Tony Brown reveals the key to Highlanders win over Blues to keep Super Rugby Aoteaora hopes alive
Highlanders head coach Tony Brown has attributed his side’s defensive desperation and low turnover rate as the key factors behind the franchise’s 35-29 victory over the Blues in Dunedin on Friday.
The result keeps the Highlanders well within the hunt for a place in the Super Rugby Aotearoa final on May 8 as they trail the second-placed Blues by just one point.
It comes after the Highlanders succumbed to a 26-23 golden point defeat at the hands of the Chiefs last week, which led to Brown to lambast his side’s error rate and high penalty count shortly after the loss.
However, Brown spoke of his side’s prowess at the breakdown with pride during his post-match press conference as he claimed the Highlanders’ turnover rate was the equal-lowest he’s ever seen during his career as a coach.
“Obviously a better performance than we had last week and it comes back down to our execution and our intent, especially around the collision area,” he said.
“They’re physical boys, we had to be really good defensively. We had to be good at the breakdown. I thought our breakdown’s probably been the best it’s been all year, and our turnover percentage was 17 percent again.
“We did that against the Crusaders and it was the lowest I’ve ever seen as a coach. We’ve done it again, so if you’re doing that, you’re winning games of rugby.”
Brown attributed his team’s performance at the collision area to the work of his loose forwards, an area of the squad he said was a particular strength for the Highlanders.
Much was made at the beginning of the season as to who would start in the back row for the club given the depth of quality throughout in the position.
Most saw Shannon Frizell, Kazuki Himeno, Liam Squire and Marino Mikaele-Tu’u as genuine starters at blindside flanker and No 8, while new recruit Billy Harmon and ex-captain James Lentjes were the two strongest candidates for openside flanker.
Squire has since been sidelined for the remainder of the season with a knee injury, while Mikaele-Tu’u has found himself out of favour after being one of six players dropped for disciplinary reasons following the loss to the Hurricanes three weeks ago.
However, even if those two hadn’t encountered those setbacks, it would have been hard to find room for them in the starting loose forward trio considering the impressive form Frizell and Himeno have found themselves in over the past few weeks.
The All Blacks could reportedly square off against a surprise opponent in one of two additional tests to the three matches already pencilled in for their end-of-year tour. #AllBlacks https://t.co/2UlzueWFnQ
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 17, 2021
The same can be said of Harmon, who has been scintillating in the No 7 this year and has kept Lentjes confined to a bench role for the majority of the season.
“Billy Harmon is just getting better and better in the No 7 jersey,” Brown said after the Blues match. “Shannon Frizell gets better with every game he plays, and then you’ve got Himeno as well and the guys coming off the bench did a great job.
“Our loose forwards have always, I think, been our strength and our point of difference as a rugby team and they’re playing good rugby at the moment, so it’s great to see.”
The loose forwards weren’t the only positional group to have stood out in Brown’s eyes under the roof of Forsyth Barr Stadium on Friday.
He was equally as impressed with playmakers Mitch Hunt and Josh Ioane, both of whom caused numerous headaches of the visitors’ defence as the former racked up four try assists and the latter crossed for a try.
“Both Mitch and Josh were quality again around controlling our game and working together as a No 10 and No 15,” Brown said.
“That’s just the way that the game’s going now. You need two guys who can play first-five-eighth and two guys who can play fullback on the field at the same time.”
Both players pulled off miraculous try-saving tackles on powerhouse Blues wing Caleb Clarke at various stages of the second half, exemplifying the desperate defence that Brown said was a hallmark of his team’s success.
“The desperation was there with our defence tonight, and I would probably think the Blues would be disappointed with how they executed there as well,” he said.
“But, if you’re desperate and you want to win, you force mistakes and you force the opposition into errors, I think that’s probably what happened tonight.”
Elsewhere, young midfielder Scott Gregory and veteran lock Bryn Evans both stamped their authority over the Blues with a pair of good showings.
Gregory, the 22-year-old Northlander, endured a difficult start to Super Rugby last year with a string of error-ridden performances against the likes of the Melbourne Rebels and Blues.
However, the youngster has flourished since being called back into the starting side in the Highlanders’ last three matches, leading Brown to label the All Blacks Sevens representative as good as breakout star Connor Garden-Bachop.
Highlanders co-captain Aaron Smith has revealed he is "brutally disappointed" for rising Highlanders star Folau Fakatava following his season-ending knee injury a fortnight ago. #HIGvBLU #SuperRugbyAotearoa https://t.co/qmHuFHSgn2
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) April 17, 2021
“He’s had a tough time in the Highlanders jersey over the last 12 months, but he’s one of our stars this year,” Brown said.
“You talk about Connor, but I think you can put Scott Gregory in the same bracket around influence that he’s had on our team.
“He’s going to be, hopefully, a star for the Highlanders going forward. He’s a bit like Richard Buckman, that sort of player, and I think you saw that tonight. A tough guy who won’t come off.”
Brown also conceded that he didn’t envisage Evans – the 36-year-old second rower who returned to New Zealand last year following nine seasons in Europe – getting as many minutes as he has received this season.
With promising young locks such as Pari Pari Parkinson, Josh Dickson and Manaaki Selby-Rickit at Brown’s disposal, most expected Evans to play the role of fourth-string second rower in the Highlanders squad.
But, injuries to other players and the strong form shown by Evans has enabled the two-test All Black to feature in six of his side’s seven matches, with four of those appearances coming from the starting lineup.
“If I was honest, no,” Brown said when asked if he thought Evans would feature as heavily as he has this year.
“I think he’s loving being back in New Zealand rugby. For me, he’s a rugby man and really smart around the game. He’s loving being in our team environment and he’s loving being on the field again.
“For me, if he’s available again next year, I’d 100 percent sign him.”
The Highlanders will have next week off with a bye before returning to play the Hurricanes in Wellington in the final round of the regular season.
Comments on RugbyPass
Brayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
5 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to commentsOf the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.
29 Go to commentsIrish Rugby CEO be texting Andy Farrell “Andy, i found our next Kiwi Irishman”
5 Go to commentsI certainly don’t miss drinking beers at 8am in the morning watching rugby games being played in NZ.
1 Go to commentsThis looks like a damage limitation exercise for Wales, keeping back some of their more effective players for the last 20/25 minutes to try and counter England’s fresh legs so the Red Roses don’t rack up a big score.
1 Go to commentsVery unlikely the Bulls will beat Leinster in Dublin. It would be different in Pretoria.
1 Go to commentsI think it is a dangerous path to go down to ban a player for the same period that a player they injured takes to recover. Players would be afraid to tackle anyone. I once tackled my best friend at school in a practice match and sprained his ankle. I paid for it by having to play fly-half instead of full-back for the rest of that season’s fixtures.
5 Go to commentsJust such a genuine good bloke…and probably the best all round player in his generation. Good guys do come first sometimes and he handled the W.Cup loss with great attitude.
2 Go to commentsWord in France is that he’s on the radar of a few Top14 clubs.
5 Go to commentsGet blocking Travis, this guy has styles and he’s gonna make a swift impact…!
1 Go to commentsWhat remorse? She claimed that her dangerous tackle wasn’t worthy of a red! She should be compensating the injured player for loss of earnings at the minimum. Her ban should include the recovery time of the injured player as well as the paltry 3 match ban.
5 Go to commentsArdie is a legend. Finished and klaar. Two things: “Yeah, yeah, I have had a few conversations with Razor just around feedback on my game and what I am doing well, what I need to improve on or work-ons. It’s kind of been minimal, mate, but it’s all that I need over here in terms of how to be better, how to get better and what I am doing well.” I hope he’s downplaying it - and that it’s not that “minimal”. The amount of communication and behind the scenes preparation the Bok coaches put into players - Rassie and co would be all over Ardie and being clear on what is expected of him. This stands out for me as something teams should really be looking at in terms of the boks success from a coaching point of view. And was surprised by the comment - “minimal”. In terms of the “debate” around Ireland and South Africa. Nice one Ardie. Indeed. There’s no debate.
2 Go to commentsThere’s a bit of depth there but realistically Australian players have a long way to go to now catch up. The game is moving on fast and Australia are falling behind. Australian sides still don’t priories the breakdown like they should, it’s a non-negotiable if you want to compete on the international stage. That goes for forwards and backs. The Australian team could have a back row that could make a difference but the problem is they don’t have a tight five that can do the business. Tupou is limited in defence, overweight and unfit and the locks are a long way from international standard. Frost is soft and Salakai-Loto is too small so that means they need a Valentini at 8 who has to do the hard graft so limits the effectiveness of the backrow. Schmidt really needs to get a hard working, tough tight 5 if he wants to get this team firing.
3 Go to commentsSorry Morgan you must have been the “go to for a quote” ex player this week. Its rnd 6 and there is plenty of time to cement a starting 15 and finishing 8 so I have no such concerns.
2 Go to commentsGreat read. I wish you had done this article on the ROAR.
2 Go to commentsThe current AB coaching team is basically the Crusaders so it smacks of wanting their familiar leaders around. This is not a good look for the future of the ABs or the younger players in Super working their way up the player ladder. Razor is touted as innovative, forward looking but his early moves look like insecurity and insular, provincial thinking. He is the AB's coach not the Golden Oldies.
10 Go to commentsSimple reason for wanting him back. Robertson wants him as captain. Otherwise he wouldn’t be bothering chasing him. Not enough reason to come back just to mentor.
10 Go to comments