Highlanders 'playing it less safe' as Veveni Lasaqa hits new gear

Tensions are simmering ahead of the 50th Super Rugby Pacific “Southern Derby” clash between the Crusaders and the Highlanders at Apollo Projects Stadium in Christchurch on Saturday night.

Last in 2025, the Highlanders downed the defending champion Crusaders 25-23 in the opening game of the 2026 season in Dunedin.

On Saturday, the Crusaders were soundly beaten 29-13 by the Blues in Auckland, leaving them with just one win in four matches. This position sparked a dust-up during training on Tuesday.

Prop Kershawl Sykes-Martin and lock Will Tucker, ironically a former Highlander, came to blows in an intense practice. The Crusaders played down the incident. Do tempers flare at the Highlanders?

“Not to that extent,” affable Highlanders flanker Veveni Lasaqa responded to RugbyPass.

“We train to compete as they do. I guess their emotions took over. It shows they care. It’s an important derby.”

Lasaqa would be advised to keep his fists down after his best performance in a Highlanders shirt in their 39-31 win over the Western Force in Dunedin on Saturday. In his first start this year, Lasaqa scored a try with a scything charge and made useful incisions in the defence leading up to the first of two tries by centre Jonah Lowe.

Defensively, Lasaqa was the top tackler in the game with 17. He pilfered two ruck turnovers and smashed 95-Test Wallaby Kurtley Beale in the Highlanders 22 close to full-time as the visitors urgently pressed. It was a lively contest with five lead changes.

“Bro, was it what,” agreed Lasaqa.

“They scored off our mistakes; a defensive read here, a sloppy kick there. They were strong over the ball, and Darcy Swain and Jermey Williams read our lineout like a book. It felt like the calls, throws, and connections were right; they were just too good.”

Player Turnovers Won

1

Veveni Lasaqa

3

2

Carlo Tizzano

3

3

Timoci Tavatavanawai

2

While in the Tauranga Boys’ College First XV between 2018 and 2020, Lasaqa played wing, hooker and flanker. Did he offer to throw the ball into the lineout instead of Jack Taylor?

“Nah, I’d have been dusty. He would have knocked my head off,” laughed Lasaqa.

“It was so good to finally get a full 80 minutes. Last year was my first taste of the Super level. I felt like I went into my shell too much. More minutes give me more confidence. I want to express myself. What does that look like? I want to be dynamic on both sides of the ball. I’ve always enjoyed carrying. I want to hit more rucks and be a turnover leader like Carlo Tizzano. Marking him was an awesome challenge.”

Tizzano also scored a try and won three turnovers in a game the Highlanders might have lost in 2025. They suffered seven defeats by fewer than seven points.

“The coaches have a clearer plan on what we want to achieve in each game. That’s possible because we’re more experienced and playing it less safe,” Lasaqa said.

“When we beat the Crusaders in round one, we tried to physically dominate them. When they fall out of their disciplined structure, that’s when you can unsettle them and get opportunities.”

Indeed, in the first round, the Highlanders were down 10-8 at halftime but quickly scored two long-range tries through Angus Ta’avao and Jonah Lowe after the break. Coming off the bench, where he’ll also start this Saturday, Lasaqa made a key turnover late in the game. The Crusaders made 24 handling errors and gave away a last-minute penalty, which Cam Miller kicked to win the match.

Typically, the Crusaders dominate the Highlanders, winning 34 of the 49 previous matches between the franchises since 1996. The Highlanders have lost 10 of their last 11 away games, including six in a row, their worst run since losing eight between Round 15 2012 and Round 15 2013. Apollo Projects Stadium hosts the Crusaders for the penultimate time. The Crusaders have won 98 of 120 at the makeshift venue constructed after the 2011 earthquakes, including 12 of 14 against the Highlanders, who last won in the “Garden City” 33-12 in 2021.

Before that game, All Black Josh Ioane and five other Highlanders – Daniel Lienert-Brown, Marino Mikaele-Tu’u, Teariki Ben-Nicholas, Patelesio Tomkinson and Sione Misiloi – were stood down after a party that had to be stopped by police. Ioane’s replacement, Mitch Hunt, kicked 18 points, and the late Connor Garden-Bachop, along with Billy Harmon and Michael Collins, scored tries in a memorable triumph against the eventual champions. In 2017, Hunt kicked an unforgettable drop goal from halfway with the last play of the game in the Crusaders’ 25-22 win over the Highlanders.

Lasaqa hopes to add to the “Southern Derby” legend in his 19th game for the Highlanders. His Super Rugby debut was for the Hurricanes against the Reds in the Super Round in Melbourne in 2024. In that match, Hurricanes and future All Blacks prop Pasilio Tosi scored a try in the sixth minute of extra time in a 38-33 Hurricanes win. Odds on that conclusion were so unlikely they did not even exist on the TAB.

He started 10 of 14 games (849 minutes) in his first Highlanders season in 2025, scoring three tries, including one in a 43-10 loss to the Crusaders in Dunedin. He ranked third on the team in linebreaks with five from 53 carries and made 152 of his 170 tackles, which also ranked him third. He has played 32 games in the NPC for Bay of Plenty and helped the Steamers reach the final in 2024, their best result since winning the competition in 1976.

Highlanders coach and former All Blacks loose forward Jamie Joseph commented in 2025: “Veveni brings energy, excitement and a real edge to our loose forwards…He’s only scratched the surface of what he can become – we’re thrilled he’s backing himself and backing us.”