Highlanders playoff exit spells end of an era – Season Review
The Highlanders would like to have back that second forty-minute half against the Waratahs.
The sudden end to their season will haunt them with thoughts of what could’ve been after holding a commanding 23-6 halftime lead in the quarterfinal. The ‘Road Warriors’ had visions of 2015 all over again before the Tahs superstars lead a dramatic comeback to snuff out the men from the Deep South.
The loss marks the end of a promising season, the first under new head coach Aaron Mauger, and is almost the final chapter of the title-winning era.
The pieces of the 2015 Highlanders championship team have been slowly departing over the last few seasons. Head coach Jamie Joseph and assistant mad scientist Tony Brown are now fully integrated into Japan’s system, gun strike weapon Malakai Fekitoa left to take up a deal with French superpower Toulon and the side will lose their best ever first-five, Lima Sopoaga to Wasps.
His last play will go down as an ill-executed pop pass on the inside to a screaming Aaron Smith, metres out from the line that could have kept the season alive. The missed opportunity summed up the Highlanders season in a way – close but not enough.
After starting with a win over the Blues in a high octane 41-34 shootout, the Highlanders went on to claim the big scalp a few weeks later, beating the Crusaders 25-17 at home. A promising start was met with turbulence when they lost two crucial away derbies back-to-back to the Hurricanes and Chiefs just before the bye.
They regained momentum after with three straight wins. A defining moment was Sopoaga hitting a clutch penalty to steal a 29-28 win over the Bulls in South Africa that kept the streak going. They next week they were brought back to earth with a heavy defeat at the hands of the Sharks.
In the New Zealand conference, three losses is enough to put you out of contention for the top qualifier spot and they were on the back foot chasing results. They finished the regular season with a respectable 10-6 record to qualify for the playoffs.
The kick-first and kick-second approach continued under Aaron Mauger, utilising the box kicking of Aaron Smith and the short-range nudges of Sopoaga, Walden and Thompson and even Ben Smith. The Highlanders five-pronged kicking attack kept each game in a constant state of transition, creating as many unstructured situations as possible. The frequency of first phase kicking off set-piece pushed the opposition to scramble but gave away a lot of quality ball.
This approach had many praising the defensive stats of the Highlanders workmanlike pack, but it may have been a double-edged sword. No team tackles as much, but as the season wore on the team began to tire, missing more tackles and ended up on the receiving end of a couple of thumpings.
The Chiefs scored 40 in one half in Suva, the Crusaders hit 45 the next and even the Rebels pushed them for 37 in the final round.
The defensive load may have taken its toll after a season of kicking possession away. The Highlanders 152.5 tackles per game was by far the most of any team.
Moving forward, the loss of Sopoaga will very much change the makeup of this team, losing a key playmaker and component of the kicking game. World-class halfback Aaron Smith stands to take on more control as young first fives Fletcher Smith and Josh Ioane vie for the vacant 10 jersey. Ex-Blues pivot Bryn Gatland will also throw his hat in the mix, joining the side on a two-year deal.
The loose forward depth still appears to be strong with the emergence of new All Black Shannon Frizell, who they will hope to keep around. With Luke Whitelock, Liam Squire and Elliot Dixon the back row provides All Blacks with mobility and speed. James Lentjes and Dillon Hunt are also confirmed for next season. New Zealand under-20 young loose forward, Marino Mikaele Tu’u, will also join the full-time squad, promoted to a full contract.
The tight five is a bit of a mystery, with the contract status of a large number unknown. Jackson Hemipo is confirmed to return in the second row, with Liam Coltman, Tyrell Lomax and Siate Tokolahi packing down up front. That leaves a number of experienced campaigners like Ash Dixon and Dan Lienert-Brown as uncertainties at this stage. Tom Franklin will head to Japan for an off-season stint by the side is hopeful of keeping him for 2019.
This year’s centre pairing of Tei Waldon and Rob Thompson will be back to form another partnership. Thompson was a standout this season and elevated his game filling the vacancy left by Fekitoa. With Waisake Naholo and Ben Smith outside him, he should continue to play at a high level. Tex Nebura has earned a full-time contract and could oust Tevita Li as the left wing option. Young flyer Josh McKay is also waiting in the wings.
The 2019 roster is a work-in-progress that has just over 50% locked in. The Highlanders will have to juggle players coming off contract with filling needs on the open market, as well as keeping emerging Mitre 10 talent. The flexibility gives the Highlanders room to move but holds risk that this collection of out-of-town talent fails to gel with limited time.
The marquee players like the Smiths, Squire, Dixon and Naholo will provide the core foundation but too much volatility with ancillary pieces on the roster can affect how everything comes together.
Mauger, in his second year in charge, could look to change a few things and find some balance between the kicking game and holding possession, especially from set-piece situations.
They still have some of the best players in Super Rugby, with one of the world’s best halfbacks and fullbacks to play around. With a bit of tinkering, the Highlanders will still give teams headaches and Forsyth Barr will still be a fortress – they were undefeated at home this year going 7-0. They may not want to take a crucial New Zealand derby offshore next year after the Suva meltdown and would be wise to pick another matchup.
The championship era built by Joseph has ended and it’s now time for Aaron Mauger to build a new one.
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
I hope Leinster’s proud of themselves fielding a poor team. They should decide if they’re all in or not.
1 Go to commentsJordie is looking at 16 games maximum if Leinster reach both the URC and champions cup finals. Thats not guaranteed. Some of those home URC fixtures will be cakewalks as well for Leinster and there is not much doing during the 6 nations in Feb and March so he can probably get a decent rest then. He will have to really put in it for maybe 7 or 8 games max. It should be a good move for both.
13 Go to commentsThe game was a quarter final, not a semi final. Barrett will be here for 6 months, he is no one's replacement at 13. That mantle will most likely ultimately go to Jamie Osborne, though Garry Ringrose has at least 4 more years in him. The long term problem position (in the next 3 years) for Leinster is tighthead prop, though there are a couple of prospects at schools level.
23 Go to commentsSo much for all that hype surrounding the ‘revival’ of Aussie rugby. The Blues were without the likes of regular starters Perofeta, Sullivan, Christie etc… This was a capitulation of the highest order by Australia’s finest. Joe Schmidt definitely has his work cut out for him.
2 Go to commentsYes they can ignore Sotutu. Like Akira Ioane plays OK at Super level but gets lost in tests. Too many chances too many failures.
2 Go to commentsA wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
13 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
13 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
6 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
25 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
6 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to comments