This was one mountain just too steep to climb.
Playing a top-drawer side stacked with All Blacks, wanting to put on a quality effort in tribute to a fallen son, the Highlanders went down 56-20 to the Hurricanes in Napier last night.
The Highlanders were always up against it even before they took the field.
The side was without its three All Blacks, the Hurricanes wanted to atone for a dismal performance last game out, and also had the motivation of playing for former Hurricane Jerry Collins, new of whose death broke only a couple of hours before the match kicked off.
Going on this match, the Hurricanes are going to be mighty hard to beat in the rest of the season but it was not a great performance by the Highlanders.
Bleeding eight tries was not in the side's best interests, and a a failure to pick up a bonus point may come back to haunt the team from the South.
The Highlanders were perhaps still in the match when down 30-13 at the break but some basic errors - mostly by players rusty at this level - resulted in the score blowing out towards the end.
The Highlanders did not have the sufficient class to spark something from deep and the team, although not chucking in the towel, struggled to make any inroads on attack as the game went on.
Also worrying was the sight of lock Tom Franklin leaving the field with a serious wrist injury.
Centre Jason Emery also departed with what looked like a serious concussion.
Best for the Highlanders was No 8 Elliot Dixon, who made some nice tackles, while fellow loose forward Gareth Evans, who has just signed on for the franchise for another year, was all over the park.
Halfback Fumiaki Tanaka tried hard while Richard Buckman in the midfield put in his usual solid shift.
The Highlanders had a good opening 10 minutes but it all went wrong after that as the Hurricanes just took over, scoring three tries within the next quarter of an hour.
The Highlanders lost loose forward Evans to a yellow card and it told as the Hurricanes made the most of the extra man, scoring tries through No 8 Blade Thomson, fullback James Marshall and halfback TJ Perenara.
The Highlanders looked dead and buried but the side managed to come back into the match through a quick couple of tries.
Winger Ryan Tongia created an overlap and then got a nice inside ball from flanker John Hardie to dot down.
Then, within five minutes, the Highlanders had a second try.
Tongia made a nice regather of the kick and then Hardie was dragged down just short.
The ball was recycled and Lima Sopoaga went over to score.
He could not add the conversion and his kicking boots were deserting him.
The home team kept attacking and got the four-try bonus point with five minutes left in the first half when hooker Dane Coles crossed.
The Hurricanes almost got another in the final act of the first half but great defence from No 8 Dixon managed to hold the ball up when Beauden Barrett tried to slide across the line.
In the second half, the entertainment continued.
Both teams were looking to move the ball at every opportunity but the Hurricanes were just more accurate in attack and had more precision at key times.
Hurricanes v Highlanders
The scores
Hurricanes 56
Ma'a Nonu 2, TJ Perenara 2, Blade Thomson, James Marshall, Dane Coles, Julian Savea tries; Marshall 5 con, 2 pen
Highlanders 20
Ryan Tongia, Lima Sopoaga, Marty Banks tries; Sopoaga con, d-goalHalftime: 30-13
