Blues produce second half fightback to keep Highlanders winless
Talk about a game of two halves.
After stunning the Blues with kicking masterclass in the first half, the Highlanders were pumped in the second half as the hosts scored 22 points to claim a 32-20 Super Rugby Pacific comeback win at North Harbour Stadium in Albany.
The result leaves the Highlanders winless four rounds into the new season, and they could well have got the proverbial monkey off their back had they maintained their strong start to the match throughout the course of the whole 80 minutes.
Convincing off the boot in a dominant opening half, the Highlanders left the Blues were left red-faced by their opponents when wing Caleb Clarke squandered a golden chance to take an early lead.
After having broken the line and burst towards the tryline, it seemed harder for the five-test All Black not to score than to score,
That’s exactly what happened, though, when Highlanders captain Aaron Smith somehow dislodged the ball from Clarke’s grasp with an all-or-nothing tackle that kept the scoreline untouched.
Perhaps that was indicative of how the remainder of the first half would pan out for the visitors, whose kick-heavy tactics managed to keep the Blues out of their own half for much of the opening stanza.
The Blues, on the other hand, couldn’t match the Highlanders from the boot, constantly wasting possession with aimless kicking that either didn’t put their opponents under pressure, or relieved them of any pressure they might have otherwise been under.
The hosts were eventually made to pay for it when some strong work up front by the away side’s forward pack squeezed a penalty try and yellow card out of Luke Romano.
Mitch Hunt’s two penalties outnumbered the sole three-pointer scored by Stephen Perofeta, who was rushed into the starting lineup in place of Beauden Barrett following the late Covid outbreak in the Blues camp.
That led to a 13-3 scoreline in favour of the Highlanders at the break, but it could well have been more if the southerners made more of Thomas Umaga-Jensen’s threatening line break midway through the first half.
Drawing in three defenders, the highly-promising and powerful midfielder managed to flick an offload into the clutches of Scott Gregory, and had it not been for the frantic defence of the Blues, the half-time deficit may well have been more than 10 points.
That run by Umaga-Jensen proved to be his most meaningful contribution to the match as he was subbed 10 minutes before half-time, seemingly due to injury as he received what looked to be medical attention on his knee shortly after his departure.
The Highlanders could have done with his services in the second half, when they began to fall away after being caught napping by an urgent Blues side, who capitalised on their blistering start to send Taine Plumtree in for his first-ever Super Rugby try.
That’s where the Blues’ second half onslaught began, as with a renewed sense of purpose and intent, they pressured Gregory into a half-baked clearance that went straight down the throat of Zarn Sullivan.
The young fullback helped set Mark Telea free for an electric run through the heart of the defence to set Plumtree up for a second try in just a handful of minutes.
Sullivan’s long range goal-kicking inflicted further salt into the wound, and within 15 minutes, a 13-3 deficit had turned into a 20-13 lead for the Blues.
Things went from bad to worse for the Highlanders when Rieko Ioane sailed over for a try of his own following some good kick-chase work by Telea and a powerful surge up the right-hand flank by Bryce Heem with 15 minutes to play.
Facing an uphill battle to turn their second half collapse into an unlikely victory, the Highlanders were lucky not to have conceded a fourth try on the bounce after Sullivan charged upfield but couldn’t link up with Heem due to interference from Smith.
The Highlanders can be thankful for their captain’s work rate, as that enabled them to stay within touching distance when Shannon Frizell powered over for his first try of the season with little more than six minutes to play.
That glimpse of hope was as close as the Highlanders got to their first victory of the year, though, as the Blues hung tight and held out, with Perofeta providing the icing on the cake with a late match-sealing try from close range.
Blues 32 (Tries to Taine Plumtree (2), Rieko Ioane, Stephen Perofeta; 3 conversions and penalty to Perofeta, penalty to Zarn Sullivan)
Highlanders 20 (Try to Shannon Frizell, penalty try; conversion and 2 penalties to Mitch Hunt)
Comments on RugbyPass
9 Brumbies! What a joke! The best performing team in Oz! Ditch Skelton for Swain or Neville. Ryan Lonergan ahead of McDermott any day! Best selection bolter is Toole … amazing player
12 Go to commentsI like this, but ultimately rugby already has enough trophies. Trying to make more games “consequential" might prove to be a fools errand, although this is a less bad idea than some others. Minor quibble with the title of the article; it isn’t very meaningful to say the boks are the unofficial world champions when it would be functionally impossible for the Raeburn trophy not to be held by the world champions. There’s a period of a few months every 4 years when there is no “unofficial” world champion, and the Raeburn trophy is held by the actual world champions.
8 Go to commentsIts a great idea but one that I dont think will have a lot of traction. It will depend on the prestige that they each hold but if you can do that it would be great. When Japan beat the Boks (my team) I was absolutely devestated but I wont deny the great game they played that day. We were outclassed and it was one of the best games of rugby I have seen. Using an idea like this you might just give the the underdog teams more of an opportunity to beat the big teams and I can absolutely see it being a brilliant display of rugby. They beat us because they planned for that game. It was a great moment for Japan. This way we can remove the 4 year wait and give teams something to aim for outside of World Cup years.
8 Go to commentsHi, Dave here. Happy to answer questions 🥰
8 Go to commentsDon’t think that headline is accurate. It’s great to see Aus doing better but I’m not sure they’ve shown much threat to the top of the table. They shouldn’t be inflating wins against the lousy Highlanders and Crusaders either.
3 Go to commentsSuch a shame Roigard and Aumua picked up long term injuries, probably the two form players in the comp. Also, pretty sure Clarke Dermody isn’t their coach. Got it half right though.
3 Go to commentsOh the Aussie media, they never learn. At least Andrew Kellaway is like “Woah, yeah it’s great, but settle down there guys” having endured years of the Aussie media, fans, and often their players getting ahead of themselves only to fall flat on their faces. Have the “We'll win the Bledisloe for sure this year!” headlines started yet? It’s simple to see what’s going on. The Aussie teams are settled, they didn't lose any of their major players overseas. The Crusaders and Chiefs lost key experienced All Blacks, and Razor in the Crusaders case, and clearly neither are anywhere near as strong as last year (The Canes and Blues would probably be 3rd & 4th if they were). The Highlanders are annually average, even more so post-Aaron Smith and a big squad clean out. The two teams at the top? The two nz sides with largely the same settled roster as last year, except Ardie Savea for the Canes. They’ve both got far better coaches now too. If the Aussies are going to win the title, this is the year the kiwi sides will be weakest, so they better take their chance.
3 Go to commentsThe World Cup has to be the gold standard, line in the sand. 113 teams compete for what is the opportunity to make the pool stages, and then the knockout games for the trophy. The concept is sound. This must have been the rationale when the World Cup was created, surely? But I’m all for Looking forward and finding new ways for the SH to dominate the NH into the future. The autumn series needs a change up. Let’s start by having the NH teams come south every odd year for the Autumn/Spring series games?
8 Go to commentsWhat’ll happen when the AI models of the future go back in time and try to destroy the AI models of the past standing in their way of certain victory?
41 Go to commentsThanks, Nick. We (Seanny Maloney, Brett and I) just discussed Charlie as a potential Wallaby No 8, and wondered if he has truly realised how big he is in contact (and whether he can add 5 kg w/o slowing down). Your scouting report confirms our suspicions he has the materiel. No one knows if he has the mentality (as Johann van Graan said this week about CJ, Duane and Alfie B) to carry 10-15 times a game.
57 Go to commentsHe would be a great player for the Stormers, Dobbo should approach the guy.
3 Go to commentsGood article. A few years back when he was playing for the Cheetahs, he was a quiet standout for exactly the seasons stated here. I occasionally get to see his games in the UK, and he has become a more complete player and in many ways like an Irish player. His work ethic is so suitable to the Leinster game. I wonder if Rassie would have him listed somewhere.
3 Go to commentsResults probably skewed by the fact that a few clubs have foreign fly halves in their 30s, but most teams have young English scrum halves. Results also likely to be skewed by the fact that many teams rely on centres and fullbacks to provide depth at 10, whereas they will need to stock a large number of specialist backup 9s.
1 Go to commentsI really get the sense that when all is said and done, the path of least resistance will end up being a merger of Wasps & Worcester that essentially kills the Worcester Warriors brand and sees Wasps permanently playing at Sixways. I’m not saying that’s what should happen or what I want to happen. I just think it’s the easiest rout to take and therefore, will be what happens. Wasps will definitely return to play first, and I suppose it all depends on if they can find support at Sixways. If people turn up and support Wasps in that community, at that ground, I bet they drop the Sevenoaks plan and just remain at Sixways. Under the radar but not totally unrelated, it looks as though London Irish are going to be brought back from the dead by a German consortium and look set to return, likely to the remade Championship. It’s set to have 12 clubs next season with 14 in 2025/26, what do you want to bet those extra 2 are Wasps and London Irish?
3 Go to commentsThe shoulder is a “joint” with multiple bones. You don’t “fracture” a shoulder, you fracture any one or more of the bones that make up a shoulder.
2 Go to commentsOh dear, bones too suspect to continue?
2 Go to commentsBold headline considering the Canes and Blues are 1 and 2 and the Brumbies were soundly beaten by the Chiefs and Blues. Biggest surprise is Rebels 4 Crusaders 12 - no one saw that coming. If Aus are improving that’s great 👍
3 Go to commentsAnna, You are right, we need to have patience whilst the others catch up to England and France. Also it is the PWR that has been the game changer for England. the RFU put money into that initially at the expense of the Red Roses. I was sceptical at first but it has paid off in spades.
1 Go to commentsI think Matt Proctor became a 1 test AB in the same fixture. Cameron is quality and has been great this season, can’t believe’s he only 27. Realistically how would he not be selected for ABs squad this year. Only Dmac is ahead of him as a specialist 10. With Jordan out, it will come down to where and when Beauden Barrett slots back in, and where they want to play Ruben Love. Cameron seems an absolute lock in for the wider squad though. Added benefit of TJ-Cameron-Jordie combination at 9, 10, 11 too.
1 Go to commentsFarcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to comments