Highlanders hysteria: Blues dismissed by Tavatavanawai masterclass

O-week in Dunedin meant the Highlanders and Blues walked out to a raucous crowd on Saturday night. The game was preceded by an emotional tribute to the late Connor Garden-Bachop, with the Highlanders performing a stirring haka for their former teammate’s brother.

The Highlanders did Garden-Bachop proud with an electric performance under the roof, only galvanised by a red card and spurred on by a special outing from co-captain Timoci Tavatavanawai.

The Blues got off to a strong start with Finlay Christie dotting the ball down on the try line after a rolling maul fell just shy of the chalk.

There were linebreaks from Caleb Clarke and AJ Lam but the Blues were unable to capitalize with any points. On the other end, Tavatavanawai was able to get on the outside of Cameron Suafoa and deliver an offload that put the Highlanders in the Blues’ 22 where they were awarded a penalty. Sam Gilbert got his side on the board with the three points.

Harry Plummer broke a tackle in centrefield to ignite the Blues attack with the next big play, and Hoskins Sotutu then dropped the offload to Beauden Barrett who scored under the posts.

A Beauden Barrett clearance landed straight in the arms of Finn Hurley who attempted his second chip and chase in the space of two minutes and this time collected the ball, evading Harry Plummer to get the first try of his Super Rugby career.

With momentum on their side, the Highlanders had the final say of the half after a Folau Fakatava break saw Veveni Lasaqa cut down by Beauden Barrett just shy of the line. The ball was put through the hands and Sam Gilbert scored in the corner.

Tavatavanawai won the breakdown penalty to end the half with a 13-14 deficit for the hosts.

A poor start to the half for the Blues saw Dalton Papali’i push a support player off the ball. The All Black flanker was penalised and the Highlanders accepted the three points on offer to take the lead.

After some more X-factor play by the Highlanders and Finn Hurley in particular, the Blues went back to their strong suit, their forward pack, to get the lead back in their favour.

A rolling maul that started just shy of the 22m line rumbled forward until Ricky Riccitelli could reach the try line and put his side back in front.

The Highlanders wouldn’t let the game be slowed though and Caleb Tangitau shed the tackle of AJ Lam to ignite a break. Folau Fakatava reeled in the loose pass and quickly dropped it off to Hurley who sprinted away for his second of the night.

The hosts would break through twice more before Daniel Lienert-Brown was shown a yellow card for an ugly cleanout around the ruck just shy of the hour mark.

Lienert-Brown’s yellow was upgraded to a red card meaning uncontested scrums for the remainder of the game.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, Timoci Tavatavanawai wouldn’t let his side drop off and claimed two breakdown turnovers and a 50/22 in quick succession, single-handily earning his side a crack at three points. Gilbert claimed the easy penalty.

The Blues had four lineouts in the Highlanders’ 22 against their underpowered opponent, but time after time they were disrupted and a remarkable clearance from reserve hooker Jack Taylor sent play deep into Blues territory.

Another penalty allowed the hosts to stretch their lead to eight with just five minutes remaining, and from there, the Highlanders were able to chew away at the game clock with unambitious phase play. One last penalty against the Blues saw a famous Highlanders win confirmed. Final score: 29-21.