Rugby: Highlanders hang tough despite deja vu

Highlanders lock Tom Donnelly. Photo supplied

Tom Donnelly bristles at suggestions the Highlanders are already locked on a familiar Super 14 rugby path of woe as the competition's nearly men hope history repeats itself in Bloemfontein on Sunday (NZ time).

By allowing the Crusaders to clear out in the final quarter in Christchurch and then surrendering a lead to the Blues at Carisbrook, the Highlanders' inability to close out games appeared to have resurfaced in the first two rounds.

Not that abrasive All Blacks lock Donnelly noticed a trend.

"It's only two games mate, it's a long season," he said as the Highlanders prepared for the Cheetahs.

The Highlanders lost six of their nine games last year by seven points or fewer and with just a bonus point to show for their 15-19 loss to the Blues, their playoff aspirations likely rest with this three-match trip to South Africa.

Donnelly said effecting a change in fortune was fairly straightforward: "We just have to cut stupid mistakes out of our game. We've played good for 50 minutes and then errors have cost us".

The Highlanders, who also play the so far unbeaten Bulls and Stormers on this tour, have won narrowly on their last two visits to Bloemfontein.

However, the Cheetahs, the wooden spoon winners last year, look unlikely to retain that unwanted crown this campaign.

They recovered from a 34-51 loss to the champion Bulls to edge the Sharks 25-20 in Durban.

"They played awesome last week and they've got three of the best loose forwards in the competition," said Donnelly of Springboks Juan Smith and Heinrich Brussow, with Frans Viljoen adding an attacking dimension off the back of the scrum.

The Highlanders responded by selecting a mobile back row of Adam Thomson, Alando Soakai and first-time starter John Hardie, the 21-year-old Southlander rewarded after adding impact from the bench.

Meanwhile, young first five-eighth Michael Hobbs is becoming more accustomed to the playmaker role after starting on the bench against the Crusaders.

Hobbs sparked a Highlanders resurgence in Christchurch with two tries and crossed again in Carisbrook against the Blues - who he toured South Africa with last year.

Yet for all his tryscoring exploits, Hobbs has been mixed with the boot - a chip kick let the Crusaders off the hook and at Carisbrook he missed a conversion and two penalties, the point of difference in a low-scoring encounter.

"Goalkicking has been a huge work on," he said.

"I need to keep chipping away at it and have a positive frame of mind. I was disappointed to miss a couple of easy kicks last week that let the boys down."

New Zealand Rugby Union kicking coach Mick Byrne saw footage of Hobbs' lapses last week and made a courtesy call from Japan, where he is an assistant to head coach John Kirwan.

"He's given me some thing to focus on...getting my head and chest in the right place and then kicking through the ball.

"I'm trying to keep my processes correct and keep faith in them really and just back myself to knock the ball over."

Hobbs said he was happy with his progress since replacing an injured Matt Berquist, but with the Hawke's Bay pivot now in the reserves he needs a polished performance to retain the No 10 jersey.

"It was nice to make a good fist of it (against the Crusaders), now I've got to kick on and try and get the boys across the line."

Like Donnelly, he said the side were still buoyant despite their winless start to the season.

"No one's getting too down on themselves but we understand where we're at and that you can't let teams get away on you early. This is an important match for us, we're a little bit on edge."

- NZPA