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Nine-try Highlanders thump Stormers
By Peter Thompson
Patrick Osborne marked his 50th Highlanders appearance by scoring two tries and Waisake Naholo also claimed a brace in a ruthless 57-14 Super Rugby rout of Stormers.
The 2015 champions ran riot at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Friday, turning on the style to stretch their winning run to five matches in devastating fashion.
Wing Osborne was outstanding in his landmark appearance for the in-form Dunedin-based franchise, helping himself to a first-half double as Highlanders scored nine tries in a ruthless demolition job.
Aaron Smith pulled the strings in a magnificent all-round performance from Tony Brown's side, who led 31-7 at half-time after Nizaam Carr's converted try had put Stomers in front early on.
FULLTIME: @Highlanders make it five-in-a-row as they dispatch @stormers with ease in Dunedin #HIGvSTO https://t.co/Vv0cdSlvlt pic.twitter.com/ASrVQnLMTw
— Super Rugby (@SuperRugby) April 28, 2017
Naholo and Liam Squire added further tries before the impressive Rob Thompson took a superb offload from Osborne to go under the posts before the break as Highlanders produced free-flowing rugby of the highest order.
New Zealand wing Naholo scored a second try following the interval and there were also tries for Dillon Hunt, Greg Pleasants-Tate and Matt Faddes in a Highlanders masterclass, with Stormers slipping to a third consecutive defeat.
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Latest Comments
Just a thought on the 7-1: it obviously works best with multi-skilled forwards on the bench. Kwagga, for example, could slot into various positions in the backs thanks to his sevens background, as SK mentions. And you mention Deon Fourie, but in an ideal world the bench replacement at the WC would have been Malcolm Marx (an even better Swiss Army Knife). Looking at Rassie’s selections last year and for the camps this year, he’s as keen as you are not to end up with a Deon Fourie situation again, hence his investment in multi-dimensional players at hooker such as Jan-Hendrik Wessels (also a prop) and Johan Grobbelaar (vastly improving as a BD threat). And hooker is just one example of that progressive thinking. So, love it or hate it, the 7-1 is also evolving, in SA at least. It will be fascinating to see which evolution trumps which.
Go to commentsI agree that France have a B and not A. Mainly because of the England game that they lost due to themselves. But they still beat the record of tries and pretending that you have to play 5 perfect games to have a A (reference to the Scotland game) is unrealistic. Some time you need to play not such a fantastic rugby to win the game. Then SA would have a B or C.
England with a A is totally biased as even the English fans recognise it in their comments.
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