Brumbies v Highlanders: Super Rugby playoff fate in the balance for Kiwi side

Len Ikitau heads to the line against the Highlanders. Photo / Getty

Brumbies 48

Highlanders 32

The Highlanders’ bid to clinch a playoff berth is going down to the wire.

Against the Brumbies in Canberra on Sunday, the Highlanders’ inability to back up points with a quality exit proved costly as the hosts claimed a 48-32 win.

The Highlanders’ attack was firing against one of the competition’s heavyweights, but too often they welcomed pressure on their defensive line and were unable to turn the hosts away.

“That’s been the story of our season so far,” Highlanders captain Billy Harmon told Stan Sport. “We have heaps of awesome moments, but we just don’t execute on a few.

“Our exits we didn’t quite nail and that kept them in the game in the first half.”

In the first half, every time the Highlanders scored points the Brumbies struck back within the following three minutes. The one exception with a late penalty from the boot of Freddie Burns which gave the Highlanders a 20-19 lead at the break.

The trend continued with the Highlanders’ two second-half tries, before the hosts put their foot down in the final 20 minutes to blow the visitors away.

It was an important game for both sides, with the Brumbies looking to maintain their place in the top four down the final stretch of the season, while the Highlanders are at risk of missing the playoffs.

Conceding three tries in the final 20 minutes not only proved costly in the game, but also on the ladder for the Highlanders as they saw their record fall to 3-8, with the 16-point margin dropping them below the Melbourne Rebels to sit second-bottom on the leaderboard.

They are, however, just three points outside of the top eight and the Highlanders now head into the final three weeks needing to put their best foot forward to sneak into the postseason. They will be back in New Zealand for their final three games, two at home against the Rebels and Reds, before visiting the Blues in the final round of the regular season.

It was a scratchy start from both sides, but the Highlanders had the better of the early play and opened the scoring through a Burns penalty.

But their issues in exiting started immediately as the Brumbies were on the attack straight away and scored the first try through a strong Len Ikitau effort.

The sides then traded tries, Jona Nareki’s effort answered by Jahrome Brown and Daniel Lienert-Brown’s answered by Darcy Swain. Burns kicked another penalty to give the Highlanders a slim lead at the break.

They would have backed themselves to kick on after a 60th-minute try from Folau Fakatava saw them take the lead and repeated infringements saw Brumbies reserve flanker Luke Reimer sin-binned.

Instead, the Brumbies outscored the Highlanders 12-0 during the 10 minutes in which Reimer was off the field, and the hosts were able to see out the win to remain second in the standings.

Brumbies 48 (Corey Toole 2, Pete Samu 2, Len Ikitau, Jahrome Brown, Darcy Swain tries; Noah Lolesio 5 cons, pen)

Highlanders 32 (Jona Nareki, Daniel Lienert-Brown, Thomas Umaga-Jensen, Folau Fakatava tries, Freddie Burns 3 cons, 2 pens)

HT: 19-20