Rugby: Waisake Naholo, the most lethal finisher on the planet?

Highlanders winger Waisake Naholo during the Highlanders captains run, in preparation for the fourth tour match against The British and Irish Lions. Photo / Brett Phibbs.

There are few players in world rugby with the ability to hurt teams the way Waisake Naholo does.

He might be a little casual at times, prone to the odd mistake or poor decision but he can also be the most lethal finisher on the planet.

He is both a spectacular scorer of tries and a scorer of spectacular tries. The last part is his speciality and in the last two seasons Naholo has scored tries that have been almost too difficult to comprehend.

There's nothing on, no space, no opportunity and suddenly Naholo has found a way over the line - that's been a familiar run of events since he shifted to the Highlanders in 2015.

He has pace, agility, confidence and the undefinable art of just making things happen.

The relevance of this is significant because Naholo has the potential to give the Lions something to think about ahead of the test series. Something important.

If Naholo can negate the Lions' kicking game tomorrow night, he will inevitably put doubt into the visitor's camp about the wisdom of bombarding the All Blacks with a similar onslaught come the first test.

The Lions are going to use their kicking game as a weapon for the remainder of this tour. They do it so well that they would be mad to move away from it.

But while it is an obvious weapon, it can be turned against them. And a player such as Naholo is ideally equipped to do that. As much as the Lions can put teams under immense pressure with their boot, so too do they open themselves up to the threat of the counter attack.

The Crusaders weren't able to turn the kicking threat into an opportunity, but the Highlanders have more reasons to be confident they will.

A dry ball and a dry pitch will be a good start. Having seen the way the Lions worked against the Crusaders is also helpful for the Highlanders - they have definitive patterns to view and analyse.

It's also a fair statement that the Highlanders have developed a more advanced and strategic kicking game than any of the other New Zealand Super Rugby teams.

They have won plenty of games on the back of the kicking exploits of Aaron Smith, Lima Sopoaga and Ben Smith. While the two Smiths won't be involved against the Lions, the Highlanders do at least have the blueprint and understanding of how to deal with a team that comes at them with an aggressive and well executed kicking game.

And of course, the Highlanders also have Naholo who is arguably the best counter attacking outside back in New Zealand.

If Naholo can damage the Lions and pick holes in their defence from deep, it will be a concern for them ahead of the tests. While Naholo is probably the best out-and-out counter attacking wing, the likes of Israel Dagg, Julian Savea and Rieko Ioane aren't so far behind and almost regardless of the combination the All Blacks pick in their back three, they will have potential to use the Lions' kicking game against them.

Naholo could provide that early warning perhaps and give the visitors considerable cause to look hard at their kicking strategy and change it up for the tests.