ODT Online rugby writer Jeff Cheshire looks at five of the key points to emerge from the Highlanders' narrow win over the Lions in Dunedin at the weekend.
First-half brilliance
It is easy to criticise for the way the Highlanders fell to pieces in the second half, but give them credit for the brilliance that got them a huge lead in the first half. They showed good all-round composure to wear the Lions down and did not panic when the points did not come initially. In the final ten minutes of the first half they made them pay, touching down twice as the pace of the half caught up to the Lions.
The Highlanders kicked well early, finding space behind the Lions backline and allowing them to apply pressure which ensured the Lions had few chances to threaten. On the flip side, the Highlanders backline operated superbly, throwing some good passes and hitting the line at different angles to trouble the Lions defenders. The forwards carried strongly and provided them with the momentum to do this, which forced the Lions defenders in closer and allowed the outside backs to find space out wide. This resulted in Malakai Fekitoa, Ben Smith and Richard Buckman standing out.
Second-half fall-off
There was inevitably going to be some sort of fall-off in the second half as fatigue set in after the long trip back from South Africa. While the traditional method to wear down South African teams is to run them around, in this game the Highlanders appeared to wear themselves down. The Lions on the other hand emerged a much better team in the second half and clearly had the belief that they could still win.
The Lions tightened up and looked to use their pick and go a lot more, bringing the Highlanders forwards closer in and making it harder to snaffle turnovers. Individuals still played alright for the home side, but as a team they did not function quite so well, in contrast to the Lions, who operated well as a unit.
When six forwards were named on the bench it was clear that there was an intention to make a lot of changes to combat the fatigue. Unfortunately, when John Hardie and Josh Bekhuis both went down within a minute of each other in the first quarter of the game, the coaches had to use two of their reserves early on.
Controversial decisions
The Lions should have been allowed another shot at the final conversion, as has been pointed out on message boards across the internet. However, there is no guarantee the second kick would have gone over, so you cannot say that this cost the Lions the game.
The disallowed Lions try in the dying stages has drawn comment too. This is the sort of situation that you see from your team's point of view as it was very much a 50/50. Ultimately you could not see the ball up against the posts, which means even if you were to think it probably was, it is hard to give the try.
That said, it has been pointed out that there was a forward pass in the lead-up to a Lions try, so the decisions certainly did not go one way.
No-one can deny that referees get things wrong from time to time, and there is nothing wrong with pointing out when this happens. But it is another thing to say that it influenced the outcome of the game.
Cross-kick
One obvious turning point in this game was the failed cross-kick midway through the second half. At this point the Highlanders were building pressure and after having withstood what the Lions had thrown at them, had a chance to bury them.
With a scrum inside the Lions 22 and plenty of space it seemed an ideal opportunity to get either Malakai Fekitoa or Ben Smith into some space. The cross-kick that ensued was reminiscent of 2013. It is such a low-percentage play and with the Lions winger standing relatively wide, it was never really on. Surely it would have been a better bet to create a move for one of the backs and if that was shut down looked to build pressure through the pick and go and forward runners.
Not only did the Highlanders fail to score here, they conceded a try almost straight away. From being in a position where they had the opportunity to bury the Lions, they let them back into the game, something we have seen too often from the Highlanders this season and needs to be fixed.
Finishing the season off well
After strong starts in 2011 and 2012, the Highlanders fell away towards the end of the season and missed the playoffs. This year they are in a similar position and will need to finish strongly if they are to qualify for the first time since 2002.
While it may not have been pretty, they did win against the Lions: in past years the Highlanders would have lost this game, and while it was a little too close for comfort, the fact that they got over the line in the end is the main thing.
Injuries have been a major factor in seeing past seasons unravel, but this team have remained largely injury free. There have been a few players go down in recent weeks, though, and it is how the team responds to this that will impact on how the team finishes up.
