'Their set-piece failed them': Ex-All Black's message for winless Highlanders
A former All Black and a current Super Rugby Pacific star have pinpointed where the Highlanders need to improve to turn their winless start to the campaign around.
The Highlanders are without a victory after they opened their Super Rugby Pacific season with four straight defeats to the Chiefs, Crusaders, Hurricanes and Blues.
That represents the worst start to a season the Dunedin-based franchise has endued their dire 2013 campaign, in which they lost their first eight matches and finished ahead of only the Southern Kings.
Staring down the barrel of another fruitless year, Highlanders head coach Tony Brown remains optimistic that his side can still cobble together a respectable campaign, which still has 11 rounds to play in the regular season.
Brown told media after his side’s most recent loss against the Blues in Albany last Friday that there is still plenty to play for in a competition that grants play-off spots to eight of its 12 teams.
Such a high volume of play-off spots means the Highlanders are still in the hunt for a place in the quarter-finals come June, but victories will be required against Kiwi, Australian and Pacific opposition in the coming weeks to secure a post-season berth.
In order to achieve that, former All Blacks hooker James Parsons believes the Highlanders must improve their work at the breakdown and at the set-piece.
Parsons, the former Blues captain and Super Rugby centurion, told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod that doing so will enable the southerners to get the best out of their key player, captain and halfback Aaron Smith.
Parsons said Smith performs at his peak when his side dominates the set-piece and the breakdown, allowing him to play to his strengths with quick recycled ball to catch opposing defences off-guard.
“The Highlanders are a team, for me, that when their breakdown is humming, they’re humming because you can bring Aaron Smith and co into the game, and that’s what they had in the first half [against the Blues],” Parsons told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
“They were dominating the collisions, they were cleaning past the ball and it was giving Aaron the ability to run and put teams under pressure, but, more importantly, their set-piece was functioning, and their set-piece failed them in the second half.
“They had a number of prime attacking opportunities, but it was either overthrown or bobbled ball and it didn’t allow them to flow on from there.”
That played its part in the Highlanders surrendering a 13-3 half-time lead against the Blues to lose 32-20, and Parsons paid tribute to the way in which his former side were able to turn things around in the second half.
However, the former two-test international also sympathised with the Highlanders after having been involved with Blues teams that have failed to fire in previous years.
“I’ve been where the Highlanders have been, where they are right now,” Parsons told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod, which also featured Crusaders halfback Bryn Hall, who was a teammate of Parsons at the Blues during their bleak period.
“Bryn, you’ve been in teams with me when we’re in ruts like this, and there is a way out, and they’ll believe that, and I think their breakdown and set-piece is a key to that.
“I know it’s so cliche, but when the Highlanders nail their set-piece and they win the collisions and nail their breakdown, it brings their key players into the game, and that is the Aaron Smiths of this world.
“You go back to Dunedin last year when they played the Blues, they played on top of them, they won the collisions, and it was just ruthless and relentless in that 22, and they came away with points.
“At the moment, the Highlanders – I haven’t done the numbers on it – but before last weekend, they were 11th out of 12 [Super Rugby Pacific teams] in terms of conversion rate into the 22.
“The only team with less conversion rate was Fijian Drua, who were 12.5 percent, so 12.5 percent of the time they go into the 22, they came away with points.
“The Highlanders are 15 [percent]. Every other New Zealand team’s at 40 percent, and that’s just not the Highlanders side we know.”
Hall, a five-time title-winner with the Crusaders, agreed with Parsons as he highlighted how effective the Highlanders, who he said were “not far off” from picking up their first win, can be when they get their game in order.
“Some teams can fall into the trap of doing too much and thinking you need to fix everything because you’re obviously in a bit of a rut,” Hall told the Aotearoa Rugby Pod.
“I think, with Jippa’s points about their breakdown, if they can nail that breakdown and their efficiency in being able to improve their clean-outs and keep that up-tempo, the likes of Nuggy [Smith] you see in that first half, him being able to play on top of teams, and then they can start getting that variety of shape that they do have.
“If you can keep winning set-pieces, especially off lineouts, then they’ve got a lot of variety in their game that we’ve seen over the years with their special plays over the top to the midfielder, where you’ve got [special plays] around the front [of the lineout] that they can bring into the game.
“But, they’ve just got to be a lot better when it comes to that 22-metre zone.”
The Highlanders won’t play their scheduled match against Moana Pasifika this weekend after New Zealand Rugby confirmed on Wednesday that all three Kiwi-based round five matches have been postponed indefinitely.
Instead, the Highlanders will have to wait until at least next Saturday to play next when they host the Blues at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin.
Comments on RugbyPass
Super 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?
8 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.
9 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.
8 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 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.
22 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
4 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.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
14 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
14 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
14 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
6 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
22 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
22 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
8 Go to comments