Recap: Highlanders vs Hurricanes | Super Rugby Aotearoa
Follow all the action on the RugbyPass live blog from the Super Rugby Aotearoa clash between the Highlanders and Hurricanes at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin.
Keep up to date with the latest score, stats and join the conversation from anywhere in the world in our Live Match Centre (click here).
Despite the disruptions in New Zealand due to the re-emergence of COVID-19, the Highlanders' and Hurricanes' final match of the season will still go ahead - albeit four hours earlier than originally planned.
The Hurricanes can jump to second on the overall table with a win in this afternoon's match while the Highlanders are simply playing for pride and hoping to claim the scalp of a team other than the winless Chiefs.
There are a number of significant milestones which will be celebrated tonight in front of an almost empty stadium. Aaron Smith will play his 150th Super Rugby match while his co-captain Ash Dixon is lining up for his 100th Highlanders cap.
Hurricanes' captain Dane Coles, meanwhile, is set to become the most capped Hurricane forward of all time, surpassing Jeffrey Toomaga-Allen's 119 matches.
This afternoon's game is the final match of Super Rugby Aotearoa due to the cancellation of Sunday's game between the Blues and the Crusaders. The match kicks off at 3:05pm NZT.
Latest Comments
I’m looking forward to attending the Twickenham match, I don’t think it will have a bearing on the outcome of the grand prize itself but it will tell us more about each teams’ preparation and game plan. It’s hard to look past one of the big four (I’m including Canada) lifting the trophy in 2025 but sport is a curious thing, there will still be twists and turns in road ahead.
Go to commentsThe better side seems to be the losing side a lot these days. As far as narrative goes. Must be the big emergent culture of “participation awards” that have emerged in nanny states. ”It looked like New Zealand would take the game from there but lapses in execution let South Africa get back into the game. New Zealand’s goal kickers left five points out there, including a very make-able penalty on the stroke of half”. Sounds like a chronic problem… I wonder how the better team has lapses in concentration and execution? Or are those not important factors in the grand scheme of total performances? In 2023, the ABs at least didn’t give up a lead to lose. They just couldn’t execute to get the points and take the lead. This Baby AB result points to a choke - letting the game slip through your fingers. In the words of the great Ricky Bobby’s dad - “If you’re not 1st you’re last!” Loosely translated - if you didn’t win, you’re a loser.
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