All Black coach Graham Henry fired a parting shot at retiring flanker Jerry Collins, saying the tough loose forward was in poor form and would not have made the first New Zealand squad of the season. Henry named a 25-man squad on Tuesday to begin preparations for mid-season Tests, excluding players from the Crusaders.
The Otago Highlanders gave hope to prospective play-off opponents of the Canterbury Crusaders when they beat the league leaders 26-14 in Super 14 rugby on Saturday. The 12th-place Highlanders scored three tries to one in a late-season upset to finish a mediocre year on a high note.
South Africa’s Sharks overcame an 11-point deficit after 20 minutes to beat the Otago Highlanders 19-17 Friday and maintain their unbeaten record through nine rounds of rugby’s Super 14. Twelfth-placed Otago threatened one of the bigger upsets of the season when they scored early tries to lead the second-placed Sharks 14-3.
The Otago Highlanders held off a brave fightback from the Lions to claim their first Super 14 win of the season, 29-20 in Dunedin on Friday. The New Zealanders looked on course for a comfortable victory when they scored their third try just after half-time to extend their lead to 21-3, but the South African side hit back with two quick tries.
Australia’s Western Force piled on 16 unanswered points in the last quarter to beat New Zealand’s Otago Highlanders 36-28 in a Super 14 match at Queenstown on Saturday. The Force trailed 28-20 with just 14 minutes to go but scored a late converted try and booted three penalties to cement their place in the top four.