Highlanders

Highlanders go down to Lions

Super Rugby

10th February 2007

The Lions beat the Highlanders 11-6 in a fairly boring Saturday afternoon match. If there had been another Super 14 match this weekend the crowds would probably not have made it through the next match and would have fallen asleep.

It wasn’t helped by a non existant atmosphere from one of the emptiest Ellis Park’s in some time. Perhaps the fans knew what was to come and stayed away.

The match was certainly no spectacle and although there was a bit of moisture around from some afternoon rains the ball handling was appalling.

Callum Bruce, the Highlanders flyhalf had a shocker but it must be said that he was by no means alone. At one stage the Lions fumbled the ball repeatedly in their own 25 so many times it was amazing that no Highlander could pick up the ball to score a try.

The moment of the match came went Lions winger Wylie Human managed to catch the ball from a kick and then tear away down the wing to score the only try of the match. The conversion nearly hit the corner flag.

In Wylie Human’s next move he tried a drop goal which was such a shambles that it nearly resulted in a Highlanders try.

All in all it would not have been worth the loss of sleep the Highlanders would have missed had they got up on Sunday morning to watch the match.

Even though the Highlanders are without their All Blacks they need to come up with something as this performance was undoubtedly the weakest we have seen from a New Zealand team this year.

Final Score Lions 11- Highlanders 6

Lions –
Try: Human.
Penalties: Strydom (2)

Highlanders –
Penalties: Bruce, Hore

Teams:

Lions: 15 Louis Ludik, 14 Wylie Human, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Doppies la Grange, 11 Jaco Pretorius, 10 Louis Strydom, 9 Jano Vermaak, 8 Willem Alberts, 7 Ernst Joubert (c), 6 Cobus Grobbelaar, 5 Anton van Zyl, 4 Cobus Grobler, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Willie Wepener, 1 Heinke van der Merwe
Replacements: 16 Ettienne Reynecke, 17 Bertus Smit, 18 Gordon Gilfillan, 19 Franco van der Merwe, 20 Enrico Januarie, 21 Jaco van Schalkwyk, 22 Earl Rose

Highlanders: 15 Craig Clare, 14 Lucky Mulipola, 13 Matthew Saunders, 12 Jason Kawau, 11 Greg Zampach, 10 Callum Bruce, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Craig Newby, 7 Josh Blackie (c), 6 Hoani MacDonald, 5 James Ryan, 4 Filipo Levi, 3 Clarke Dermody, 2 Jason Macdonald, 1 Chris King
Replacements: 16 David Hall, 17 Keith Cameron, 18 Ezra Taylor, 19 Alando Soakai, 20 Toby Morland, 21 Charlie Hore, 22 Willie Rickards

Referee: Paul Marks (Australia)
Touch judges: Brett Bowden (Australia), Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Television match official: Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)