Super Rugby Aotearoa: Highlanders player ratings vs Blues
The final instalment round eight of Super Rugby Aotearoa was fought out between the hardworking Highlanders and the ambitious Blues at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on Sunday.
Both sides went into the match with winning form and with the Gordon Hunter Trophy on the line.
The second-placed Blues knew that a loss today would seriously impede their title chances against the Crusaders, who sat comfortably ahead of them with an eight-point buffer before the first whistle.
On the back of a dominant forward pack the Blues were simply too much for the Highlanders and took the match 32-21. The Highlanders to a man did not stop trying, yet poor option-taking and skill execution at pivotal times proved costly.
So, how did the Highlanders rate?
15. Mitch Hunt – 6/10
A fair effort without but not a performance that convinced he is a long-term Highlanders fullback.
14. Josh McKay – 7/10
Didn’t get much opportunity in attack yet applied himself admirably today. He is the type of player that could attract ‘cult-status’ akin to Marty Banks or Richard ‘Barracuda’ Buckman.
13. Michael Collins – 6/10
A quiet day for a quality player. Early in the match was guilty of pushing a pass when the Blues were into the Highlanders offensive line that resulted in a turnover. Looked more comfortable at fullback several weeks ago.
12. Sio Tomkinson – 7/10
Had a difficult task today and gave it a fair crack. He was physical in both aspects of play.
11. Scott Gregory – 6.5/10
Looking more and more comfortable on the left wing. Works hard in defence and assisted in holding up the Blues attack when they were over the line. Had several impressive involvements in attack yet he may not have the pace to truly dominate at this level?
10. Josh Ioane – 6.5/10
A fair shift by him considering he was working off a forward pack that was dominated and outplayed. Would like to see him take on the line more in attack. Again, there were defensive frailties.
The Blues have sent a message to the rest of #SuperRugbyAotearoa as they ended the Highlanders' faint title hopes with a hard-fought 32-21 win in Dunedin.https://t.co/F4u7mGvrg7
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 2, 2020
9 Aaron Smith (co-captain) – 7.5/10
Another quality performance by the All Blacks No. 9. Was busy and dangerous all day and appeared to have ‘miked’ a controversial penalty when tripping over Karl Tu’inukuafe, who appeared to have done everything he could to not involved himself in the play. Credit to his cunningness. His try saving ‘boot-under-the-ball’ early in the match was testament to his rugby prowess.
8. Marino Mikaele-Tu’u – 7/10
A definitive performance in attack that confirmed he is an absolute threat in that aspect of the game, yet if he is going to take his game to the next level, he must become more authoritative in defence.
7. Dillon Hunt – 7/10
Appeared to be lost in the fog in the early stages but in the middle of the second half had several exhaustive efforts in possession and was a handful for the Blues. Built small, played big. One of his better performances this season.
6. Shannon Frizell – 8/10
Try saving turnover, dominant tackles, damaging runs and a try all lead to another reason as to why he is a serious contender for the All Blacks No. 6 jersey this season.
5. Jack Whetton – 5.5/10
His highlight was a lineout win at the back and set a stable platform that lead to a Highlanders try off the subsequent driving maul. Needs to find a way to have a greater impact. Gave away a penalty in his own half to rob his side of possession and put them under pressure. Not convinced he is a player of Super Rugby standard.
4. Pari Pari Parkinson – 7/10
Was the main lineout man for the Highlanders and looked to impose himself on the Blues. Whilst guilty of a couple of infringements, he was one of the better Highlanders forwards today.
3. Jeff Thwaites – 5.5/10
Wasn’t his best day out. While there was effort around the park, he was dominated at the set piece that set the tone for the Blues victory.
2. Ash Dixon (co-captain) – 6/10
As always, he was in the thick of it, yet his option taking today wasn’t always his best. Ran himself when deep on attack when he had numbers outside. Has had better matches this year.
1. Ayden Johnstone – 5.5/10
Like Thwaites he was dominated up front, but that didn’t stop him from putting in a fair effort around the park.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDYCXVJAvag/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Replacements:
16. Liam Coltman – 5.5/10 – on the 58th
Was guilty of a poor throw when his side were deep on attack. Worked hard in tight but overall didn’t bring the impact desired.
17. Ethan de Groot – 5/10 – on in the 68th
Did his job.
18. Siate Tokolahi – 5/10 – on in the 51st
Did his best to secure the set piece but it was not his day.
19. Manaaki Selby-Rickit – 6.5/10 – on in the 51st
Brought some aggression and intent to the Highlanders and may have earned himself a start next week.
20 Jesse Parete – 6/10 – on the 68th
One of his better performances and was a handful at times when operating down the flanks.
21. Folau Fakatava – 5/10 – on in the 72nd
Was busy but his passing is erratic and stifled the attack at times.
22. Bryn Gatland – N/A
23. Jona Nareki 7.5/10 – on in the 57th
Was dangerous from the get-go. Should be starting for the Highlanders.
Comments on RugbyPass
It’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
1 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
1 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to commentsThis disgraceful episode must result in management and coach team sackings. A new manager with worse results than previous and the coaching staff need to coached. Awful massacre led by donkeys.
1 Go to commentsInteresting article with one glaring mistake. This sentence: “And between the top four nations right now, Ireland, France, South Africa, and New Zealand…” should read: And between the top four nations right now, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and France…”. Get it right wistful thinkers, its not that hard.
24 Go to commentsHow did Penny get the gig anyway?
3 Go to commentsNice write up Nick and I would have agreed a week ago. However as you would know Cale & co got absolutely monstered by the Blues back row of Sotutu, Ioane and Papaliti and not all of these 3 are guaranteed a start in the Black jumper. He may need to put some kgs before stepping up, Spring tour? After the week end Joe will be a bit more restless. Will need to pick a mobile tough pack for Wales and hope England does the right thing and bashes the ABs. I like your last paragraph but I would bring Swinton, Hannigan into the 6 role and Bobby V to 8
28 Go to commentsThe Crusaders can still get in to the Play Off’s. The imminent return of outstanding captain Scott Barrett and his All Black team mate Codie Taylor will be a big boost.There are others like Tamaiti Williams too. Two home games coming up. Fellow Crusader fans get there and support these guys. I will be.
2 Go to commentsCant get more Wellington than Proctor.
2 Go to commentsWhy not let the media decide. Like how they choose the head coach. Like most of us we entrust the rugby system to choose. A rugby team includes the coaches. It's collective.
14 Go to commentsHi NIck, I have been very impressed with him and he seems a smart player who can see opportunities which Bobby V _(who must be an international 6_) doesn’t see or have the speed to take advantage of. If he continues to improve and puts on 5kgs then he could be a great 8. He is a bit taller than Keiran Reid at 1.93m and 111 kgs, so his skill set fits his body size and who knows where it will lead. I hope the spate of Achilles tendon issues have been dealt with by the S&C people. It’s been a very long time since Mark Loane and Kefu stood out at 8. The question is will we be able to hold onto him, if he does make it he will be pretty hot property. I disagree with the idea of letting them go to the Northern Hemisphere and then bring them back.
28 Go to commentsBilly Fulton 🤣🤣🤣🤣 garrrmon not even close
14 Go to commentsDoes the AI take into account refs? hahaha Seriously why not have two on field refs to avoid bias?
24 Go to comments