ODT Online rugby writer Jeff Cheshire highlights five key reasons behind the Highlanders' win over the Bulls on Friday night.
It is an 80-minute game
The Bulls certainly looked very good for 25 minutes. They brought a level of physicality that has not been seen in Dunedin so far this year and the Highlanders simply had no answer for it. Unfortunately for them, this did not last and they ran out of puff early on.
At this stage the game began to open up and the huge Bulls forward pack did not keep up with play well. The physicality that was so evident early on went missing, they were slow to the breakdown, they began falling off tackles and made too many mistakes. Ultimately they only scored one try in the final 58 minutes after leading 13-3 and looking dominant. That is a sign of lacking in fitness.
Defensive pressure led to mistakes
Defensively the Highlanders were outstanding after the initial onslaught in the first 25 minutes. The second half saw them hold out the Bulls numerous times, taking down the big forward runners with good technique and getting over the ball quickly.
However, the Bulls did not help themselves here and committed far too many mistakes. Their ball security in contact was shocking and it became a case of just tackling and waiting for the mistake for the Highlanders, as it was sure to be not far away. This prevented them from applying any pressure for extended periods of time. But give the Highlanders defence the credit it deserves too, as they did a great job of holding out their opposition.
Kick and chase
For years this was the hallmark of the Bulls' game. Put up a high kick, chase hard and capitalise on the opposition's mistakes. Teams did not handle it well and it was a successful tactic. In this game though, the Highlanders implemented the tactic against the Bulls and they did not handle it well at all. Aaron Smith and Lima Sopoaga kicked accurately so the chasers could compete and Richard Buckman, Ben Smith and Patrick Osborne applied pressure to force the mistake.
It was not the only tactic used though and it was good to see the Highlanders run from deep in their own half when it was on. By mixing the two tactics they were unpredictable and took the right options at the right times to ensure they capitalised on their chances.
Defence of rolling maul
Another hallmark of the Bulls, and indeed South Africa's, game of recent times has been the rolling maul. It is not an easy thing to stop when the opposition sets their platform right and quite often results in either a try or a series of penalties leading to a yellow card. To be fair the Highlanders did give up their share of penalties in this area and may have been lucky to not lose a man. But they didn't. They got in behind the Bulls maul well, getting lower than them, staying tight and stopping them progressing forward. By having a couple of men hanging off, they were able to counter the peel and reset too. In doing this, they stifled the Bulls' main attacking weapon.
Spark in the backs
The main thing missing in recent weeks has been some spark in the backline, which was well and truly found once again in this game. Malakai Fekitoa was outstanding in breaking the line twice to set up a try and then score one. Patrick Osborne had a couple of nice breaks and Richard Buckman looked threatening enough too. Lima Sopoaga hit the gaps well when the game opened up and there were a handful of forwards that made nice runs too. The Bulls defence struggled to contain this and it resulted in three very good tries, which were the key ingredient in the win.