Rugby: Highlanders obvious pick

Shaun Treeby.
Shaun Treeby.
Logic goes out the window for this match.

A Highlanders win in Perth is the only likely outcome if you disregard the baggage and consider all the form factors.

The Highlanders are well ensconced in the playoff picture. The Force is dead last on the ladder. The Highlanders have won eight games. The Force has won just two.

The men from the South have scored 38 tries this season, while the men from the west have scored just 24.

The Highlanders have some key internationals in their side. The Force has a veteran rugged flanker who is a part-time Wallaby and a curly-haired, rent-a-quote winger who is an occasional international.

So, the evidence is compelling. The Highlanders should be a sure thing.

Kyle Godwin.
Kyle Godwin.
But this is sport - where logic does not always work out.

The Highlanders have gone into a game against the Force many times appearing to be the likely winners only to come out on the wrong side of the scoreboard.

They have not beaten the Force since 2007, when no-one in the current side was anywhere near this level. In fact, most were still at school.

Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph concedes his side is not taking this game lightly, and has given the opposition plenty of thought.

''It is the toughest game of the tour and that is the way we have been approaching it,'' he said.

''We've prepared the best that we can do considering the challenges of the travel - just to get out of Bloemfontein and to get here. The Force are a really strong team who have played well and will be looking to get up for this weekend.

''They had a good win over the Waratahs and have now had the week off to refresh. They have everything to play for and nothing to lose.''

Joseph said the travel was a hassle which could not be ignored. There was always a lot of talk about how to overcome it but in the end the team had to go through it.

He hoped the Highlanders would be focused on the match and not on thoughts of home, but it was their third match on tour and it was only natural for the team to have thoughts of getting back to this side of the Tasman.

The elephant in the room for the Highlanders is their shocking record against the Force.

They have lost six in a row against the side and that, if anything, will be the biggest hurdle to overcome.

The Highlanders just seem to leave their worst for the Force. Over the years, brain explosions have been a regular occurrence for the Highlanders in this fixture, and too often they have leaked some soft tries.

The Highlanders have a potent backline, plenty to play for - it is Ben Smith's 100th game and John Hardie's 50th - and simply more at stake than the opposition.

If that motivation does not get them across the line, one must wonder what will.

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