Rugby: Highlanders take southern spoils

Ben Smith of the Highlanders looks to pass in the tackle of Kieron Fonotia. Photo / Getty

Crusaders 20
Highlanders 25

Time to take the Highlanders seriously. A victory in Christchurch suggests they are good enough to win this thing and no one should take their eye off them now.

They won because they continued to believe in themselves and their plan and when the pressure came on, they held firm. They were brave, clinical and smart - qualities that can sustain them all the way to at least the playoffs.

Games between these two have become about the highlight of the season. The rugby was again high tempo, enthralling and at times genuinely good. Both coaching teams deserve plenty of credit for that. The contest for the tackled ball was as intense and demanding as every other game but it was also fair. When both sides arrive with a mindset they want to play rugby, it's amazing what a difference it makes.

There was space for both teams and the more they used it, the more it created. It was how rugby should be played: with a willingness to take risks, play at pace and to turn the final quarter into an aerobic battle.

It suited the Highlanders perfectly. They didn't want to get into a set-piece battle with an All Black-laden Crusaders' pack.

They didn't want the Crusaders to be able to keep putting greater numbers into the breakdown. What they wanted was unstructured, broken rugby that kept the Crusaders bigger men moving.

It didn't look for much of the first half that they were going to get what they wanted. The Crusaders had too much ball; too much power and too much control of the game.

They looked eager, certain and more direct than they did five weeks ago.

Having Kieran Read close to his best form makes a major difference. He is such an influential presence when he's at his best - so decisive and so willing to run.

The only problem for the Crusaders was that they were guilty at times of pushing a few too many passes - trying to force the pace and urgency when they didn't need to.

If they had been patient and controlled: screwed the nut tighter and tighter, they would most likely have been just about out of sight before the break.

But despite the fact they didn't push the scoreboard as they wanted, there was no sense of the game being in the balance.

The Highlanders looked to be just hanging in there. They weren't being obviously outclassed or outplayed but nor did they appeal as having enough dynamism or creativity to break the game open.

The magic of the Highlanders, though, is that they can strike from nothing and from anywhere. Ben Funnell found that out the hard way, when he was a little lazy in covering a ruck a minute before the break and in a flash, Lima Sopoaga was coasting up the middle.

It looked for all the world like the best play was to turn the pass inside to Aaron Smith, but instead he went the other way and gave it to Ben Smith who jumped from fourth gear to fifth with impressive ease.

There was no let up after the break. The Highlanders were able to generate the pace they wanted and made two clinical strikes through Waisake Naholo to build a healthy lead. They were on fire for the first 20 minutes - so full of running and adventure and no little innovation.

If they had nailed one more try - as they so nearly did - they looked like they could have pushed on and handed out a hammering. They were that good for a while.

But of course the Crusaders were not going to sink without a trace. They eventually took the sting out of the game and tried to grind their way to victory.

Crusaders 20 (M. Todd, J. Taufua tries; I. Dagg cons; C. Slade con, 2 pens)
Highlanders 25 (B. Smith, W. Naholo (2) tries; L. Sopoaga 2 cons, 2 pens)