Rugby: Meeuws' injury costs the Highlanders

By CHRIS RATTUE

The Highlanders' Super 12 prospects nosedived in Sydney last night as they again failed against the inconsistent Waratahs.

Two late tries from the home side gave them a 22-15 win in front of a 23,000 crowd at the Sydney Football Stadium.

The Highlanders are now at the mercy of other teams in their bid to reach the semifinals.

They went into the match third on the points table but could not even score a try in a plodding match between two sides who are out of sorts.

Perhaps the moment which sealed their fate came on the stroke of halftime when test tighthead prop Kees Meeuws was helped from the field when his injured leg, which had put him in doubt for the match anyway, failed again.

Meeuws had been fairly strong around the field but, more importantly, it meant the Highlanders lost the cornerstone of their scrum.

It was telling blow. With the Highlanders leading 15-12 going into the last four minutes, their scrum disintegrated near their goal line, the ball popped out to replacement halfback Sam Payne, and he fed Christian Warner who strolled over for the first try of the match which gave the Waratahs a 17-15 lead.

A minute later, Tony Brown was nailed by Nathan Grey, the Waratahs kicked the ball through, and referee Mark Lawrence and his touch judges failed to notice some blatant obstruction from Jason Little on Romi Ropati. Little won the race to the ball to score a try that sealed the fate of the Highlanders, who have never beaten the Waratahs.

It was a madcap end to a game of static inside back play and half- paced drives from the forwards.

The Waratahs dominated possession in the first half, but showed no intention of getting the ball wider than two passes off the ruck and were obsessed with driving down the short side.

When the Highlanders did get more possession in the second spell, they were hardly better and the half-breaks they did get were cut down by the covering Waratahs.

The Highlanders had one decent try-scoring chance in each half. With the Waratahs leading 6-0, a pass from halfback Byron Kelleher fell in front of lock Simon Maling with the line open.

And with the scores locked at 12-all in the 67th minute, an inside pass from Brendan Laney - who replaced a dazed Brown for much of the second spell - failed to find Rua Tipoki.

The Waratahs were not in semifinal contention anyway, but win or lose, the Highlanders did not look like title material.

Compared with the slick and high-speed work of the Brumbies, and the committed style of the Crusaders, last year's beaten finalists appear to have fallen off the pace.

And on what was a bad night for New Zealand sides, Meeuws' injury looks to be a worry for the All Black selectors.

It was a reasonable end to another disappointing season for the Waratahs. But the game was played against a backdrop of player dissension, with former South African captain Tiaan Strauss publicly criticising coach Ian Kennedy.

Waratahs 22 (Christian Warner, Jason Little tries, Matthew Burke 4 pen), Highlanders 15 (Brendan Laney 3, Tony Brown, Jeff Wilson pen). Halftime: 12-6.