Two tries in the last twenty minutes came as a result of relentless pressure from the visitors and were enough to sink their opposition.
Despite trailing 19-9 at the break, it was the Highlanders who made most of the play, looking to take the Chiefs on in the forwards and then attack through the midfield.
They were rewarded early on, but as the half progressed the game loosened up and a series of unnecessary fifty-fifty passes saw good chances wasted. It was one of these from which the Chiefs scored their only try, a long range effort, capitalising on a bad pass by Jimmy Cowan and used their pace and good support play to dot down.
The second half saw a reinvigorated Highlanders team take to the field. They began playing more direct and cutting out the unnecessary passes, showing a level of patience that had been lacking in the first half. This was rewarded with two tries while the Chiefs were held scoreless, stamping their authority late in the game, much like the round two battle between the two sides at Carisbrook last year.
The first try came after an Adam Thomson offload found Tamati Ellison running on at depth to break the line who found Aaron Smith who was able to fight his was over the line. The second came five minutes later, after Jason Rutledge charged and re-gathered an Aaron Cruden kick before giving the ball to Phil Burleigh to score in the corner and give the Highlanders a lead they would not relinquish.
Perhaps the biggest positive to take for the Highlanders came in the way their bench performed once introduced.
Jason Rutledge and Aaron Smith were both outstanding whilst the others all made good contributions. The lift provided by these men for the Highlanders was far greater than their opposites on the Chiefs and in the end was what got them over the line.
Despite the new breakdown interpretations they looked to attack the rucks in a positive manner and came up with some big turnovers. Nasi Manu and Andrew Hore were particularly good in this area, both stealing balls on crucial occasions.
The set piece was very good, with the scrum providing a good platform all night and Adam Thomson in particularly good form at lineout time. This is a big plus early in the season as a good set piece is crucial to doing well in this competition, although they will face a sterner test in this area next weekend when they meet the Crusaders.
Above all though, it was the attitude of the forward pack that saw them through. They continued to get better as the game went on and were a large reason why the Chiefs were held scoreless for the entire second half.
The backline looked more polished in the second half, proving much more dangerous when Aaron Smith replaced Jimmy Cowan who looked well below his best. Smith's ability to get the ball away quicker made a world of difference and freed up Chris Noakes to run where he looked dangerous on multiple occasions. Tamati Ellison was outstanding in his debut for the franchise, constantly making inroads into the Chiefs defence, while his midfield partner Phil Burleigh gave a good performance and showed that he will be good cover during the midfield injury crisis.
The back three all provided solid performances, showing what they are capable of. However they didn't get as many chances as they would have liked and the team should look to get them more involved in coming weeks. Hosea Gear in particular is such a damaging runner and needs to be put into space more often as when he did find himself with a chance he was hard to put away.
But given the circumstances, it's hard not to be pleased with the Highlanders' first outing of the season. There was always going to be rust and things go wrong. These will come right over the coming weeks as the team begins to gel. If they can keep playing with the same resolve and the same patience they showed in the second half, this could be a very good year if you're a Highlanders fan.
- Jeff Cheshire. I am a 19 year old Physical Education student at the University of Otago and have lived my whole life in Dunedin. I began supporting the Highlanders at the age six in the 1999 season and have followed the team religiously since then. I am looking forward to writing about the Highlanders in what will hopefully be a successful 2012 Super 15 season.