Edinburgh-bound Manu leads Highlanders to title
THE Highlanders defied the odds as they held off a second-half fightback to clinch their first Super Rugby title with a 21-14 victory over the Hurricanes at the Westpac Stadium.
Elliot Dixon and Waisake Naholo scored a try apiece for the victors as Lima Sopoaga added two penalties and Marty Banks made sure of the win with a late drop goal.
Ma’a Nonu crossed over for the Hurricanes and Beauden Barrett claimed nine points with the boot but they could not match the strength of their New Zealand rivals in this fierce derby contest.
With both sides in search of their first Super 15 final victory, the match got off to a high-tempo start at the sold-out 34,500-seater stadium in Wellington.
The Highlanders began well, with Sopoaga handing his side the lead with a fourth-minute penalty. The hosts, who claimed an impressive 29-9 victory over the Brumbies in last weekend’s semifinal, dropped further behind when Sopoaga was again successful between the sticks after the fly-half missed his second penalty attempt midway through the first half.
Barrett failed with a first penalty kick as the Hurricanes looked for a way back and they found it five minutes before the break as Nonu crossed the line in the corner, but Barrett failed with his conversion.
The Highlanders struck back on the stroke of half-time with a try from Dixon, which was also awarded after a lengthy review, while Sopoaga split the uprights to hand his side a 13-5 lead at the break.
The home side clawed back another penalty as the second half got under way with Barrett again finding his range before the Otago-based outfit were on top again.
Following some great build-up play, Naholo crashed over in the corner to extend his side’s lead to 18-8 after 46 minutes before Sopoaga missed with the conversion. But the home side hit back as a more confident-looking Barrett was successful with two penalties either side of a miss from Sopoaga to leave the Hurricanes trailing by just four points with 15 minutes remaining.
The Highlanders pressed as the match wore on as they fought hard to keep their opponents at bay and Banks sealed the victory as he kicked a late drop goal.
Highlanders co-captain and Edinburgh-bound Nasi Manu was full of pride after the match. Prior to this match, home teams had won 15 of the 19 Super Rugby finals, but the Otago-based outfit dominated from the start in Wellington as home advantage proved of little help to the Hurricanes.
Manu said: “I’m so proud of the boys and we always believed that we could win if we performed well on the day. I’m just really proud of the boys and what a way to end the Super Rugby. We just play as a team. We’re a champion team.”
He finished by thanking the fans for their loyal support throughout the season, adding: “We want to say a big thank you to all our supporters who managed to get to the game.
“You guys have been awesome for us the whole year and we’re just glad we could get the win for you.”
Man of the match Dixon was delighted to contribute to the win.
He said of his try: “I thought I got the boot and the ground at the same time so I don’t know. A couple haven’t gone my way this year so I thought I was probably going to get no good from the TMO but I was pretty happy when it went over.”
The Highlanders knocked out defending champions the Waratahs in Sydney last week and Dixon was pleased with the hard work they put in ahead of the season with which they have built on.
He said: “I think [head coach] Jamie Joseph said three weeks ago that people don’t stumble upon quarter-finals or semi-finals but I think we did our work in the pre-season.
“We knew deep down we’re a championship-winning team. We just didn’t get the support that we thought we should have earned and I think we showed everyone tonight that we could do it.
“I think that Waratahs game – some people called it boring rugby – but it was just tactics and we knew that was how we had to win. We came here with a neversay-die [attitude].”
Outgoing Hurricanes captain Conrad Smith was obviously disappointed with the result but believes his side will get their maiden title in the near future.
He said: “I don’t know what to say. It’s finals footy, there are some gutted men to my right but I’m still proud of them.
“I’m proud of what they’ve done and I’m proud of the last 12 years that I’ve worn the swirl [Hurricanes badge].
“It didn’t work out tonight but we met a Highlanders side that played their best and I just take my hat off to them. They deserved to be victorious and deserve to have a good night.
“Wellington, you’ve got a good team here, stick with us. I won’t be playing any more but there’ll be plenty of good times ahead and we’ll get the trophy for you, I promise.”