Highlanders 16 Sharks 30
The Highlanders must be wondering if life will ever be good for them again. This was a game they fancied and a game that sat up nicely for them.
But it was the same old story in the end - the composure, the spark, the whatever is needed to actually win, eluded them.
A luckier team would have got the TMO decision when Fetu'u Vainikolo was inches from scoring with five minutes left. But the Highlanders are down on their luck as well as everything else.
There was no faulting their energy or endeavour. But the finesse was not there. Nor the belief and the Sharks won it with a controlled period in the first quarter of the second half where they screwed the nut and squeezed the life out of the Highlanders.
With both teams desperate to win and kick-start their season, there was a frantic edge to affairs.
A wet ball added to the drama as it introduced a higher than normal error count from both sides. For prolonged periods the desire to produce the right result saw a level of anxiety creep into the work of both sides.
The game was calling out for a cool head to take control and Israel Dagg threatened to be that man. The fullback is in the midst of a stirring campaign where he has obviously decided to make his decision to stay in Dunedin pay off.
Dagg, of course, was courted by the Crusaders in a package deal with his Hawke's Bay team-mate Zac Guildford. Dagg opted to stay put on the basis it was better to be a regular for the Highlanders than an occasional for the Crusaders.
He was happy last night to stand as first receiver and take responsibility for the Highlanders' territory game and again, he was the man who strode up to pop for goal.
Clearly, taking on a greater leadership role suits him as his counter-attacking was first class, as was his accuracy under the high ball.
He was ably supported by Ben Smith, who showed some lethal acceleration and was always clever in the way he used the ball. He also scored a super try when his strength to stay on his feet belied his slight frame.
Adam Thomson was another to shine. Playing at No 8 he took on Ryan Kankowski and it was an intriguing contest - two great athletes, two mobile men.
With so many other figures making themselves central to the plot, it was easy enough for Robbie Robinson to make his first Super 14 start very much in the shadows. He didn't do much wrong, other than one hopeless kick off his left boot.
He mixed his options and had a better handle on the game than his starting opposite Andy Goode. The Englishman proved indisputably you can take the boy out of the northern hemisphere but not the northern hemisphere out of the boy.
His last act was an aimless kick into the Highlanders in-goal area when the Sharks were going forward with numbers stacked left.
Highlanders 16 (B. Smith try; I. Dagg 3 pens) Sharks 30 (B. du Plessis, S. Terblanche, A. Jacobs tries; R. Pienaar 3 pens, 2 cons)
