Highlanders 12 Waratahs 15
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The Highlanders sank to their third straight defeat when they were beaten 15-12 by the Waratahs in a rain-affected Super 14 rugby match in Dunedin tonight.
Both sides struggled to find their footing on Carisbrook as rain fell, at times thickly, throughout the match which made handling extremely difficult.
The result left the Highlanders scraping up a third bonus point while it was a second win from three outings for the Waratahs leaving them on eight points in the standings.
The visitors trailed 10-12 at halftime but a fortuitous interception helped their cause early in the second half.
An attempted chip kick through Highlanders No 10 Michael Delany went straight into the arms of Waratahs centre Ben Jacobs.
Jacobs raced through the gap and although Delany managed to ankle tap him, No 8 Wycliff Palu was on hand to take a pass and compete the touchdown in the corner.
An altercation with Jimmy Cowan following the try say Palu sinbinned for striking the halfback.
The game was restarted with a penalty from halfway but fullback James Wilson's attempt to tie the scores hit an upright.
The Highlanders, stinging from losses to the Reds and the Brumbies, showed they meant business when they matched the Waratahs in most aspects of the game from the kickoff.
They defended well, forcing the Waratahs into numerous errors.
They pinned the Waratahs down and deservingly scored a try from a set move after a scrum through winger Fetu'u Vainikolo in the 15th minute.
Lock Tom Donnelley was then sin-binned for an injudicious ruck infringement and Kurtley Beale knocked over a penalty for the Waratahs.
The Waratahs were kept in the game by loose forwards Phil Waugh and Rocky Elsom who were busy in the rucks and mauls but dangerman Lote Tuqiri was well looked after by a disciplined Highlanders defence.
Tuqiri was mainly responsible for the next try by the 14-man Highlanders after coughing up the ball in an Adam Thomson tackle.
The ball fell to Vainikolo who booted the ball upfield and astonishingly, it was Thomson who won the chase for the ball over his winger to kick it on and regather to score close to the posts.
Wilson added the extra points and although the Waratahs came back with a try in the 38th minute by Jacobs, the Highlanders hung on to a 12-10 halftime lead.
Wilson had another chance to tie the score when his side were awarded a penalty right on the final hooter but saw his 50-metre kick from wide out swing wide of the posts.
"We made it very hard on ourselves ...we could not have played much worse than what we did but we're very pleased to walk away with the four points," Waratahs skipper Waugh said.
Highlander's skipper Jason McDonald rued not making the most of their opportunities after playing reasonably well in the first half.
"In these conditions you just have to hold on to the ball and grind it out and we made some costly turnovers."
Waratahs 15 (Ben Jacobs, Wycliff Palu tries; Kurtley Beale pen, con) Highlanders 12 (Fetu'u Vainikolo, Adam Thomson tries; James Wilson con). Halftime: 10-12.
- NZPA
