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Highlanders edge Force in Dunedin 08/04/06
Force still seek first win
The Highlanders edged the Western Force 25-22 in their Super 14 Round Nine match at Carisbrook in Dunedin on Saturday, leaving the Perth-based Australian side still seeking their first win in the competition.
But a sense of great relief with accompany local joy - the Highlanders had to hang on desperately in the end as the Force searched for the winning score in a game littered with errors.
It was an afternoon match in New Zealand for a change and the sun shone on a great Dunedin afternoon, but the sides made little use of the luxury in a match of many errors and little continuity.
The errors started early. In the first three minutes there were two line-outs, two scrums, two resets and a free kick. It got better, mainly thanks to the eagerness of the Force in their gold jerseys to remember the Western Australian gold rush of the 19th century.
The Force's eagerness paid off, as they got the first try. They tapped a free kick from a scrum and did a lot of pick-'n-go with the forwards before going wide right. Back the ball came with a hard pass from Matt Henjak to prop Gareth Hardy. Hardy's impetus took him past Seilala Mapusua for a try. The kick was not hard but Shepherd missed it.
The Force, playing with the breeze, continued to attack. James Hilgendorf broke and Scott Staniforth carried it on but the defence held. But Mapusua, who made several mistakes in the match, was penalised for going in at the side, and Shepherd made it 8-0.
Digby Ioane was penalised at a tackle, and Ben Blair scored the home side's first points.
The Highlanders started to get on top in the scrums where McHardy found Carl Hayman an uncomfortable handful, but they made little headway regardless of how many phases they got going.
From a line-out on their left the Force went wide and Shepherd came up from fullback swinging away from Neil Brew and then handing off Blair to score a strong try. He converted and the visitors to Carisbrook led 15-3. They did not score for nearly 50 minutes of play after that.
Just before the break the Highlanders made a penalty into a line-out. They drove a maul and hooker Jason Macdonald was the man at the back, falling down to score the try. That made it 15-8 at the break.
In the second half the Force started well, going through 12 phases at one stage before David Pusey was shoved out at the corner on their left.
The change came for the Highlanders with the arrival of Chris Smylie at scrum-half. Suddenly the ball was quicker, passed straight from the ground and the Highlanders started running as they had not done before. Going right they had a two-man overlap, but Josh Blackie cut straight and was strong enough to get over. Blair converted and the score was 15-all with half an hour to go.
The Force had a great chance when Luke Doherty, an early replacement for Rudi Vedelago when the big lock, just back from injury, was helped off the field injured, charged down Callum Bruce's kick. But the eager Force gave away a penalty and a promising opportunity was lost.
The Highlanders had a scrum with a broad blindside to their right. Blair came skating through from fullback past Henjak's cover. He raced up to Shepherd, fixed the Force fullback, and passed perfectly to Vilimoni Delesau and the big wing ran round to the posts. Blair converted, and the Highlanders led 22-15 for the first time in the match. There were 20 minutes to go.
Just after this there was an ugly incident which could have repercussions for Staniforth. He went in on an in-tackle but did so on a player without the ball, high, without using his arms save only for a leading elbow, which felled Blackie and required him to be treated. Staniforth was penalised but allowed to play on. A citing commissioner may well find the incident worthy of scrutiny.
Blair goaled the subsequent penalty and the home side led 25-15.
The Highlanders looked certain to win and now went on a bonus-point hunt. They twice made penalties into attacking line-outs and looked about to score till Willie Ripia, a replacement at first five-eighth, slung a long left-handed pass which Staniforth intercepted. He raced off over acres of ground until Delasau hunted him down. Staniforth got a pass to Shepherd who scored under the crossbar. Shepherd converted. 25-22.
After the siren went to signal time expired the Force attacked, but the Highlanders held out.
Man of the Match: It was not a match of great skill or heroism. But Ben Blair injected life into it whenever he could and Carl Hayman was powerful. But our man of the match is Craig Newby for his work in the line-outs, on defence, with the ball in hand and at the tackle.
For the Highlanders:
Tries: Macdonald, Blackie, Delasau
Cons: Blair 2
Pens: Blair 2
For the Western Force:
Tries: Hardy, Shepherd 2
Cons: Shepherd 2
Pen: Shepherd
Teams:
Highlanders: 15 Ben Blair, 14 Vilimoni Delasau, 13 Neil Brew, 12 Seilala Mapusua, 11 Roy Kinikinilau, 10 Callum Bruce, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Craig Newby (captain), 7 Tim Boys, 6 Josh Blackie, 5 Filipo Levi, 4 Tom Donnelly, 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Jason Macdonald, 1 Nick White.
Replacements: 16 Anton Oliver, 17 Clarke Dermody, 18 Kane Thompson, 19 Hale T-Pole, 20 Chris Smylie, 21 Willie Ripia, 22 Ben Smith.
Western Force: 15 Cameron Shepherd, 14 Gavin DeBartolo, 13 Josh Graham, 12 Scott Staniforth, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 James Hilgendorf, 9 Matt Henjak, 8 Scott Fava, 7 Matt Hodgson, 6 David Pusey, 5 Nathan Sharpe (captain), 4 Rudi Vedelago, 3 David Fitter, 2 Brendan Cannon, 1 Gareth Hardy.
Replacements: 16 Tai McIsaac, 17 Angus Scott, 18 Luke Doherty, 19 Tim Davidson, 20 Chris O'Young, 21 Scott Daruda, 22 Brock James
Referee: Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Touch judges: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa), Gary Wise (New Zealand)
Television match official: Brent Murray (New Zealand)
Assessor: Kim Eichmann (New Zealand)