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Highlanders player ratings vs Hurricanes | Super Rugby Pacific

Gareth Evans. (Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)

The Highlanders couldn’t even up the count against the Hurricanes for 2022, finishing 0 and 2 after losing in Dunedin 22-21. They had lost the earlier clash against the Hurricanes 21-14, and both teams were coming off impressive wins against the over-worked Moana Pasifika team.

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Much was made of the Hurricanes playing their third game in a week and the southerners surged in the third quarter after they got back to their full complement of 15. Earlier, Josh Dickson had been shown a red card in the 20th minute. The lead see-sawed in the last 13 minutes and when Saula Mau piled over in extra time, the decision went to the video ref and it looked like the Highlanders may have pulled off a last-minute victory, but were denied. For now, they remain dwelling in the cellar of the points table with the two new Pacific Island squads.

Here’s how the Highlanders rated.

1. Ethan de Groot – 7
Awesome first scrum earning a penalty and some good physical mahi making his presence known on both sides of the ball. Off at 45.

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Why rolling maul tries aren’t as bad as they’re made out to be.

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Why rolling maul tries aren’t as bad as they’re made out to be.

2. Liam Coltman – 8
Looked back to the form that last made him an All Black in 2019. Threw some beautiful lineout darts, forming a snazzy combo with his jumpers. Staunch turnover in the 31st minute. Off at 45.

3. Jermaine Ainsley – 7.5
Has become an important cog in the pack, good scrummaging and gave Xavier Numia a pummeling when he came on to earn a penalty. Off at 58.

4. Bryn Evans- 8
Made it a tough day at the office for Asafo Aumua with some canny defensive lineout jumping. Has an amazing engine for a 37-year-old and was still ploughing into it in the last moments.

5. Josh Dickson – 3
Got a red card in the 19th minute; hard to know how he could have avoided contact as Mafileo was running at him and he had nowhere to go. The law is clear though and players know the score now after the checklist is ticked off.

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6. Gareth Evans – 8.5
Definitely the player of the day for the Highlanders – and can’t think of a Hurricane who bettered him either. Saved a try with a heroic tackle on a bus called Julian Savea, then got him a moment later after the wing had bumped two of his teammates off. Teamed up with Coltman in the 37th minute for another save on the tryline. Secured some peachy turnovers in the 38th and 57th minutes and made some important yards.

7. James Lentjes – 6
A couple of unfortunate incidents where he got his body position wrong smeared his performance. He was bullied by Ardie Savea in the 11th minute at ruck time and then with ball in hand in the 29th minute as he was marmalised by Aumua and the Canes captain. Redeemed himself with a better stab with the ball in hand in the 50th and was battling hard in the collision zone all day.

 

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8. Hugh Renton – 6.5
Brought in at the last minute for Marino Mikaele-Tu’u. Missed a tackle on Bailyn Sullivan for the first try of the match but gives his all in the contact area. Off at 51.

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9. Aaron Smith – 6.5
Got hustled by Savea at the ruck and Jordie Barrett with the high ball early on. He had a very animated period in the 25th minute as the Landers went on attack but it wasn’t the greatest outing from the halfback. Meanwhile, Fakatava put his hand up big time for a starting spot. Off at 58.

10. Marty Banks – 6.5
He didn’t let anyone down in his 50th Super rugby match. Kicked well from hand and at goal and distributed astutely. Off at 62 but was back for a cameo after Gregory’s dilemma.

11. Scott Gregory – 5.5
Both wings were outplayed by their opposites and marking Julian Savea with his form at the moment is not an easy prospect. Got up at kick-off time well but misread a Canes set-piece to allow Salesi Rayasi a clear run to the line. Made a poor kick to touch at the 62-minute mark after the ball had been carried back into the 22 but made amends a minute later with a quality turnover. Then a bizarre situation unfolded where he went down with a nasty-looking shoulder complaint, walked off claiming an HIA check then trotted back on for the last moments of the match.

12. Thomas Umaga-Jensen – 7
Kept Jordie Barrett very quiet and made some inroads of his own. Managed 50 metres off 10 carries and for the last quarter-hour got to mark up against his brother, showing some ingenuity with an unbelievable flick in-field on the left flank to Mitch Hunt that led to Max Hicks’ try.

13. Denny Solomona – N/A
Was penalised for playing the ball on the ground in the 12th minute, caught Moorby from behind, closing down a break but that saw him limping off with a leg injury after just 17 minutes.

14. Sam Gilbert – 5.5
A frustrating day for the right wing, he was chasing shadows marking the elusive Rayasi all match. Missed 6 tackles, pretty much all on his opposite and couldn’t wind up very often to go on his remarkable runs.

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15. Connor Garden-Bachop – 4.5
Disappointing game from the fullback. Was sound at the back, but his sophomore year hasn’t been a mind-blower. Has lost his Kolbe-like slipperiness with the ball in hand and was the prime culprit on defence in the final Morgan try.

Reserves:

16. Andrew Makalio – 6
On at 45. Scored a masterful lineout maul try in the 52nd minute. He may look like a cuddly teddy bear but he has claws and teeth, that’s for sure!

17. Daniel Lienert-Brown – 6.5
On at 45. Showed great speed to join the attack that led to Hicks’ try. Always a game carrier and solid at set-piece.

18. Saula Ma’u – 5.5
On at 58 and denied the try that would have seen him get free Speights for life!

19. Max Hicks — 7
On at 39 when Dickson’s red card ran out. Nice save of 5 points on Julian Savea in the 61st minute then backed himself to score six minutes later. Is definitely one to watch.

20. Billy Harmon – 5.5
On at 51. Lost ball in contact in the 77th minute but Tony Brown will be happy to see him back as he adds some starch.

21. Folau Fakatava – 7
On at 58. Worked well covering some chip kicks into his 22. Did excellently to turn over Ardie Savea in the 67th minute to help get the Highlanders in the lead. In some ways his combative game seems to suit the southerners more than Smith’s excellent distribution; a real brain-teaser for the selectors.

22. Mitch Hunt – 6.5
On at 62. Set up the comeback try from Hicks and added some spirit.

23. Fetuli Paea – 7
On early after Solomona’s demise and made a real difference with straight hard running and muscular defence.

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Andrew 949 days ago

Goong by the point awarded for both teams once again it seems that it must have been tbe Highlandets tbat won and not the Canes...Odd.

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JW 2 hours ago
'Passionate reunion of France and New Zealand shows Fabien Galthie is wrong to rest his stars'

Ok, managed to read the full article..

... New Zealand’s has only 14 and the professional season is all over within four months. In France, club governance is the responsibility of an independent organisation [the Ligue Nationale de Rugby or LNR] which is entirely separate from the host union [the Fédération Française de Rugby or FFR]. Down south New Zealand Rugby runs the provincial and the national game.

That is the National Provincial Championship, a competition of 14 representative union based teams run through the SH international window and only semi professional (paid only during it's running). It is run by NZR and goes for two and a half months.


Super Rugby is a competition involving 12 fully professional teams, of which 5 are of New Zealand eligibility, and another joint administered team of Pacific Island eligibility, with NZR involvement. It was a 18 week competition this year, so involved (randomly chosen I believe) extra return fixtures (2 or 3 home and away derbys), and is run by Super Rugby Pacific's own independent Board (or organisation). The teams may or may not be independently run and owned (note, this does not necessarily mean what you think of as 'privately owned').


LNR was setup by FFR and the French Government to administer the professional game in France. In New Zealand, the Players Association and Super Rugby franchises agreed last month to not setup their own governance structure for professional rugby and re-aligned themselves with New Zealand Rugby. They had been proposing to do something like the English model, I'm not sure how closely that would have been aligned to the French system but it did not sound like it would have French union executive representation on it like the LNR does.

In the shaky isles the professional pyramid tapers to a point with the almighty All Blacks. In France the feeling for country is no more important than the sense of fierce local identity spawned at myriad clubs concentrated in the southwest. Progress is achieved by a nonchalant shrug and the wide sweep of nuanced negotiation, rather than driven from the top by a single intense focus.

Yes, it is pretty much a 'representative' selection system at every level, but these union's are having to fight for their existence against the regime that is NZR, and are currently going through their own battle, just as France has recently as I understand it. A single focus, ala the French game, might not be the best outcome for rugby as a whole.


For pure theatre, it is a wonderful article so far. I prefer 'Ntamack New Zealand 2022' though.

The young Crusader still struggles to solve the puzzle posed by the shorter, more compact tight-heads at this level but he had no problem at all with Colombe.

It was interesting to listen to Manny during an interview on Maul or Nothing, he citied that after a bit of banter with the All Black's he no longer wanted one of their jersey's after the game. One of those talks was an eye to eye chat with Tamaiti Williams, there appear to be nothing between the lock and prop, just a lot of give and take. I thought TW angled in and caused Taylor to pop a few times, and that NZ were lucky to be rewarded.

f you have a forward of 6ft 8ins and 145kg, and he is not at all disturbed by a dysfunctional set-piece, you are in business.

He talked about the clarity of the leadership that helped alleviate any need for anxiety at the predicaments unfolding before him. The same cannot be said for New Zealand when they had 5 minutes left to retrieve a match winning penalty, I don't believe. Did the team in black have much of a plan at any point in the game? I don't really call an autonomous 10 vehicle they had as innovative. I think Razor needs to go back to the dealer and get a new game driver on that one.

Vaa’i is no match for his power on the ground. Even in reverse, Meafou is like a tractor motoring backwards in low gear, trampling all in its path.

Vaa'i actually stops him in his tracks. He gets what could have been a dubious 'tackle' on him?

A high-level offence will often try to identify and exploit big forwards who can be slower to reload, and therefore vulnerable to two quick plays run at them consecutively.

Yes he was just standing on his haunches wasn't he? He mentioned that in the interview, saying that not only did you just get up and back into the line to find the opposition was already set and running at you they also hit harder than anything he'd experienced in the Top 14. He was referring to New Zealands ultra-physical, burst-based Super style of course, which he was more than a bit surprised about. I don't blame him for being caught out.


He still sent the obstruction back to the repair yard though!

What wouldn’t the New Zealand rugby public give to see the likes of Mauvaka and Meafou up front..

Common now Nick, don't go there! Meafou showed his Toulouse shirt and promptly got his citizenship, New Zealand can't have him, surely?!?


As I have said before with these subjects, really enjoy your enthusiasm for their contribution on the field and I'd love to see more of their shapes running out for Vern Cotter and the like styled teams.

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