Highlanders beat Blues in Auckland

Out of the last six Super Rugby matches between the Auckland based Blues and the Dunedin based Highlanders the Dunedin side have won four matches and the Blues two.

Match detail

We are waiting for the kick off.

The Highlanders kick off and we are underway. 

1.00: The Highlanders win the ball back from the restart and immediately go on the attack. 

2.00: Ben Smith has a couple of runs at the Blues but the Blues hold on until there is a knock on from the Highlanders. 

3.00: The first scrum ends in a quick tap being taken by the Blues who run the ball. They kick the ball away but the Highlanders kick it back and into touch. 

4.00: After the line out the Highlanders go through the phases in the Blues 22. The Blues hold them out and win a penalty. They kick for touch. 

5.00: The Blues line out is not straight. The Highlanders take the scrum option. 

8.00: The ball is kicked into touch after the scrum.  The Blues initially win the line out but the Highlanders steal it. The ball is then turned over and knocked on by the Blues. 

9.00:The Highlanders win a line out on the 5m line. The Highlanders use the maul, drive over the line and John Hardie scores. TRY! 

12.00: Lima Sopoaga takes the conversion. He sends it wide and it misses. 

14.00: Lolagi Visinia has a run down the wing but he pass the ball to the Highlanders who knock on. A bit of tension overflows and then dies down. 

17.00: The Blues get some attacking ball and put the Highlanders under pressure in their 22. The Highlanders sustain the pressure and then turn the ball over and Waisake Naholo almost gets away. John Hardie goes down injured. After some help from the medics he comes off and is replaced by Gareth Evans.

18.00: The Highlanders win a scrum and kick for touch. 

21.00: Josh Hohneck is yellow carded for a no arms tackle. Ihaia West lines up the posts. He misses. 

22.00: The Highlanders go on the attack in the Blues 22. They get to the 5m line and they have the advantage. The Highlanders bash away at the line again and again and Shaun Treeby crashes over and scores. TRY! 

24.00: Sopoaga takes the conversion kick but misses again. 

28.00: The Highlanders continue to dominate possession of the ball. They go through the phases but then knock on and Visinia kicks the ball into touch. 

31.00: Penalty to the Highlanders. Sopoaga lines up the kick. He nails it as Josh Hohneck comes back on. While he was off the Highlanders scored 8 points. 

36.00: Aaron Smith tries to clear the ball upfield but the ball curls into touch. 

37.00: The Blues get the ball in the Highlanders half. George Moala makes a break but is caught. The Blues continue the attack but then concede a penalty for obstruction. 

38.00: The Highlanders tap the ball and Osborne makes a break but is caught. A.Smith kicks for touch and Visinia gets back and boots it out. 

39.00; The Highlanders get the ball back and work it up to the 5m line. When they can’t through they are called back for a penalty – not releasing. They will choose a 5m scrum. 

41.00: The Highlanders win the scrum and Elliot Dixon snipes for the corner. We go to the TMO to check. Replays show the ball has left Dixon’s hands. The TMO checks for a foot in touch. The TRY is awarded. 

42.00: Sopoaga takes the conversion from out wide. He nails it. It’s half time. 

The half time score was Blues 0 Highlanders 20

The Blues kick off and we are underway with the second half. 

41.00: The Highlanders kick the ball upfield and Visinia kicks it back straight out on the full. 

45.00: Handling errors so far : Highlanders 5 Blues 12. The Blues are pinged as Ihaia West obstructs. The game is held up as Elliot Dixon gets some attention from the medics. 

45.00: Keven Mealamu comes off for the last time and is replaced by James Parsons. 

49.00: The Highlanders snips for the corner and Patrick Osborne is tackled as he goes over but he scores the bonus point TRY! The TMO checks and its awarded. Plenty of rain coming down now. 

50.00: Sopoaga takes the conversion from out wide again and nails it.

54.00: The Highlanders win a line out and Naholo gets them into the Blues 22. They keep the ball moving through the hands and Dan Pryor crashes over for the fifth TRY. 

56.00: Sopoaga takes the conversion and nails this one too. 

62.00: Penalty to the Highlanders. Sopoaga kicks for touch. 

63.00: The Highlanders win the line out and then a penalty for not rolling away. Sopoaga kicks for touch. 

64.00: The Highlanders win the line out and drive over the line. The TMO is called in. Replays show Joe Latta has scored. TRY! 

65.00: Sopoaga takes the conversion but misses. 

67.00:The Blues find a hole in the Highlanders backline with an almost perfect offload and Matt McGahan races in to score the Blues first TRY! 

68.00: Ihaia West adds the conversion. 

74.00: The Highlanders drive over the line. There is a tussle for the ball and the referee falls over. The TMO is called on to check but the ball was held up. 

75.00: The Highlanders win the scrum and go over the line and the TMO is called on again.  The Highlanders are held up. 

76.00:The Highlanders win the scrum and they kick wide to Osborne who jumps high for the ball and in the air he passes to Ben Smith who drops to score. TRY!

78.00: Lima Sopoaga takes the conversion kick but he misses. 

79.00: The Blues win a scrum on the Highlanders 22. They run for the line but knock on. 

80.00: The whistle goes for full time. Thats it. 

The full time score is Blues 7 (0) Highlanders 44 (20)

Scorers

Blues
Tries – M.McGahan 
Pen –
Con – I.West
Drop –
Cards –

Highlanders
Tries – J.Hardie, S.Treeby, E.Dixon, P.Osborne, D.Pryor, J.Latta, B.Smith
Pen – L.Sopoaga
Con – L.Sopoaga 3
Drop –
Cards -J. Hohneck (21st min yellow)

Match Officials
Referee: Angus Gardner
Assistant Ref 1: Shane McDermott
Assistant Ref 2:Angus Mabey
TMO : Ben Skeen

Teams

Blues

1. Sam Prattley , 2. Keven Mealamu (c) , 3. Angus Ta’avao , 4. Hayden Triggs , 5. Josh Bekhuis , 6. Chris Vui , 7. Brendon O’Connor , 8.Joe Edwards , 9.Jamison Gibson-Park , 10.Ihaia West , 11.Melani Nanai , 12.George Moala , 13.Hamish Northcott , 14. Ben Lam , 15.Lolagi Visinia

Replacements: 16. James Parsons , 17. Nic Mayhew , 18. Sione Mafileo , 19. Will Lloyd , 20. Jack Ram , 21. Jimmy Cowan , 22. Matt McGahan , 23.Charles Piutau

Highlanders

1. Daniel Lienert-Brown , 2. Liam Coltman , 3. Josh Hohneck , 4. Alex Ainley , 5. Joe Latta , 6. Elliot Dixon , 7. John Hardie , 8. Dan Pryor , 9. Aaron Smith , 10. Lima Sopoaga , 11. Patrick Osborne , 12. Shaun Treeby , 13. Richard Buckman , 14. Waisake Naholo , 15. Ben Smith (c)

Replacements : 16. Ash Dixon , 17. Brendon Edmonds , 18. Ross Geldenhuys , 19. Jackson Hemopo , 20. Gareth Evans , 21. Fumiaki Tanaka , 22. Marty Banks , 23. Kurt Baker