Dominic George: Highlanders victory a triumph to revel in

Oh the joy they are feeling.

The Greeks' overwhelming rejection of further austerity measures has ... haha ... just kidding. The Highlanders! Who would have thought? Yes, I'm hijacking my allotted column inches for the third time in four weeks to wax lyrical about that marvellous band of brothers who have brought a bit of joy into the regions down south.

Last week on the Farming Show for his weekly slot big Joe Wheeler brought in a couple of players who sum up exactly why the Highlanders have won the title for the first time in their history. They're known as the "Bash Brothers", prop forwards Brendon Edmonds and Josh Hohneck. Edmonds is a 25-year-old from Waipukurau, Hohneck a 30-year-old former Chiefs player via provincial stints for Waikato and Bay of Plenty. They were named in the side late last year to little or no fanfare, their names garnering just a flicker of recognition in the minds of southern rugby fans.

But they found something they liked among a misfit bunch of professional footy players who, it seemed to some, were cobbled together from the leftovers. But there were also two genuine world-class players in there to build things around and so began the task of making these players a team.

Exactly how they did that is something only they will fully appreciate, but however it occurred, it worked. If defence is attitude and attitude is getting up off the ground to get stuck into some more hard yakka, these guys had it in spades. It must be very difficult to harness that part of the human psyche that unleashes selflessness. It demands more than mere professionalism; a pro will train hard, work hard and play hard to keep the income flowing -- he does his job and that's what he's required to do. Put up the numbers that the pay cheque dictates. But delivering that intangible, unknown and indefinable quality that some call commitment, others dedication, is something that needs to be derived from a different place entirely.

It's something that can't be offered as a reward for monetary gain. The payback is for the player to become part of something bigger, to use ego as a weapon and not a hindrance. Fatigue can become fuel if you give a damn about the people around you. When your lungs scream for air and your legs burn, what is it that makes you want to keep going? It's seldom a few more dollars in the bank; it's a blend of pride, stoicism and camaraderie that combines to smother self-doubt and ensnare self-belief.

The interesting aspect of this team is the way they mirrored the great Otago and Southland teams of the past. It's fitting that former players like Marc Ellis and Aaron Pene were invited to some of the in-house post-match celebrations. These guys were team mates of coach Jamie Joseph in the Laurie Mains era, before the game went professional. For Otago sides, cobbling together players from all parts of the country under a united banner was something they always had to do as a large part of the team came from the hugely successful Otago University club, still the greatest rugby club in the world.

Joseph, as much as anyone, knows what it means to represent the people of the south. Along with born and bred South Otago man Tony Brown and the rest of the coaching staff, management team and on-field leaders, they brought together a group who, for some reason, tapped into some of that old magic. Case in point; the Highlander front row of Edmonds, Hohneck and Liam Coltman went hunting on their day off in the week before the final. How Highlander is that? Very.

Above all, though, they were smart. By analysing the opposition and harnessing their own strengths, they expertly devised game plans to counter their opponents and the players stuck to the task. For a team who had become known for fading towards the end of long and arduous campaigns, this team finished so strong that they literally blew their much-favoured opposition away at the back end of the season. It was so emphatic, you'd go a long way to find a play-off campaign that compelling.

I have now officially run out of superlatives, but can rest easy like so many others with a quiet confidence this may just be the start of something special.