Highlanders v Force: Landers have foot in finals, All Blacks won’t be too impressed
The Highlanders have taken a big step towards finals football in Super Rugby Pacific after beating the Western Force 7-6 in a nail-biting contest at Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium on Saturday
On ANZAC Day Weekend, the Highlanders fell behind early after a Western Force penalty scored by Ben Donaldson late in the first half. It was only 3-nil at the interval, but it was tense.
Folau Fakatava ended up scoring the only try of the night in the 46th minute, with the conversion from replacement Cam Miller proving the difference in the end.
Here are some takeaways from the Highlanders’ hard-fought win at home.
The Highlanders have one foot in the finals
This was always going to be a massive match for both teams. Win, lose or draw, the ramifications that any result would have on their respective finals hopes were going to be huge.
Before the match, Sky Sport NZ said the winner would have a 45 per cent chance of making the Super Rugby Pacific playoffs, while the team who is beaten would be closer to 17 per cent.
It was a grind, and it wasn’t a pretty rugby match really, but the Highlanders have leapfrogged a few teams to move into the top eight. As for the Western Force, they’re last on the table.
There’s still a long way to go between now and the playoffs, but the Highlanders can take plenty of positives and confidence out of the fact that their destiny is now in their hands.
If the Highlanders are good enough to win at least a couple more matches this season, they’ll likely play finals footy – depending on bonus points, of course.
The power of Timoci Tavatavanawai 💥#SuperRugbyPacific #HIGvFOR pic.twitter.com/CDDa7h3WFn
— Super Rugby Pacific (@SuperRugby) April 27, 2024
All Blacks would only pick one Highlanders player on current form
If the All Blacks were going to pick a form squad tomorrow, the Highlanders would be lucky to have even a single player picked for the national team.
Of course, Ethan de Groot is widely considered to be a world-class prop. The Australian-born enforcer is a different beast in the black jersey, but the important word from the previous sentence is ‘form’.
Ethan de Groot is not a form prop in New Zealand. The Hurricanes’ Xavier Numia is the pick of the bunch at the moment and there are other loosehead props playing better for New Zealand sides in Super Rugby Pacific.
The only Highlanders player who would probably get picked in the squad – but wouldn’t be a certainty by any means – is Folau Fakatava. The All Black has been impressive in a struggling Highlanders team this season; a shining light during dark times.
But even that is a point of discussion. Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.
The only saving grace for Fakatava that may theoretically ensure he’s picked in a form squad is that the Blues’ Finlay Christie is injured. So it only makes sense that coach Scott Robertson would go with Folau Fakatava in that case.
Pressure pays off 😤#SuperRugbyPacific #HIGvFOR pic.twitter.com/5K7GntI3Pe
— Super Rugby Pacific (@SuperRugby) April 27, 2024
Highlanders looked much better with experienced No.10 leading the way
Like countless sports fans around the world, this writer made sure to tune into the opening round of the NFL Draft on Friday morning. Caleb Williams was picked first overall by the Chicago Bears at the event in Detroit, with a handful of other quarterbacks taken early.
It’s an exciting time for all of these franchises who now believe that they’ve picked up their quarterbacks of the future – but not all of these men will play right away, and that’s the way it should be sometimes in sport.
The Atlanta Falcons drafted former Washington QB Michael Penix Jr with the eighth overall pick despite signing veteran Kirk Cousins to a lucrative multi-year deal during the off-season. It was a moment that raised eyebrows at the Draft but it makes a bit of sense.
Whether it’s the NFL or of course rugby union, taking the pressure off younger players coming through is crucial. Not many athletes have that ability to dominate from the get-go at the professional level.
More often than not, younger ‘prodigies’ benefit from playing second fiddle to a more experienced veteran with lessons to share. In Super Rugby Pacific, that’s what the first 20-odd minutes of this match proved.
For the first time since round six, Wales international Rhys Patchell started in the No.10 jersey with Otago’s first five Cameron Millar named to come off the pine.
In the last few weeks, young playmakers Ajay Faleafaga and Miller have struggled. But with Patchell back in the mix, the Highlanders looked like a completely different team. Former All Black Justin Marshall was raving about the Welshman on commentary about five minutes in.
Patchell had attempted a cross-field kick and a grubber kick inside the first five minutes. There was something exciting about the Highlanders’ attack with Patchell taking the line on with skill, grace and poise.
Unfortunately, Patchell left the field in the 24th minute while holding his left pec muscle. The Highlanders lost some direction. But what this goes to show is that the next big thing might not be the solution to the Highlanders’ inconsistencies right now.
Ben Donaldson needs to feature in Australia’s Test series against Wales
Last year, it was a bit of a surprise to see Ben Donaldson picked ahead of Quade Cooper in the Wallabies’ Rugby World Cup squad. Donaldson was still very new to the international game at that stage and hadn’t played a single minute during The Rugby Championship.
After coming off the bench against France in Paris just before the sports showpiece event, Donaldson was named to start at fullback in Australia’s tournament opener against Georgia at Stade de France. He was named Player of the Match after scoring a headline-grabbing double.
Donaldson started all four pool matches (two at fullback, two at flyhalf) during that tournament, but some still question whether new coach Joe Schmidt should pick the Western Force pivot in the squad to play Wales late this year.
But the Wallaby took a big step towards more international honours on Saturday. Now before you read further, it definitely wasn’t the greatest game of rugby, but Donaldson deserves a mention..
Most notably, Donaldson kicked for the corner twice during the first half, but both were from a fair way out. Most other first fives would be tempted to play conservatively and set up for a lineout 22 metres out from the try line.
But not Donaldson.
One attempt was battered back into the field by the Highlanders, but the other made it into touch. That’s the kind of aggression and skill that should put a smile on the face of coach Joe Schmidt. More generally, ‘Dono’ was composed and smart around the field.
Donaldson was mostly quite accurate at goal, ran for more than 20 metres, and put the Force in some point-scoring positions – the team just weren’t good enough to make the most of them.
Carter Gordon and Noah Lolesio are also worthy contenders to make Australia’s squad, and Tom Lynagh is a bolter, but Donaldson showed enough on Saturday to warrant a potential inclusion in the squad. Behind a good forward pack, the Aussie would be solid.
Comments on RugbyPass
The real deal.
3 Go to commentsIt’s been said that Nienaber will head back to SA too before next World Cup , hoarding all the amazing IP gained in Irish system … get a grip … Irish system needs to Milk the likes of Barrett . First time a leading all Black in his prime has gone to Ireland for any period of time . Enjoy it .
20 Go to comments20 min RC is the only good solution of a bunch of bad solutions. Ridiculous that it has taken this long and caused so many uneven contests. In general these are all very good changes - one is surprised that NH brokers were able to see sense at long last.
6 Go to comments“While a red card will mean a temporary team disadvantage, the replacement system will focus punishment on the offending player instead of disrupting the game itself.” This might work for amateur rugby, where players just want to be on the pitch for as long as possible, but hopefully we’ve got to a point where top level professionals care about the success of their team much more than about whether they personally are on the pitch or not.
6 Go to commentsa lot of focus on the targeting of south africa, but aspects of this are positive. The croc roll; the offside law; and time limits on set pieces are all good. calling for a mark off kick offs is baffling, but I guess we’ll see how it plays out in practice
24 Go to commentsSpeeding the game up is great, but I think we will find that the increase in viewership this year mostly comes down to the competition being more competitive…the fall of the Crusaders has been a boon for viewership. This should be at the heart of super rugby changes - how to make the comp more even
23 Go to commentsThe fact that the press were largely to blame for his taking a break is nothing short of disgusting. He’s made a few mistakes but difficult to name a player of any substance who gives it a full go hasn’t also made mistakes? On behalf of a large number of Bokke fans, bring back Farrell !!!!!
1 Go to commentsPSTD is a fantastic flanker. He could benefit from a bit of self-promotion / flair and he is not quite the danger man that Ardie is. That said, he is my 1st pick to build a backrow around. His speed and hustle made up for Duane who got quite a bit slower at the 8.
3 Go to commentssurprised, disco lights haven't been banned by world rugby board
24 Go to commentsToo many changes. Too often. I’m tired of this WR administration. How do we vote these fockers out? Bill needs to go.
24 Go to commentsDu Toit, 2 time W.Cup winner yet rarely mentioned a “Great “…if one looks back on his stellar carrier perhaps someone will one day elevate him to “Richie” status…a quiet, polite yet devastating loose forward that knew action speaks louder than words..
3 Go to commentsI like the offside rule, but this won't affect my team because all their kicks gets chased and that putts everyone on side. Lekker manne!
24 Go to comments20 minute Red Card is untenable. If you don’t punish the whole team, coaches won’t be sufficently incentivised to pick players with, or coach better tackle technique.
6 Go to commentsI can only think of One time ever a team has opted for a scrum from a free kick… Why the law change I wonder
24 Go to commentsYeah, its not going to work. But we see you World Rugby.
24 Go to commentsLove the reaction after last 2 W.Cups re rule changes…maybe good for more for more of a “ league” type running game( which I personally don’t like) but seems Rassie is definitely in ther heads…
24 Go to commentsGreat. More unwanted changes. Because these always work out well.
24 Go to commentsI’m sure South Africa’s opponents will rejoice at World Rugby minimising one of the Boks’ most potent weapons, but you just know Rassie is cooking something up with free-kicks that no-one else has thought of. Let them play checkers. Rassie’s playing chess. 😂
24 Go to commentsAfter a fairly simple Pac4, the BFs will find out a lot about themselves in September when they face the rampaging RedRoses at Twickenham in front of a record crowd. After that they will face them again in Canada in WXV1. They also have France to contend with. Will be interesting to see what Australia have to offer with Jo Yapp at the helm.
1 Go to commentsSuper Rugby Pacific has been better as a spectacle due to the emphasis on speeding the game up and I’d look at taking things a step further. Instead of giving teams 90 seconds to take a conversion, let’s bring that down 60 seconds. You could also look at allowing 45 seconds for a penalty goal. Maybe teams could get 20 seconds instead of 30 to form a scrum before the ref then starts the engagement process. However, this year the most pleasing change is the added competitiveness in the Trans Tasman matches. What does frustrate me is how the rugby media in Australasia allow the the whole ‘‘rugby is boring’’/’’rugby yawnion’’ narrative to take hold from from vindictive league types, the chairman of the ARL commission and News Limited Australia. Stick up for the game and shift the narrative!
23 Go to comments