ODT Online rugby writer Jeff Cheshire rates the Highlanders after their 23-38 loss to the Lions.
Ben Smith 7/10: Made a couple of mistakes, notably his poor clearance kick which led to a try, but on the whole was good. Went looking for the ball and made a handful of dangerous runs in the first half.
Waisake Naholo 6/10: A bit of a mixed bag. Had a few good runs and looked threatening during them, but also made some mistakes and had a few positional errors in his kick receptions.
Malakai Fekitoa 6/10: Scored a great try right on half time and was pretty solid on defence, but was well looked after and could not make an impact in the second half when it was needed.
Richard Buckman 6.5/10: Brilliant on defence in his tackling, chasing and work at the breakdown. Was pretty tidy on attack too.
Patrick Osborne 5/10: Not his best game, got lost a couple of times on defence and did not make too many runs, although he had a good moment with an offload to Lima Sopoaga up the left wing.
Lima Sopoaga 5.5/10: Did not really spark anything, but had his moments with a few good kicks and passed the ball well early. Went missing in the second half, although he was not getting much ball to work with.
Aaron Smith 6/10: Looked lively early on and passed well enough, but was another who really needed to take control in the first 20 minutes of the second half when momentum changed.
Nasi Manu 7/10: One of the Highlanders best, constantly running hard, made a ton of tackles and was physical going into contact.
Dan Pryor 6/10: Had a couple of good pick-ups and made a few tackles, but did not have a huge impact on either attack or defence.
Gareth Evans 6.5/10: Ranged quite well on attack and was prominent on defence with his tackling and breakdown work.
Tom Franklin 5/10: Was a safe target in the lineout, but was quiet in general play.
Mark Reddish 5.5/10: Another who looked good in the lineout and, while a bit more active than Franklin, was quiet around the park.
Josh Hohneck 5/10: Struggled in the scrum and did not do a lot early on, although got better in the second half.
Liam Coltman 7/10: Possibly the Highlanders best, never seemed far from the ball, tackled well, got to plenty of rucks and led the chase, while throwing accurately too.
Brendon Edmunds 6/10: Was part of the dysfunctional scrum, but got involved around the park on both attack and defence and did what he did well.
Ash Dixon 5/10: Came on for the last 25 minutes and did not make an impact, although it was a pretty tough time to do so with the team tiring and on the back foot at that stage.
Dan Lienert-Brown 5/10: Virtually non-existent other than when he gave away a maul penalty for coming in the side.
Ross Geldenhuys 5.5/10: Another who did not do a great deal, although the lack of possession did not suit his game, which revolves around being a strong ball carrier.
Elliot Dixon 5.5/10: Was on the park for a while before he actually did anything noticeable, making a tackle in the open. Made a couple of runs too, but he was one who really needed to come on and lift the team when they were struggling.
John Hardie 6/10: Had a reasonable showing in his first game in a long time, especially considering the lack of go-forward. Made a few tackles and got his hands on the ball to make a couple of runs.
Fumiaki Tanaka 5.5/10: Did not do a lot wrong, but was just a distributor and never looked like breaking the game over, or taking control, when it was needed.
Marty Banks (No Rating): Came on for the final ten minutes and looked okay, although did not have a long enough stint to make a true impact.
Jason Emery 5/10: Saw no ball on attack and was not as dangerous on defence as Buckman.
