Highlanders' late flourish not sufficient
By Brent Edwards

Christchurch: They finished with a spectacular flourish but, brave as it was, it was too little, too late by the Highlanders when they were beaten 42-36 by the Crusaders on Saturday night. They scored four tries (and 24 points) in the last quarter, the last on the gong, to secure two invaluable bonus points and the capacity crowd dispersed chirping animatedly about another of the classics of rugby rivalry between Canterbury and Otago.

But admiration at the Highlanders' second half recovery had to be tempered by an appalling first spell in which they virtually gifted the game to the Crusaders. Captain Anton Oliver called some of the Highlanders' play "silly" and "dumb" and coach Peter Sloane lamented the space given to the Crusaders' backs. By the time the Highlanders organised themselves and built up a head of steam, it was a lost cause.

Down 12-32 at half-time and 12-39, they avoided what could have been a rout with some desperate damage control but the ultimate prize had bolted. If coach Sloane could be granted a wish, it would be the immediate return to full fitness of Taine Randell and Jeremy Stanley, the latter out for the entire Super 12. The Highlanders' missed Randell's defensive work around the fringes and Stanley's intimidating physical presence in what was a puny back defensive screen. Not that he is having much luck with some of the others. Dan Parkinson is out for the tournament, Romi Ropati was a late withdrawal with a strained hamstring and his replacement, Rico Gear, lasted only until half-time before he was taken off because of his wonky knee.

In the circumstances it was possibly understandable the backs were indecisive but there was all the more reason for the forwards to play a tight, controlled game. Instead, it was the Crusaders' pack which dominated and set the platform for some sublime rugby which produced four tries and a bonus point before half-time. Midway through the first spell the Highlanders put together 12 phases and trundled 50m towards the line but, from a 12-10 lead, they conceded 22 points in the 14 minutes before the break. Norm Berryman had a grin a mile wide after he waltzed through a big gap under the posts; Marika Vunibaka toed on to score after a wayward pass by Tony Brown was fumbled by Josh Kronfeld; and Ron Cribb scored from a line-out drive after the Highlanders had lost their own throw. Cribb scored again straight after the break but the

Highlanders then lifted their intensity while the Crusaders lost some of theirs after the subbing of the outstanding Daryl Gibson, Justin Marshall and Leon MacDonald. Paul Miller had an eventful debut. He lost the ball over the line after he burst on to a pass by Brown; he was adjudged to have been held up in goal by Aaron Flynn after another surge; and he was sin-binned four minutes from the end for taking out Berryman. In between times, he accomplished some good work and lasted the game well. Karl Te Nana, introduced to his new team-mates only three days previously, scored the first try after he gathered a flicked pass by Jeff Wilson and Kelvin Middleton displayed good body position to drive over for the second.

But it was the third which brought the house down. Brown gathered a wayward pass by Wilson deep in his own in-goal and set in motion a thrilling counter-attack which ended with Rua Tipoki wrong-footing the remnants of defence and sprinting 25m to the posts. In injury-time Pita Alatini switched direction away from the heavy traffic, pinned his ears back and sped diagonally on the angle to the line and a try ecstatically greeted by the Highlanders' supporters. Oliver cranked up the Highlanders' forward effort in the second half and, with a platform to work from, the backs were able to cut holes in the Crusaders' defence. But, when it mattered most, the Crusaders' forwards were more urgent and committed, their backs more physical and clinical, Andrew Mehrtens dictating as he has so often in the past. The Highlanders left the ground with their self-respect intact but with the lingering question of what might have been had they fired from the opening whistle.