Final thoughts
I’ll be honest, I fully expected the Waratahs to turn things around in the second half. More fool me. The Waratahs were as bad throughout as the Highlanders were good. Frankly, it seems hard to believe the hosts were actually leading early in the second half considering the possession statistics. By full-time it felt like they had never been in it.
Credit to the Highlanders though. The Waratahs struggled from the start, but the Highlanders never gave them a chance to regain their composure. They’ve earnt their shot at the title, although I doubt the Canes will be as easy to contain as the Tahs. Just ask Steve Larkham.
Anyway, thanks for joining me tonight, I’ll catch you next time.
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Full-time: Waratahs 17-35 Highlanders
Peeeep! Joubert puts the Tahs out of their misery - although the crowd don’t seem to be thanking him. Quite the opposite. The Highlanders are deserved winners.
TRY - Waratahs 17-35 Highlanders
78 mins: That’s it. Game over. Osborne dives over in the corner after catching a Sopoaga kick. The Waratahs’ heads have dropped. It’s going to be an all New Zealand affair in the final. Sopoaga misses the conversion.
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76 mins: Another turnover from the Tahs. Greece has more chance of making up its deficit than the Waratahs. The defending champions are on their way out.
Waratahs 17-30 Highlanders
74 mins: Another lineout goes wrong for the Tahs - basic stuff. They’re punished immediately by a drop goal from Sopoaga. That could/should be it.
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71 mins: The Waratahs cough up possession again just when it looked like they might be getting some momentum. Time is running out fast. The Highlanders have done an excellent job in nullifying the hosts’ big men.
69 mins: Dear oh dear. Another lost lineout from the Waratahs. That’s four in total. They’ve been their own worst enemies tonight.
68 mins: The Waratahs still battling, Potgieter immediately back in the thick of it, and they win a lineout at about the halfway mark. The crowd erupts. They haven’t had much to cheer in the last 20 mins.
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66 mins: I can’t remember the last time the ball was in the Highlanders’ half. It’s been that long. Potgieter returns to the field. The Tahs need something. Fast.
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63 mins: The Waratahs just about holding on despite being a man down. They’re still struggling to get out of their own half though. Most of their possession is on their own 22.
60 mins: The Tahs have a mountain to climb, and only 20 minutes to do it. The Highlanders have been near flawless so far, whereas the Tahs have struggled to get out of their own half.
PENALTY TRY - Waratahs 17-27 Highlanders
57 mins: Controversial. The Highlanders get a review for a try but it’s not quite over the line. Case closed... but no! A swinging arm from Potgieter in the build-up and it’s a penalty try and a yellow card to boot. Seemed very harsh to me. The player’s head was going down at the time of the tackle and it didn’t look cynical.
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56 mins: Bit of handbags after Ashley-Cooper refuses to release. The refs study the footage but it comes to nothing. Just a verbal warning.
55 mins: Naholo the try-scorer brings down Foley behind his own try line and gets a boot in the face for his trouble. The Highlanders looking to create a bit of a gap. Another try and they’ll have some breathing space.
TRY - Waratahs 17-20 Highlanders
53 mins: Superb try from Naholo! A kick into the in-goal, Naholo runs after it, he gets a bit of luck with the bounce and manages to ground it before he runs out of pitch. Sopoaga misses the conversion.
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Waratahs 17-15 Highlanders
50 mins: It’s good. Foley boots it cleanly and the Tahs have the edge once again.
48 mins: The Tahs are slowly starting to find their rhythm. Folau, who’s been largely MIA so far, with a great take, it’s flicked out to the other wing and the Highlanders give away a penalty for hands in the ruck. Chance for Foley.
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46 mins: Better from the Tahs. Hooper with a big run into Highlanders territory to release the pressure. They push and probe for more but a knock-on gives the Highlanders some breathing space.
43 mins: The Waratahs under all kinds of pressure at the start of the half. They manage to hold one up. Scrum from five metres. They need to be strong again - and someone needs to raise the team’s game because the Highlanders are dominating. Still only a point in it - and a rare error from the visitors at the scrum lets them off the hook.
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42 mins: I was looking at that Buckman try again at half-time. He somehow slipped through three tacklers all at the same time. Even the Q&A audience is more thorough when it comes to letting people in.
Second-half
41 mins: And we’re off again. Foley boots it high... and the Highlanders win a penalty right away. High tackle. It’s straight into the crowd at the 40 mark.
Half-time: Waratahs 14-15 Highlanders
Sopoaga’s penalty has the distance but not the direction, it flies right of the posts and that’s it for the half. See you shortly.
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40+3 mins: Both sides keen to search for something extra before the half-time whistle, opting not to kick for touch as the siren sounds. In the end it leads to a Highlanders penalty from distance. It’s in the middle but long.
39 mins: Foley with ANOTHER poor kick. It’s too low and the Highlanders pick it up on the halfway mark. Good recovery from Palu and Foley doesn’t make any mistake with the second attempt. That’ll be about it.
Waratahs 14-15 Highlanders
36 mins: Foley with another kick and the gap is down to one point. Nothing in this. Highlanders deserve to be edging it.
TRY - Waratahs 11-15 Highlanders
32 mins: Buckman with a try from nothing! Dancing through the Tahs’ defence, although there was a suggestion he was tackled at one stage. Replay inconclusive, but the try stands. Looked fine to me. The conversion goes over and the Highlanders are back ahead. Excellent work from Buckman.
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Waratahs 11-8 Highlanders
30 mins: Foley with another penalty. He’s been wayward tonight by his standards but that one was pretty sweet. Tahs take the lead.
27 mins: Quick fact for you, the average score when the Waratahs play the Highlanders in Sydney is Waratahs 30-19 Highlanders. Can’t see that scoreline tonight.
25 mins: Well it’s all square but the Highlanders have been on top for most of it so far. The Waratahs have looked very ordinary, not quite sure whether that’s due to Highlanders pressure or poor decision making.
24 mins: More great work from the Highlanders to win the ball close to the Tahs’ line. They eventually opt for a drop goal but it hooks left. Curious tactic. Just trying to stay ahead on the scoreboard. Not like them at all.
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Waratahs 8-8 Highlanders
21 mins: Finally some extended play in the Highlanders’ half and the Waratahs are rewarded again, this time with a penalty. A chance to level things up from between the posts. Foley doesn’t miss these and, sure enough, it’s all square again. It wasn’t his cleanest strike though... he’s been slightly off target tonight.
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Try - Waratahs 5-8 Highlanders
18 mins: An Aaron Smith intercept from a scrum and the Highlanders are back in front. Poor stuff from the Tahs, losing it so close to their own line. Excellent opportunism from Smith though. He made it look easy.
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16 mins: Still not sure how the Waratahs have their noses in front. The ball has been in or around their own 22 almost since the first minute. Great defence though, Highlanders have been frustrated at every turn. That said, it’s a dangerous game to play against such a potent back line.
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14 mins: More desperate defence from the Tahs after a poor lineout, but they survive and even win the ball back thanks to Skelton making his rather large presence felt.
12 mins: Foley misses the kick from the sidelines. That was the Waratahs’ first chance to attack and their suddenly in the lead. Ruthless stuff. The ball’s been in the Highlanders’ half less than a minute.
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TRY - Waratahs 5-3 Highlanders
10 mins: Boof! A big hit from Palu and you can almost feel the shift in momentum. Or maybe it’s just the home crowd livening up. The Tahs surge forward, a Foley kick picks out Rob Horne on the wing and he’s in at the corner. Clinical.
8 mins: Sarcastic cheers as Foley finds touch. The hosts need some composure. The Highlanders still on the offensive but just three points to show for it so far. Another good kick by Foley relieves the pressure.
6 mins: It’s taken six minutes but the Tahs finally get into the other half... briefly. Another fumble and the Highlanders are on the attack again. I thought the Tahs were the ones with big-game experience?
Waratahs 0-3 Highlanders
4 mins: More pressure from the Highlanders as Foley fluffs a clearance from the initial siege. It leads to a penalty to the visitors and Sopoaga kicks it straight and true. First blood to the Highlanders.
3 mins: The Highlanders batter the Waratahs line, but they survive the onslaught and win a penalty. That was a definite early chance for the visitors but good defence.
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Kick-off
1 min: Highlanders kick to the Tahs and we’re off. Taken on their own 22 and a wayward pass puts the hosts under some early pressure. Eventually booted away by Foley but that won’t do the nerves any good for the home fans.
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They start ’em young at the Waratahs. Not long to go now.
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Congratulations again to the Hurricanes on booking their place in the final. Even Brumbies fans must admit they deserve it after a dominant season. I’m sure their victory song will play long into the night. Take it away boys.
Nothing we didn’t know already in terms of team news.
Waratahs XV
1. Benn Robinson , 2. Tatafu Polota-Nau , 3. Sekope Kepu , 4. Will Skelton , 5. David Dennis (C) , 6. Jacques Potgieter , 7. Michael Hooper , 8. Wycliff Palu , 9. Nick Phipps , 10. Bernard Foley , 11. Rob Horne , 12. Matt Carraro , 13. Adam Ashley-Cooper , 14. Taqele Naiyaravoro , 15. Israel Folau
Highlanders XV
1. Brendon Edmonds , 2. Liam Coltman , 3. Josh Hohneck , 4. Alex Ainley , 5. Mark Reddish , 6. Elliot Dixon , 7. James Lentjes , 8. Nasi Manu , 9. Aaron Smith , 10. Lima Sopoaga , 11. Patrick Osborne , 12. Richard Buckman , 13. Malakai Fekitoa , 14. Waisake Naholo , 15. Ben Smith
Preamble
Evening everyone,
Thanks for joining me. Did you watch the other semi? For those of you who missed it, the Canes just spanked the Brumbies, which sounds like a piece of EL James fiction but is all too real for ACT fans.
And so it’s with the scent of trans-Tasman rivalry still wafting in our nostrils, and staining social media, that we head to the second leg of today’s faux Bledisloe double-header.
And if the Hurricanes’ victory in Wellington was as predictable as photos of wellingtons on the first day of Glastonbury, then this clash is a little less clear cut. The defending Super Rugby champions are rightly home favourites but it’s a brave man who writes off the Highlanders – especially after last week’s superb win over the Chiefs. Even more telling is the visitors finished the regular season with one more point than the Tahs, but finished two positions below them. Work that one out Duckworth and Lewis. The loss of Kurtley Beale is also a blow to Michael Cheika’s occasionally inconsistent side, but will it be enough to counter the advantage of playing at home? Probably not. No offence Kurtley.
The continued good form of Aaron Smith and try-scoring machine Waisake Naholo will be vital if the Highlanders are to overcome the Tahs. The performances of respective fullbacks Ben Smith and Israel Folau will also be a big factor. For as the Highlanders know, in the battle to be the world’s best No.15, there can be only one. And yes, I did include this last paragraph just so I could do a cheap pun about an 80s sci-fi flick. Anyway, enough of my waffling, let’s get to it.
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Richard is the man tasked with keeping you up to date with proceedings in Sydney tonight. He’ll be along shortly, so while you’re waiting why not have a read of Rajiv Maharaj’s weekend preview?
The Waratahs are favoured as defending champs with home ground advantage. But who would dare bet against the Highlanders? The South Islanders have beaten the Tahs already this year and after last week’s demolition of the Chiefs, they look nigh on unstoppable – an irresistible force with winning momentum whereas the defending champs are coming off a two-week lay-off.
Read the full article here.
