Highlanders hold off charging Blues
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The Highlanders held off a resurgent Blues side to pick up a hard-fought 30-24 victory in Dunedin.
The visitors scored four unanswered tries in the second half and ended with two bonus points, as the Highlanders were forced to hold out under pressure despite dominating the first half.
While the Highlanders improved their season to six wins from eight games, the Blues slumped to their eighth loss from nine outings.
Questions will be asked in the Blues camp about the gamble to keep their All Blacks front row – Keven Mealamu, Tony Woodcock and Charlie Faumuina – on the bench through the first half.
It was a move that backfired as Highlanders forwards took early control and the home side were up 17-0 inside the first quarter.
When Blues coach John Kirwan unleashed his cavalry in the second half, Faumuina had an immediate impact paving the way for one try before Mealamu followed up with two of his own. But they had left their run too late.
The home side took control early on, starting the ball rolling with a penalty from Lima Sopoaga and following it up with two tries which put them 17-0 up after 20 minutes.
The first was a classic counter-attack, with the ball worked wide to Malakai Fekitoa, and the second showed the finishing ability of prolific wing Waisake Naholo which left the Blues stunned.
The visitors responded by camping deep in Highlanders territory, but they were not able to finish a number of opportunities as the home side's defence held firm.
Instead it would be the Highlanders to score next as they gave the Blues a lesson in finishing, with Fekitoa going over for his second try from a quick tap.
That saw them take a 24-0 lead into half-time, and the Blues headed into the break for a tongue-lashing from coach John Kirwan.
The Blues finally got on the scoreboard early in the second half with a try from George Moala, and after a Sopoaga penalty they had another as lock Patrick Tuipulotu powered his way over to make it 27-10.
Things got tougher for the Highlanders when Joe Wheeler was sent to the sin bin for a dangerous tackle, and the Blues made the most of it with Mealamu forcing his way over between the poles.
The veteran All Black hooker scored again at the death to give the Blues three minutes to try and snatch an unlikely win, but it was not to be as the Highlanders held on for the win.
Man of the match: George Moala, Jerome Kaino and Keven Mealamu all played a major role in the Blues' comeback, Lima Sopoaga was steady and kicked everything but the player who had the biggest influence on the match was Highlanders centre Malakai Fekitoa.
The scorers:
For the Highlanders:
Tries: Fekitoa 2, Naholo
Cons: Sopoaga 3
Pens: Sopoaga 3
For the Blues:
Tries: Moala, Tuipulotu, Mealamu 2
Cons: Bowden, West
Yellow card: Joe Wheeler (Highlanders, 56 – Dangerous tackle)
Teams:
Highlanders: 15 Ben Smith (co-captain), 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Jason Emery, 11 Patrick Osborne, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Nasi Manu (co-captain), 7 James Lentjes, 6 Elliot Dixon, 5 Joe Wheeler, 4 Mark Reddish, 3 Josh Hohneck, 1 Liam Coltman, 1 Kane Hames.
Replacements: 16 Ash Dixon, 17 Brendon Edmonds, 18 Pingi Tala'apitaga, 19 Tom Franklin, 20 Dan Pryor, 21 Fumiaki Tanaka, 22 Marty Banks, 23 Richard Buckman.
Blues: 15 Charles Piutau, 14 Frank Halai, 13 Pita Ahki, 12 George Moala, 11 Melani Nanai, 10 Dan Bowden, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Jerome Kaino (captain), 7 Brendon O'Connor, 6 Akira Ioane, 5 Patrick Tuipulotu, 4 Josh Bekhuis, 3 Angus Ta'avao, 2 James Parsons, 1 Ofa Tu'ungafasi.
Replacements: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Tony Woodcock, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Hayden Triggs, 20 Blake Gibson, 21 Jimmy Cowan, 22 Ihaia West, 23 Francis Saili.
Referee: Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Assistant referees: Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand), Mike Lash (New Zealand)
TMO: Vinny Munro (New Zealand)
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