'It's gutting, it's tough going' - Highlanders look to Crusaders clash as they fall to fourth straight defeat
By the time the Highlanders face the Crusaders in Christchurch next Friday, they will be closing in on a two-month winless run in Super Rugby.
Their last victory came against the Reds in a 36-31 win at Forsyth Barr Stadium on February 22, and after three losses and a match cancellation, they came within a whisker of snapping their winning drought against the Hurricanes in Dunedin on Friday night.
However, the visitors snuck away with a 31-28 victory in a match where openside flanker Ardie Savea proved his worth as a world-class player.
For all that the 25-year-old threw at the hosts, which included a spectacular brace of tries, Highlanders head coach was impressed with his sides effort, despite the bitter manner of which they lost the match.
“It’s gutting, it’s tough going,” he told RugbyPass shortly after the match.
“I thought we played some really good footy, really proud of the effort, the attitude that went into the performance, thought we showed lots of heart, defended really well for large patches, and scored some good points.
“Just frustrating, a couple of defensive lapses at key times, and a team like the Hurricanes, they make you pay, so got to give credit to them for taking those opportunities.”
Those defensive lapses were particularly evident at at the re-start, with the Hurricanes scoring two of their four tries within a handful of minutes after the Highlanders had scored themselves.
Mauger pointed to other facets of the game which contributed to his side’s defeat, including an intercepted offload which gifted Savea his first try just before half-time, a multitude of missed tackles and some poor defensive reads, but was confident his side’s ability to overturn this slump of form.
“Lots of patches in the game where we played some outstanding footy and we had a lot of momentum, but it was decided in the end by a couple of lapses, so we’ve just got to make sure we get those out of our game,” he said.
“We’ve just got to play for 80 minutes, really.”
Trailing by three points at the backend of the game, the Highlanders were handed four kickable penalties inside the final eight minutes, but opted to go for the sideline every time in hope of pushing over for a try from a rolling maul.
Hurricanes reserve lock Liam Mitchell was eventually sent to the sin bin after the third penalty, but a butchered lineout move following his dismissal secured the result for the away side.
Plenty of fans have since questioned the Highlanders’ decision to not take a kick at goal to earn a draw, while others have been left wondering why the players didn’t opt for a scrum against a depleted Hurricanes forward pack, but Mauger was adamant his side made the right call.
31-28. Do you kick for goal or kick for the corner? #HIGvHUR
— Scott Donaldson (@scottd_sports) April 5, 2019
https://twitter.com/unlockedmindset/status/1114079957570019328
Should've taken the 3….. #HIGvHUR
— Cornflake (@CornflakeBTP) April 5, 2019
Maybe, just maybe the Highlanders should have taken a kick for 31-all. Cracking match though. #HIGvHUR
— Tony Stuart (@TonyStuart55) April 5, 2019
“We wanted to win the game,” he said.
“That was our mindset, to win the game, we backed those decisions made out on the field, the boys felt confident enough.
“You look at those first two lineout drives, the Hurricanes had to defend those illegally to stop us, and we just didn’t quite get our detail right in the last one.”
Now lying in the underwhelming place of 10th with 14 points to their name, the Highlanders now face the difficult assignment of travelling to Christchurch to take on the competition-leading Crusaders.
The Dunedin edition of the South Island derby was cancelled last month in the wake of the Christchurch terrorist attacks, but the prolonged build-up to the fixture is something that Mauger – a four-time Super Rugby champion with the Crusaders between 2000 and 2007 – has been relishing.
“An exciting opportunity for us,” he said.
“What better place to go and turn things around. They’re a quality side and the top of the competition for a reason, and it’s a great opportunity for us to go up there and take everything we’ve got and throw [it] at them.”
While the lack of focus defensively which cost the Highlanders a win against the Hurricanes needs to be readjusted, Mauger emphasised the importance for the Highlanders to implement their own style of play against the rampant back-to-back champions, who are set to host the Brumbies on Saturday evening.
“You can’t sit back and let them play their game because they’re very good at it, so we’ve got to go and impose our game on them, and really back it to get a result.”
The Short Ball – Nobody plays the referee quite like the Crusaders do:
Comments on RugbyPass
The author is 100% right. The Springboks know that they don't have near the natural attraction, mana, skill and mystic the All Blacks have. So, Chasing the sun 1 & 2 was concocted to overblow the Boks image on the back of a corruptly obtained “win". It's marketing ploy to force the Boks delusion as the World's Best. I guess World Rugby is also not to be believed when it came out with an apology about how the final was officiated. And if the 2023 final such a superb game by the Boks, then the Boks crying about Referee Bryce Lawrence for decades is also deserves a laugh. Chase the sun and get burned like a moth. A very well written literary piece that tore the Boks and Chasing the sun farce to shreds. 🖤All Blacks🏉
141 Go to commentsI’d say France was far more hard done by in the 2011 final than the All Blacks in this game. Joubert simply refused to call a penalty against the All Blacks in the last quarter even directing an All Black to drop a ball he picked up in an offside position rather than penalizing him. This article also totally discounts the efforts of PSTD. Ask Jordie how well he played. Or the backup flank who played hooker for the entire game. Siya was also a brilliant tackle by Richie from scoring a blinder. Pollard was also fantastic. Look I don’t like the boks style but the only thing more questionable than the content of this article is the timing of it. Get over it already
141 Go to commentsDad Marty was also a handy rugby player for Linwood back in the day. Great bloke. Sensational softball career.
2 Go to commentsWhat ifs are always dangerous. If you look at the game before Sam cane got sent of SA was dominating. You could make the argument the going down to 14 men rallied the troops and made them have to play to win which is always dangerous.
141 Go to commentsOmg… you are bruised And battered Benny. Stop crying … the scoreboard speaks. What a pathetic lover you are.. 🤣🤣🤣
141 Go to commentsPacific Lions, cry me a river
141 Go to commentsThis is the single worst piece of journalism I have ever seen since your last one. As a neutral, who really states that there should be an asterisk next to a win? You are an utter embarrassment to real AB fans, journalism and that joke of a house which pays you for this nonsense. Get a life, Ben.
141 Go to commentsGuys. Cancel the World Cup champions after this analysis. It changes everything. Ben knows. We’ll have to unengrave the Bokke off the trophy and hand it to the ABs, now that I’ve been enlightened about this illegitimate win. This needs to be done. Now!
141 Go to commentsBen is right here though, Springboks were woefully poor with the advantage they had throughout this game. The France match was heroic because that was an even contest this match had it taken place in Rugby Championship would have been an easy win for NZ. If anything this match should tell the Bok coaches that a lot of this team should be changed. They beat this same NZ team by record margin with the same circumstances but with a different core. They bring back the tried and tested guys and they nearly botch this game.
141 Go to commentsI knew who wrote this article from the first few words in the headline…lol. The red card actually did the ABs a favour. It galvanized them, only then did they step up a gear. Before that there was zero momentum.
141 Go to commentsFirstly the foul on Bongi was a planned move just like the NZ master plan with Bryce Lawrence you kiwis are filthy fux perhaps try to play a cleaner game next time I doubt that’s possible tho but don’t worry world rugby is on yr side they trying to take away all the BOKS strengths to help all you weakling as Jeremy Clarkson would say LA OO ZA ERR..🤣
141 Go to commentsAbsolutely spot on Ben. I certainly wouldn't gloat over a win like that. Frustrating as it is it's done and dusted and history will forever show the result.
141 Go to commentsHo hum.
141 Go to commentsNo question they were the better team. But that is the beauty of sport isn’t it!
141 Go to commentsEveryone is into Hurling in Ireland according to Porter, but only 11 of Ireland's 32 counties enter a team into the national competition. Same old blarney.
1 Go to commentsLet’s be honest. The draw and scheduling in the World Cup was a joke but South Africa found a way after having to go the hard (nearly impossible) way to the Cup Final via France and England. NZ had a hard game against France (lost) and had 5 weeks to prepare for the Quarter, 3 weeks knowing it was Ireland. NZ theerfore had to win one big game against an Irish team who played SA and then Scotland 7 days before. They won and it was de facto a semi final because they were playing a relatively weak Argentina team and it was a walk over. In the final a very rested NZ team was playing a very tired SA team and still lost. They couldn’t score more than 11 points. Put another way SA had to find a way to win while tired and they achieved that. NZ should thank their lucky stars that they fixed the scheduling in 2015 otherwise they would be dealing with a Bok treble.
141 Go to commentsPerhaps if Bongi wasn’t targeted and removed from the game in the first 3 minutes it would have been quite a different game. Maybe if NZ also faced the same competition the Boks faced to their win NZ would have looked quite different. The final score shows who outplayed who.
141 Go to commentsRubbish article! Abuladze played most of Exeters matches when fit. He got injured against Glasgow a while ago and is out for the rest of the season, thats why he hasnt played for Exeter and Georgia recently. Do some proper research next time!
1 Go to commentsGotta love it when kids throw their toys out the pram and can’t hack it with the grown ups debate. Here’s looking at you turlough! 😉🤣
148 Go to commentsThey lost the game period move on
141 Go to comments