ODT Online rugby writer Jeff Cheshire rates the Highlanders after their 30-24 victory over the Blues in Dunedin last night.
Ben Smith 8/10: Outstanding from start to finish. Was safe under the high ball and tidied it up on a few occasions when others dropped it. Ran dangerously, kicked well and was lethal on the counter.
Waisake Naholo 7.5/10: Another who was lethal with the ball, set up a try and then scored one. Did a good job of exploiting a shaky Blues defence and their awful first half tactics.
Malakai Fekitoa 7.5/10: Too much for the Blues defence with ball in hand, running strongly and evading tackles well, although hardly got a chance in the second half.
Jason Emery 7/10: Was outstanding on defence, making multiple good tackles in the open, while also threatening on occasion on attack and distributing well.
Patrick Osborne 7/10: Did not have the ball go his way, but still got himself involved through his outstanding chase game, along with his ability to contest in the air. Ran well and kicked up the line into space when he got his chances.
Lima Sopoaga 7.5/10: Received a lot of ball on the counter and did a good job opening it up to exploit the space on the other side. Had a perfect night kicking at goal too, knocking over some tough chances, which was as crucial as anything.
Aaron Smith 6/10: Brilliant in the first half, passing well and kicking into space. Was pretty average in the second half though, with a few poor kicks handing the ball back to the Blues during periods where the Highlanders were struggling to hold on to possession.
Nasi Manu 7/10: Got pretty stuck in, adding physicality and making an impact with ball in hand and in his tackling.
James Lentjes 8/10: Keeps getting better and better. Was a terrier on defence, seemed to just appear at breakdowns and had a good carry. It is hard to find a fault in his performance.
Elliot Dixon 7.5/10: Another who was hugely prominent on defence and made a good, strong run too. Came up with a big lineout disruption five meters out to stop a maul before it started.
Joe Wheeler 7/10: Defended well, was fairly involved in the tight and was on the wrong end of a ridiculous yellow card.
Mark Reddish 7.5/10: Physical in contact and looked lively in the open. Showed once again that he is one of the safest targets in the country at the back of the lineout.
Josh Hohneck 7/10: Got through some work and was pretty prominent in the defensive passage in the third quarter of the first half. Was part of a scrum which was dominant in the first half, but struggled once the Blues superstar front row was introduced.
Liam Coltman 7.5/10: Another who hardly put a foot wrong, made his tackles and played a direct game.
Kane Hames 7/10: Pretty good in his first game since the season opener. Scrummaged well and was mobile around the field.
Ash Dixon 6/10: Made his tackles, but did not make quite the same impact as Coltman. Admittedly things had begun to just before he came on and was reduced to tackling.
Brendon Edmunds 5/10: Like Dixon, Edmunds was not helped with when he came on, but struggled against an All Black opponent in the scrum and was not as active as usual around the park.
Pingi Tala'apitaga 5.5/10: Made a few tackles, but had a tough night going up against Tony Woodcock.
Tom Franklin 6.5/10: Only ever really had the opportunity to tackle, which he did reasonably well.
Dan Pryor 5.5/10: Did a few good things, but the tight five was on the back foot for most of the time while he was on, which meant he had to tighten up and was not given the freedom to threaten in the loose.
Fumiaki Tanaka (No Rating): Came on to finish the game, but did not get too much to do.
Richard Buckman 6.5/10: Did little on attack, which was symptomatic of the Highlanders non-existent attack in the second half, but made some good tackles on a dangerous looking Blues midfield.
