The Otago Highlanders produced the biggest upset of this year’s Super 14 on Saturday with a 36-12 victory over the previously unbeaten Bulls in their first home match away from their traditional South Island venues.
The Highlanders were playing the match in the lower North Island city, which is within the Wellington Hurricanes catchment area. Local rugby officials had approached them to play there after they missed out on hosting a Hurricanes match this year.
Several of the Highlanders squad also play their provincial rugby in Manawatu and the neighbouring Hawke’s Bay but were drafted in by the South Island franchise after not being picked by the Hurricanes.
Jason Shoemark, Matt Berquist and Israel Dagg (all of whom play for Hawke’s Bay), Jimmy Cowan and Daniel Bowden scored tries for the Highlanders.
Berquist slotted four conversions and a penalty for the Highlanders, who refused to back down against a massive Bulls pack and played at a high tempo throughout.
”These boys are known to be big bullies who boss you around the field and I think we faced up to them on that,” Highlanders captain Jimmy Cowan said in a televised interview. ”We competed at the breakdown … and the boys really got stuck in.
”Its been a great week, we’ve thoroughly enjoyed it,” Cowan added of the experience of playing in Palmerston North.
”The crowd have been great … and when you win like that it makes it easy to come back.”
Bulls centre Gerhard van den Heever and flyhalf Morne Steyn scored tries for the Bulls, who blew several try-scoring opportunities. Steyn converted his own try.
”It was very tough, they really put us under pressure particularly at the breakdown,” said Bulls captain Fourie du Preez.
”They’re quite a physical team and there was a lot of pressure on us at scrum time and lineouts and we made lots of mistakes.” – Reuters