16-12 defeat of the Blues when the teams met in Auckland in round four, the Highlanders were more physical than the northerners and treasured possession better.
Both teams scored two tries but the goalkicking of first five-eighth Marty Banks proved decisive, landing six from six in a 16-point haul.
It continued a sorry record for the Blues in matches away to Kiwi teams. They have won just one of their last 23 such games.
After Banks landed an early penalty, the Blues took control of the first half, dominating possession to set up tries to prop Charlie Faumuina and lock Gerard Cowley-Tuioti.
Their first five-eighth Piers Francis landed all his four shots at goal but the Highlanders kept themselves in the contest late in the opening spell, with captain Ben Smith bagging a try, followed by Banks’ conversion and penalty.
The home side emerged a more committed outfit after the break, exemplified by a powerhouse try to their All Blacks centre Malakai Fekitoa.
A contender for the best player on the park, Fekitoa’s try was his fourth in five games against the Blues, the team who famously shed his services in 2014.
With the scores then level, penalties to Banks in the 55th and 73rd minutes pushed the Highlanders team clear of the flagging visitors, who made a glut of errors while attempting to play catch-up rugby.
mania
Guest
go hard Ben CANES FOR LIFE!!!!
Cuw
Guest
ur problem is not just a 10 but a dominant 10. u need a 10 who will tell Gus Pulu to STFU and deliver. atm he is undecided , coz he is not so sure of the 10. and Reiko Ioane needs to pass , rather than thinking he can roll over guys . i would rather see him on a wing ....
taylorman
Guest
Yes has been for a while, and we're up against sides that have not only good 10's but ones that would all make just about every other test side around. Blues have been taking that knife to gunfights for years.
Highlander
Guest
Its a fine line eh Tman, when the heat went on Blues faltered, and Highlanders stuck fast to the plan - just -but with that lineup the Blues must come right surely. Big Charlie was awesome, new locks look good, Luatua was good, Duthie just caught everything that came his way, commentators were raving over Pulu - I not so sure - well skilled but doesn't direct a side for mine. Is it a lack of leaders??
Rugby Tragic
Roar Rookie
Mate, hang in there! ... Fickleness is not permitted!
taylorman
Guest
Lack of structure, and that's the first thing to go as the match progresses. One retains it, one loses the little it had.
taylorman
Guest
Oh it's up there is it, a slim chance then, but all the usual suspects were there last night. Pushing passes, can't close out, basic mistakes, signs of panic or ineptitude under pressure, all the stuff you mentioned, yet the team card was the best theyve had in years. As far as I'm concerned this side has been flatlining for the last decade, getting no better under any of Lam, JK or Tana.
Highlander
Guest
Ifs and Buts eh OB, yeah he bombed that one
Old Bugger
Guest
Congrats HL. Solid win but gees, I just wonder what might have happened if Pratts, got his pass away instead of, turning into the tackle.....??
Gewurtz
Guest
The Blues problem is the lack of a consistent 10. Neither Francis nor West seem capable of the steady hand needed to direct play at critical times.
Darwin Stubbie
Guest
How many games is this that the blues have started well and then got rundown .... don't think it's a fitness thing more a requirement of having a decent thinker and clear head when the game flow switches ... would love to see what Black could do running that backline
Ben
Guest
Cmon now Taylor....Blues are good at home. My retired neighbour behind me proudly flys a Blues flag on his house. We have a bit of to and fro with my Canes flag fluttering proudly. His one got a bit tatty so i gave him one my boys grabbed from Eden Pk. I wrote a note with it "i've been using this to clean my car but i suspect you could use it. PS i suspect your flag was ripped to shreds by a hurricane". Old fella enjoyed that...
Fionn
Guest
'If he could catch on a consistent basis we might be onto something' Truer words have never been spoken ?
taylorman
Guest
Yes,.....yep....agree, um...yep, correct...oh, except the last one...I can wait... ?
Highlander
Guest
Quick cut and paste from the matchday thread as I was late to the party. G’day gents, and thanks for those congrats to the Southerners. Missed this one live, stepped off a plane into a dinner appointment, Mrs Highlander normally better than that, there will a team meeting to review process Monday. After watching the replay a few observations if I may. 1. Jamie Nutbrown annoys the hell out of me, a classic – referees one team at a time ref, and I thought we got caned for the first hour, but we did have a few go our way when it mattered at the end. Real effort to be within 7 at the break. 2. At the hour when the Landers stepped the pace up, seemed the Blues struggled to go with them. 3. Blues still struggle,for patience, push too many passes – although they were heaps better than the first game at Eden Park, they still, find a way to turn the ball over. 4. Don’t think there is any doubt who the best defensive centre in NZ at the moment, and he is getting the sniff of the line back again. That’s twice Feks has kept the Blues midfield quiet, did it to ALB, did it to Kuridrani, if he could catch on a consistent basis we might be onto something. 5. Love the Smiths, just awesome the pair of them, Ben still looks a little underdone fitness wise, Aaron drove that team around the park all day today, real good. 6. Only one winner of the coaching battle tonight I thought, although Blues game plan for first half was well executed. Bye comes at a good time now, need Sopoaga and Naholo back to really kick on.
Ben
Guest
When the pressure goes on the Blues just seem to crack and make dumb mistakes. Same when they had the handy lead vs Crusaders. Behind on the scoreboard, how many times did they go into the Highlanders 22 and cough it up with basic mistakes....a lost lineout, knockon at the base, desperate 50 50 pass, penalty. They cant handle the pressure when the other team turns it up. Next week Blues v Canes and the wifes got corporate tickets. Cant wait ...just like last year...the only Canes supporter surrounded by corporate types.