The Highlanders were forced to do a lot of tackling as Moana Pasifika enjoyed their time on the ball, although they were consistently putting pressure on the ruck and cleaning it out well when they were in possession.
But it was their set piece that really shone. Their front row had a field day at scrum time as they were awarded frequent penalties; Ethan de Groot and Jermaine Ainsley getting the better of their opposing props more often than not – and that pattern didn’t change when they were replaced by Daniel Lienert-Brown and Saula Mau.
Their lineout was also strong, both on their own and in contesting Moana Pasifika’s throw, while lock Pari Pari Parkinson was a weapon with ball in hand inside the 22.
On the other side, Moana Pasifika showed flair when in possession, with several of their backs enjoying themselves in space and proving tough for defenders to bring down. They scored some good tries through Levi Aumua and Solomone Funaki in the first half, too, showing patience and strength to crash over. On defence they were strong – unless the Highlanders were inside the 22. Under pressure, the Moana Pasifika line crumbled almost every time.
That saw the Highlanders take a slim 19-17 lead at the halftime break, with tries through Parkinson, Sam Gilbert and Hugh Renton. The attack versus defence style clash continued in the early moments of the second half, before Fetuli Paea extended the lead for the visitors in the 52nd minute.
Then, as has been the narrative for Moana Pasifika in recent weeks, when the match clock showed 60 minutes, it got ugly.
Coming into the game having conceded five tries in the final 20 minutes of last weekend’s game against the Hurricanes, they again saw the scoreline blow out. First, it was Mosese Dawai to cross the line, before Marino Mikaele-Tu’u showed his quick feet to dance around some attempted tacklers to score with one of his first touches of the game to push the margin to 23 points.
It got worse for Moana Pasifika when powerful winger Timoci Tavatavanawai was sent to the sin bin for a high shot, and Thomas Umaga-Jensen scored to push the score out further with the final play of the game.
It was the third win on the trot for the Highlanders, improving their season record to 3-3 after a horror start, while Moana Pasifika fell to their sixth straight loss, with the Crusaders awaiting them next week.
Highlanders 45 (Pari Pari Parkinson, Sam Gilbert, Hugh Renton, Fetuli Paea, Mosese Dawai, Marino Mikaele-Tu’u, Thomas Umaga-Jensen tries; Gilbert 5 cons)
Moana Pasifika 17 (Solomone Funaki, Levi Aumua tries; Lincoln McClutchie 2 cons, pen)
HT: 19-17
