Highlanders edge closer to semifinals 

Highlanders 16 Cats 14

The Highlanders finally moved into top-four contention in the Super 14 rugby competition on the back of a remarkable defence that drew admiration even from their opponents tonight.

Cats captain Wickus van Heerden, despite their winless trip to Australia and New Zealand, said the statistics would show the Highlanders brought off a record number of tackles, particularly in the second half.

The Highlanders defence were under immense pressure for long periods and on 15 occasions at least they brought off tackles on their line for a 16-14 win that took them close to the top four.

The Cats lacked the finishing touch and when they did discover it they scored two tries through blindside flanker Gerhard Vosloo and first five-eighth Earl Rose in the last four minutes to earn a bonus point.

The Highlanders scored 13 of their 16 points in the first quarter then held on until Ben Blair kicked his third penalty goal two minutes from halftime for their 16 points. Their only try came in the 15th minute when big winger Roy Kinikinilau waded through the defence before stretching out to plant the ball after he tripped and skidded short of the line.

The second half was completely dominated by the Cats, who preferred lineouts from close-in penalties and tried to drive, only to be held up by a desperate Highlanders' defence.

The forwards finally succeeded in rumbling over from a lineout following a penalty and then Rose zipped over from similar play. He kicked both conversions.

"You've got to admire a team who tackled themselves to a standstill, they were pretty courageous under a hell lot of pressure," van Heeden said.

The Highlanders brought off about 140 tackles and they rucked and mauled 76 times to the Cats' 123.

What hurt the Cats the most was the way they lost possession 33 times to the Highlanders' 19.

They would go between five and 12 phases then turnover the ball, which underscored the Highlanders' stern defence at Invercargill's Rugby Park.

"If they had held on to the ball we would have been in all sorts of strife," Highlanders captain Anton Oliver said.

"Our defence was brilliant and I was elated with the way the guys defended.

"The Cats didn't show a lot of deception and we kind of knew where they were going to go."

The Highlanders led 16-0 at halftime after Blair kicked three penalties and converted Kinikilau's try, despite spending the majority of the time defending their own line only for the Cats to continuously lose the ball in the final surges.

The trend continued in the second half with the Cats continuing to play unimaginative forward-dominated rugby while hammering around the fringes.

However, they were unable to turn their territorial advantage into points with handling errors costing them dearly in the face of the home team's Otago's frenetic defence.

"Unlucky for us we didn't get points for time spent in the opposition 22," van Heerden said.

"We needed to finish and it was just the last pass not sticking that we lacked."

Scores:

Highlanders 16 (Roy Kinikinilau try; Ben Blair 3 pen, con)
Cats 14 (Gerhard Vosloo, Earl Rose tries; Earl Rose 2 con).
HT: 16-0.

-NZPA