Highlanders coach Scott McLeod: I knew we could come back

Highlanders winger Waisake Naholo celebrates his try. Photo / Brett Phibbs

The Highlanders were down against the Lions tonight, but certainly not out; coach Scott McLeod was sure his southerners could pull off their remarkable victory despite being nine points down with the minutes ticking by.

They couldn't quite do it against the Crusaders in Christchurch in their recent Super Rugby match, but they did it here, and how.

There were heroes all over the park for the men in blue and gold, with Marty Banks applying the finishing touch with a penalty which proved to be enough for a famous win. In the end, they did what the Crusaders couldn't and getting one over their mainland rivals is likely to be sweet too.

"I have to be honest, I was sitting on the edge of my seat," said McLeod, in charge as Tony Brown is in Japan helping to coach the national side with former Highlanders coach Jamie Joseph, who would have enjoyed watching this win too. "We've played a few games this year where we've come back after being down. We train the attitude to do that.

"There was always belief we were going to come out of that. With Marty Banks' game management, and his execution, that really brought it home with the effort of everybody behind him."

McLeod said Brown was into his third beer by the time he sent off his congratulatory text, and the southerners will dine out on this win for years.

Skipper Luke Whitelock, who got through a mountain of work, including 18 tackles, said: "It was an awesome way to finish off a big week for us. Everyone was really excited. It was a huge effort by the whole squad, from players to management. We put a lot of preparation into it.

"We just talked about winning more moments than them... and then cool, calm and collected Marty Banks comes over and slots it. That's something I'll always remember."

McLeod added: "The most pleasing thing were a couple of moments in second half when we applied that pressure and kept bringing that attitude. I'm extremely proud."

One of the most significant moments was a huge scrum from the Highlanders which earned the penalty that would win them the game. The Lions, bigger, more experienced, and full of internationals, were supposed to bully this Highlanders team, missing nine front-liners, but the underdogs weren't having a bit of it.

"We knew we would bring on that [scrum] in second half." McLeod said. "We wanted to match that as well so we could continue to play the way we wanted. We're extremely happy with the scrum and that was a key moment in the game."

Some of the kicking was a bit ordinary, as McLeod admitted, but in the end his men deserved the win for the way they hung in and refused to give a centimetre.

At the heart of their attack was wing Waisake Naholo, who scored their first try and had the Lions guessing all night.

"We hold high expectations of Waisake, as he does of himself," McLeod said. "We're thankful he got released [from the All Blacks] and he put in a quality performance."