Smith looks to settle score
The Highlanders have found their own reasons for wanting to beat the Hurricanes in Wellington tonight after a roller-coaster campaign plagued by inconsistency and injuries.
Tony Brown’s side can finish only third or fourth in the Super Rugby Aotearoa campaign, but cocaptain Aaron Smith knows a win against the Hurricanes would at least give them the satisfaction of beating every Kiwi rival.
‘‘It would be nice to say we’ve beaten every team once, but also the challenge for us is to win backto-back games,’’ co-captain Aaron Smith said.
‘‘It’s something we haven’t done in this comp. It’s about always trying to get better and the opportunity of going into the transTasman comp with some momentum.
‘‘The last month we’ve morphed into a team we’re proud of and our identity and how we want to play.’’
The turning point in the Highlanders’ season appeared to be Brown’s decision to stand down six players after a noisy party at Josh Ioane’s house following the loss to the Hurricanes in Dunedin.
After that line in the sand was drawn, the Highlanders thumped the Crusaders in Christchurch, narrowly lost to the in-form Chiefs, and then beat the Blues in Dunedin.
Smith said that loss to the Hurricanes – on the occasion of his
150th Super Rugby game – still hurt, especially as the Highlanders played beneath themselves and gave away some cheap points.
‘‘Trust me, there’s a lot on the line,’’ Smith said of the rematch. ‘‘I love playing against ‘Colesy’ [Dane Coles] and Ngani [Laumape]. ‘If you get it wrong you’ll get smacked and we did here [in Dunedin].and it was a bit embarrassing. It was a special game for me and it was terrible.
‘‘We’re obviously not in the big
game next week but we’re playing like we wish were. And there’s still light at the end of the tunnel looking forward into the trans-Tasman comp. That’s really exciting.’’
The Highlanders will also want to avoid any more injuries. They lost flanker Marino Mikaele-Tu’u to a season-ending injury this week, while Ngantungane Punivai is out for at least a couple of weeks.
Still, the injuries and Brown’s disciplinary action opened the door for others, and players such
as No 8 Kazuki Himeno, Scott Gregory and Mitch Hunt stepped up in the second half of the campaign, while lock Bryn Evans, 36, has exceeded Tony Brown’s expectations so much that he wants to re-sign him for 2022.
The Highlanders’ best performances also left Smith pondering about the what-ifs in the first part of the season.
‘‘You look back and you wish you’d nailed opportunities,’’ Smith said. ‘‘Going up to the Blues, we
didn’t get that week right.
‘‘When we get our preparation right, we’re really dangerous. When we believe in our team and believe in what we are about, we can really test teams.
‘‘This comp is so hard you can’t have a week off but I think we’ll be better for this year. These young guys will learn around getting their week right mentally and physically.
‘‘It’s easy to say but hard for a young guy to understand.’’