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Highlanders ambush the Waratahs

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 11:26

On the ball: Highlanders captain Jimmy Cowan - Pic: Doug Fitz-Gerald

The Waratahs' play-off aspirations suffered a serious setback when they fell to a 10-26 defeat at the hands of an inspired Highlanders team at Rugby Park, in Invercargill, on Friday.

In what is truly one of the big upsets of the season, the Highlanders outscored the visitors by three tries to one and produced an intense defensive performance in a gale-force wind and pouring rain.

It was the Waratahs' first ever visit to Invercargill and one they would like to forget.

The Highlanders well and truly outplayed the Waratahs who lost a chance to go into second place in the Super 14.

After the match the Waratahs captain Phil Waugh said it: "We were willed out of it."

They were. The tide of will at wet, cold, windy Rugby Park in Invercargill was with the Highlanders. They won the turnovers, they were more urgent and they did most things better. They were intense, the Waratahs bemused.

The weather was awful. The rain fell and the wind blew but Waugh dismissed it as a factor: "We expected this weather and we trained for it. We just did not perform on the night."

There were times when the Waratahs had the edge in the scrums but even there they were fragile - penalised four times and then losing one against the head when five metres from the Highlanders' line with their only scoring chance of the second half. In fact the scrums were the same sort of mess that they were the week before when the Waratahs played the Brumbies.

The Highlanders won the toss and opted to play against the weather. They played with grievous determination, picking and driving. When they did kick, they kicked low and scudding. In fact they outkicked the Waratahs who three times failed to find touch from penalties but kicked balls in general play out on the full and once kicked the ball dead. In short the Highlanders were much, much better against the wind than the Waratahs were with it.

It took ages for the Waratahs to get into the game, mainly because they kicked so much with the wind, hoping that the weather would surf them home.

The Highlanders started attacking - pick-'n-drive, straight ahead - five metres from the line, four metres, three meters, two metres, 1 metre till Waugh won a brilliant turnover but was shoved back and conceded a five-metre scrum. That scrum was reset five times before Steven Setephano picked up at the back and drove at the line with assisting thrust from Adam Thomson. 5-0 after 9 minutes.

The Highlanders countered off a kick by Daniel Halangahu. Fetu'u Vainikolo was prominent twice and the Highlanders were battering at the line. Cowan gave to Thomson who drove between Tom Carter and Berrick Barnes to score. 12-0 after 12 minutes.

Pinch yourself and remember that the Highlanders were the ones playing into the wind.

Then the Waratahs had their best passage of play. When Jason Rutledge and Clint Newlands were penalised at a tackle, Halangahu kicked the simple penalty . 12-3 after 19 minutes.

The Highlanders won a turnover off Lachie Turner and were again battering at the line with Rutledge playing the role of everywhere man. But from a penalty and then a line-out the Waratahs got on the attack. A clever pass from Josh Holmes had Ben Mowen charging through. The ball came back to Barnes who turned it in to tricky Kurtley Beale. Cowan felled Beale but did not hold on and the fullback got up to score under the posts. 12-10 after 33 minutes, a score which flattered the Waratahs.

The Highlanders had the wind in the second half and at no stage looked in danger of losing. In fact the Waratahs did not score a single point in the second half.

Mat Berquist brilliantly kicked a penalty out five metres from the Waratahs line and the Highlanders were attacking again. Repulsed they kept the ball and Israel Dagg broke down the right, handing off Dan Palmer. He gave to Josh Bekhuis on the touch-line. The tall lock played inside to Thomson who scored in Mowen's tackle. Thomson had three team-mates inside of him - such was the enthusiasm of the Highlanders. 17-10 after 46 minutes.

The other scores were penalties - one when Kane Douglas collapsed a maul, one when Sosene Anesi was penalised at a tackle and one when Jeremy Tilse collapsed a scrum.

Except for a late spurt, the Highlanders were the ones playing the rugby - a run and chip by Dagg which Halangahu saved; a break by Thomson but he passed into touch; another bash at the Waratahs line till Turner knocked Thomson out at the cornerpost.

Then Turner ran splendidly out of a defensive situation and put Beale away. A try looked distinctly possible but Cowan felled Beale.

Beale tapped a penalty and the Waratahs were close, winning a five-metre scrum - and then they lost the ball against the head and Thomson ran out of trouble.

Man of the Match: Israel Dagg had splendid moments but Jason Rutledge had 80 minutes worth of splendid moments and is our Man of the Match as he tackled, ran, won turnovers.

The scorers:

For the Highlanders:
Tries: Setephano, Thomson 2
Cons: Dagg
Pens: Berquist 3

For the Waratahs:
Try: Beale
Con: Halangahu
Pen: Halangahu

Teams:

Highlanders: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Kenny Lynn, 12 Jason Shoemark, 11 Fetu'u Vainikolo, 10 Mat Berquist, 9 Jimmy Cowan (captain), 8 Steven Setephano, 7 Alando Soakai, 6 Adam Thompson, 5 Hayden Triggs, 4 Josh Bekhuis, 3 Clint Newland, 2 Jason Rutledge, 1 Chris King.
Replacements: 16 Peter Mirrielees, 17 Bronson Murray, 18 Joe Tuineau, 19 John Hardie, 20 Scott Cowan, 21 Robbie Robinson, 22 James Paterson.

Waratahs: 15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Tom Carter, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Daniel Halangahu, 9 Josh Holmes, 8 Ben Mowen, 7 Phil Waugh (captain), 6 Dave Dennis, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Dan Palmer.
Replacements: 16 Damien Fitzpatrick, 17 Jeremy Tilse, 18 Chris Thomson, 19 Patrick McCutcheon, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Rory Sidey, 22 Sosene Anesi.

Referee: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Josh Noonan (New Zealand), Kane McBride (New Zealand)
TMO: Garratt Williamson (New Zealand)

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