The Last Word: Highlanders' 'home' game victory

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Professional tennis players (from left) Anna-Lena Groenefeld (Germany), Patty Schnyder (Switzerland), Chia-Jung Chuang (Taiwan) and Sania Mirza (India) meet some furry and feathered friends during a break in the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida. Photo by Getty.

Nothing like timing. A certain reporter was heard on Dunedin radio on Saturday afternoon broadly dismissing the Highlanders' chances against the Bulls and outlining his displeasure at the game being played in Palmerston North.

Hours later, the Highlanders had smashed the powerful South Africans by 24 points in front of nearly 10,000 people.

I still have to go with my gut on the "home" game issue. Something just doesn't seem right about moving a game to another island to (a) send the locals a message or (b) make more money.

My feeling was and is that the Highlanders have lost too many fans in their own region over the past five years to risk annoying those few supporters who remain. And plenty of people are annoyed. Trust me.

. . . but Highlanders' win was remarkable

But let's shelve the discussion of the rights and the wrongs of playing in Palmerston North and revel for another week in that extraordinary performance against the Bulls.

It was arguably the most convincing Highlanders win in the barren years since the franchise last made the semifinals.

There was the 43-7 thumping of the Sharks in Durban four years ago, when Ben Blair scored 28 points, including three tries. That was in the middle of a still under-appreciated winning streak which stretched to a franchise-record six games under coach Greg Cooper.

Then there was the most enjoyable 26-14 win against the dynastic Crusaders in Christchurch in the final round last year. But that had a question mark over it because the Crusaders, who were already guaranteed a home semifinal and final, never really looked interested.

This was different. This was the Highlanders developing a game plan and following it to the letter. Their forward pack, in particular, deserves massive praise for ruthlessly dehorning the Bulls.

Adam Thomson has been earning rave reviews, and rightly so - I wondered if he was going to drift this season, with a court case hanging over him and a less-than-impressive All Black tour behind him; shows what I know.

But for me, the real standout has been Alando Soakai. He looks lean and fit and fast, and his combination with Thomson has been superb.

Super Sid - what might have been

The Last Word is a big fan of Craig Cumming, not because he occasionally works in the same building but because he's a class act who has led Otago to two titles in two years.

All "Sid" Cumming did this past summer was rack up 784 first-class runs, including four centuries, pushing him closer to the status of an Otago great.

Where he should be, of course, is opening the batting for the Black Caps in the third test against India.

There have been many opening batsmen tried and discarded by impatient national cricket selectors over the years. No disrespect to incumbents Martin Guptill and Tim McIntosh, but if Cumming and Matthew Bell had been given a decent run at the top, I am sure they would have consistently been successful.

Once was a Warrior

Otago coach Steve Martin was right to point out Michael Witt, the former Warriors league player who is coming to Dunedin to play rugby, had to earn his place in the team.

For a start, it's unfair on Witt to assume he will change codes effortlessly and immediately be a better first five than anyone Otago's already got.

League and rugby are similar games, but not when it comes to the No 10 jersey. Witt will have to learn the art of backline generalship, and practise a wider range of tactical kicking, if he is to succeed.

My early preference would be to see Witt at 12, outside Chris Noakes. That would give Otago two kicking options and the sort of light-stepping second five the province hasn't seen in a long time.

What I'd hate to see is all the attention being placed on Witt as some sort of saviour. Otago was truly appalling last year, but Martin should still have the bones of a reasonable team in what is a much scaled-down competition.

A Tiger on the prowl

Some people (my wife and several colleagues among them) are horrified I have developed a taste for golf. What can I say? The New Zealand Open at The Hills was my enlightening and I'm going to run with it.

The extent of my new-found interest was exposed on Monday when I sat enthralled by Tiger Woods as he played the last few holes in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Previously, I'd admired Woods' ability and obvious mental toughness but never really enjoyed his blandness, his corporate focus and his caddy.

Now, I feel so much more willing to ignore everything else and just watch the greatest player of all time do what he does best.

Woods wasn't playing for money or for a shiny trophy on Monday. He just wanted to win, and nothing was going to stop him. He is, in the genuine sense of the word, awesome.