The Highlanders are entering the crunch period of the season. Rugby writer Steve Hepburn looks at what has to be done to make the play-offs for the first time in a decade.
Nothing ever comes easy for the Highlanders.
They are right in the hunt for the play-offs but it is not going to be a walk in the park to get there.
In what is shaping up to be a ding-dong battle between teams, the Highlanders need to be in the top six, and hope the cards fall their way.
Last year the cut-off for the finals was 57 points, and the sixth spot was taken by the Sharks. The Durban-based team managed 10 wins and a draw, with seven bonus points, to make the cut.
At the moment the Highlanders sit on 34 points.
They have seven wins and only two bonus points.
They will pick up four points for a bye in the last round, but before that there are six wins at stake.
Everyone seems to be harping on about last year, and how the wheels fell off, but this is a new year, a new team. The Highlanders can make the play-offs but it is going to take some guts and some skill.
They need to:
1. JUST WIN
Basic stuff, really.
The Highlanders do not have an easy road home, taking on the two finalists from last year and the red-hot Chiefs.
But three of their games are at home. These are absolute must-wins. Forsyth Barr Stadium has to be a fortress for the side, and teams visiting must shudder to think about playing at the ground.
The side has its South African trip out of the way, so will only have one journey where players will need their passport, and that is across the Tasman to take on the Reds in Brisbane, in their final scheduled match.
Four wins should be enough, but nothing is certain in rugby.
Depending on how things pan out, the Highlanders could need five. Or it could be only three.
2. SCORE SOME BONUS POINTS
The traditionalist in us often scoffs at bonus points, and fair enough. The object is to win a game and why should a team be rewarded for getting close or scoring some tries?The Highlanders have just been squeaking home and have just one four-try bonus point.
They need to score more to stay in the play-off picture. With the competition so close, bonus points are going to be crucial.
The Highlanders have to get over the tryline more, and if they do lose a game, at least pick up a bonus point from it.
3. SMASH THE BLUES
Why does this game give every Highlanders fan the jitters?The Blues are average.
Average players, badly out of form, coached by a man who is on death row.
But it is at Eden Park, where the Highlanders have only won once, and that was a decade ago.
Coincidentally, this was the last time the Highlanders made the playoffs.
The Highlanders really need to win this game and win it well.
These local derbies are never easy and despite the Blues leaking tries, and playing poorly, everyone knows they surely must click into gear one day.
Just hope it is not May 26.
