Highlanders crush the Hurricanes by 13-6 in Super Rugby clash
The Highlanders demolished the Hurricanes by 13-6 in a Super Rugby fixture played in Invercargill on a cold Friday.
The match proved to be a replay of their previous meeting in the current Super Rugby season. The Highlanders overcame the Hurricanes by 14-9 in the opening match of the season and the Highlanders have now grabbed their eighth victory after 12 outgoings in
the ongoing Super Rugby championship.
Hurricanes got off the mark quickly in the game with the help of their first Aaron Cruden scoring with the penalty during the third minute. The Hurricanes could not convert the chances they were offered a few times in the match and ended up with their eighth
loss in the tournament.
On the other hand, the Highlanders, who struggled in the beginning, bounced back and solidified their position in the second part of the game. Their full-back, Ben Smith, scored the only try of the match and opened the account for his side in the 35th
minute of the match. Sopoaga added the rest of the points to his team’s total, scoring on two penalties and one conversion.
Highlanders remained under pressure most of the time during the match as the conditions of Invercargill did not support them, despite being the hosts. Moreover, they were playing this match after two consecutive defeats by the Blues and Chiefs.
In a pitch side interview after the match, Highlanders’ skipper, Jamie Mackintosh, appreciated his team and said the victory was a boost. He said, "It wasn't pretty at times but the conditions were pretty tough out there and I think both teams wanted territory
and wanted to use their forwards so it was quite a physical battle."
He also admitted that their play was not up to the mark and they missed many chances to score. He added, “We were struggling to build pressure with our goalkicking but we were lucky to score a try and then Lima stepped up and banged one just before halftime
which put us (seven) ahead which was quite a nice wee buffer.”
Highlanders will take on the Lions in their next Super Rugby clash on 28th May.
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