This, with great skill level, good handling and high confidence leads to a great spectacle to watch. It was this that was seen from the Otago team last night, as they put on a clinic of running rugby to beat North Harbour 54-25 at Forsyth Barr Stadium last night.
The teams were light-years apart, as Otago ran rings around their opponents who, in contrast, weren't capable of putting anything together.
And that sums up how the game went. North Harbour simply made too many mistakes and dropped too much ball, all of which was capitalised on by an on-song Otago team.
In almost every facet of the game Otago were the dominant team. The loose forwards ran strongly and provided good link men, whilst the tight forwards provided front foot ball all night, allowing the loose forwards to range and the backs to attack dangerously.
And they did this very effectively. Early on they looked to play a territory-oriented game, as Fumiaka Tanaka and Hayden Parker kicked deep in the North Harbour half, pinning them back and forcing them to bring it back.
More often than not this resulted in a North Harbour error and Otago had no problem capitalising on them, scoring four tries before the break.
As the game developed they began to play with more confidence, looking to run rather than kick, and they looked dangerous doing so. Ben Smith and Buxton Popoalii in particular were lethal on the counter-attack, making constant inroads through what was a rather flimsy defence from the back.
They showed great skill in getting away some outstanding offloads, almost all of which seemed to go to hand. It can be something that teams struggle with at times. Certainly the conditions helped and the opposition wasn't the strongest. But it was just one of those nights when everything clicked and Otago put on one of their most clinical performances of the past decade.
The pick of the Otago players was Gareth Evans, who made the most of his recall to the starting line-up, running well and getting through plenty of work. He crossed for two tries, showing impressive pace to score the second, running 50m away from former All Black winger Rudi Wulf to score in the corner.
Other forwards to impress were Paul Grant, who ran well, while both locks were also industrious. Sam Anderson-Heather was busy and played his usual physical game, as was Tama Turirangi, who once again showed himself to be very mobile.
The backs job was made far easier by these men as it is far easier for a backline to operate when playing with front-foot ball. But even so, they still had to play well, and play well they did, with every players putting his hand up and proving threatening.
The nine-ten duo of Fumiaka Tanaka and Hayden Parker controlled the game well, kicking effectively and taking good options.
In the midfield Glen Dickson played intelligently, whilst Tamati Ellison was once again outstanding proving dangerous, strong and level-headed.
The back three of Ben Smith, Buxton Popoalii and Marshall Suckling was outstanding too, as Smith and Popoalii constantly threatened, whilst Suckling was busy the whole game and got through plenty of work.
Replacement first-five Peter Breen looked good once introduced, adding a spark to the backline and putting his outside men into holes effectively.
Hayden Parker and Glen Dickson also put to rest the theory that the stadium is bad for goal kickers. Between them they kicked eight from eleven, slotting goals from all over the park.
The team now turns their attention to Tasman, who they will meet at the same venue on Sunday afternoon in a game that will determine who will move into the second spot on the championship table.
