Super Rugby: Highlanders show resilience to fight back into contention

Josh Ioane celebrates with Tevita Li after scoring the Highlanders' fourth try. Photo / Getty

In going from Super Rugby's basement into a playoffs position, the Highlanders have shown resilience over the past fortnight and now appear far greater prospects than the Blues or Chiefs.

Aaron Mauger's men put 52 points past the Sunwolves in Tokyo, a place where the Hurricanes have struggled recently, and they did it without Ben Smith, their talisman on an All Black rest week.

They may get the injured Waisake Naholo and Liam Squire back for their next match – against the Chiefs in Dunedin on Saturday – and in any case will be big favourites against a Hamilton-based team in second to last place and low on confidence after their thrashing at the hands of the Hurricanes.

"There's no guarantees," Mauger told Stuff. "There's still a lot of work to get through before they are considered for selection but they've been very dedicated to the plans put in place by the medical staff."

The Blues slipped from eighth to 11th after their bye and face a difficult trip to Canberra to face the Brumbies before returning home to play the Hurricanes and Chiefs and after a promising streak where they strung four wins together, it will be touch and go for Leon MacDonald's men in terms of a place in the top eight.

When the Highlanders get it right they can play with a connectivity that few teams can match and their pack in particular will give other teams plenty of trouble yet this season.

The Hurricanes again showed that they could be the team to trouble the Crusaders the most should they meet in the playoffs, although doubts linger about their ability to sustain that free-running form against a virtual All Black pack in the middle of a Christchurch winter come finals time.

One team further out of the running, when they really shouldn't be, are the Waratahs, who lost 23-15 to the Sharks at Sydney's Brookvale Oval.

The most annoying thing for their Kiwi coach Daryl Gibson is that their own ill-discipline cost them. First lock Jed Holloway was red-carded for striking an opponent in the head with his elbow and then flanker Jack Dempsey was sinbinned for a tip tackle.

"That was the critical moment for the game: 45 minutes in, 10-all and fairly even to that point," Gibson said of Holloway's dismissal.

"It changed the nature of the game.

"Red card, it's very clear the law, strike to the head with the forearm or elbow, the sanction is a red card or yellow so no grumbles about that," Gibson said.

"It is disappointing. Those moments proved costly in the end ... getting down to 13 [players] makes winning rugby more difficult."

Highlanders' closing run to the season