'Massive signs of progress': How the Highlanders have transformed themselves to defy lowly expectations
While the Crusaders emerged from Saturday’s South Island derby with a 40-20 victory in Dunedin, Highlanders head coach Aaron Mauger is not dismayed by what his side produced at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
Written off by many heading into the revised Super Rugby Aotearoa campaign based on their dismal pre-COVID results and supposedly weaker squad, the southerners have earned plenty of plaudits for their efforts in the opening month of the competition.
A first-up win over the Chiefs was followed by a tight 27-24 defeat to the unbeaten Blues, where a last-minute call to opt for an ultimately unsuccessful lineout drive rather than take a penalty shot at goal cost the Highlanders the chance to go two from two to open their campaign.
Their defeat at the hands of local rivals the Crusaders – with a scoreline that flattered the visitors – leaves the club with a 1-2 record heading into the halfway stage of the domestic league.
Mauger, however, believes his side have turned a corner compared to where they were prior to the initial Super Rugby competition’s suspension.
Languishing at the bottom half of the table with just one win from five outings, an increased commitment to the cause has lifted the Highlanders’ game drastically.
“We were in it for 76 minutes, six points down, and a couple of key moments through that second half made it different,” Mauger said post-match.
“[There are] massive signs of progress. I think you look at the fight in this team.
“When you can live and die by your commitment to each other and what you stand for, you can’t really ask for much more.
“For us, it’s just being able to live with intensity for the whole game. We fell a bit short last week, and we fell a bit short tonight when it really mattered.
“It’s just time. We’ll keep working on those things.”
Part of the Highlanders’ turnaround has been the progression of the franchise’s forward pack, who have collectively stepped up to free up more options for the backline out wide.
Leading the charge is nine-test All Blacks loose forward Shannon Frizell, whose stunning all-round performances over the past fortnight have made for an intriguing selection dilemma for national boss Ian Foster.
Young loose forwards Hoskins Sotutu, Cullen Grace and Marino Mikaele-Tu’u have all caught the eye in Super Rugby Aotearoa, with many calling for their selections in Foster’s next All Blacks squad, whenever that takes place.
Frizell’s physically confronting output, though, will no doubt keep him well in the selection frame, as it has proved vital to the Highlanders’ campaign.
“He’s been awesome in his first three game, he’s a bit of a menace,” Mauger said.
“We had plans to get the ball back from kick-offs, and he was outstanding there.
“We wanted to really take our game to the Crusaders, and he was a big part of that early on, getting the ball back, carrying hard and close to the line, so he’s in pretty good form.”
Frizell’s impressive showings will need to continue next week to help make up for the likely losses of lineout operator Josh Dickson and young utility back Ngane Punivai to injury.
Those defections add to a mounting injury list at the Highlanders, who are already without Sione Misiloi (foot), Thomas Umaga-Jensen (shoulder), James Lentjes (ankle), Tevita Nabura (back), Conor Garden-Bachop (back) and Sam Gilbert (knee) for the season.
Hooker Nathan Vella is also working his way back from a concussion, but key players Nehe Milner-Skudder and Josh Ioane aren’t too far away from returning from their respective shoulder and quad injuries.
The Highlanders will travel to Wellington later this week to play the Hurricanes on Sunday, with the side for that match to be named on Friday.
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
1 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments