Chapter 1: Why are the Highlanders struggling in tight matches?
Highlanders also having to play themselves back into contention. They're seven points outside. You know, they've had a bit of a tough run. They've got the Waratahs at home, the Chiefs away, the Hurricanes away, and a bye. It feels like it's just a little bit too far after losing to the Drewa.
Yeah, I think that would probably be the most disappointing result for them through the whole year.
I think with what was on the line, and even though I picked them to go to... Sorry, I picked the draw to win, but I think with what was on the line, and considering how the competition was going with teams losing, it was a good opportunity for them to be able to try and get some points for the playoffs. But yeah, I just think... Just their turnovers, Ross.
I think there's a stat you're in there, 24 turnovers or 22 turnovers within our emails that we received. But some of the... That last 20 minutes, like, I know the draw did very, very well, but, like, I think from the 52nd minute to maybe, like, the 77th minute, they were, like...
13 or 14 turnovers within that time so like yes they probably you know they got into the position where they're probably chasing the game but you know anytime you're going to have those kind of um those unforced errors you're not going to win games especially in fiji so
yeah I think it's been a little bit of an Achilles heel with them Ross I think that being in the 22 area and being able to execute you know I think when the Highlanders were going very very well you know a few years ago when they got into the 22 they were efficient and they were able to score points but unfortunately probably this year it's been an area where it hasn't been great for them and if you look on the weekend just their high turnover rate it just kind of led to the drill being able to to pick up a very good result like you know I know
they can't win away from home and even though they have been able to to break that cycle but geez you know they've got one more one at home you'd have to think they'd win that and if they can win one more game away from home you know that's a that's a great turnaround for the drawer who we probably thought at the start of the year we're going to be in this kind of position
you are the oracle, you pick the force, but I don't think picking the drower for this match was that surprising. I think we all picked it purely because when the drower are under the pump, they go to bar. I think they see certain games where they're like, we need to win these.
And when they go to bar, I saw some of the Highlanders training, the oil leaking off some of those forwards during the week. It's not a play, I'm not making excuses, but that is a, the error rate is purely conditions-based and not being, I suppose, in as good a position as the Drua.
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Chapter 2: What role do turnovers play in the Highlanders' losses?
And that's the beauty of the Drua playing at home. That is their strength. And they played really smart and they got the result. But you just feel for the Highlanders. It was probably just a game that they would have liked maybe in Masuva or even Laotoka.
But once again, once they get at the right end of the field, they just... I don't know what happens to them. Is it a mental thing now for the Highlanders? Do you think, Bruno, that they get into the 22 now and they kind of freeze?
Probably just the efficiency. And I just think if we look at the Fiji Enduro as a perfect example, like the conditions like Ross, playing in Fiji is difficult. Like you can't prepare for it. You don't get the time to be able to climatise to be in Fiji.
You're going over there a week after playing, you know, on a Saturday or Sunday, you're flying out on the Monday, sorry, on the Wednesday or the Thursday, whatever it may be. And It's just hard.
Like, you know, we talk around going to South Africa and when we were playing, being at the high valve, yes, that's really, really difficult, but sometimes you actually were able to climatise if you got your schedule right and you weren't playing in Pretoria or Joe Berger's first week playing in Cape Town, you were going to be okay in that second week. But playing in Fiji is tough.
Like, I remember playing... We played the Fiji team with New Zealand Maldives. And, like, we just couldn't move. And that's how difficult it is. You just can't move. You feel like you're in second gear. You know you aren't doing things right. You try and find solutions. You try and get your breath back. You try and have water to be able to try and get back to where you need to.
But it's just a difficult place to play. And, unfortunately, the Highlanders on the weekend just were at the brunt and felt that.
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Chapter 3: How does playing in Fiji affect the Highlanders' performance?
And, you know. They don't make that many mistakes, especially in the last 20 minutes with what I saw, if it wasn't for the conditions. So no excuses, that group won't be making excuses, but it's a bloody tough place to play. And that's where I just think they fell into the trap, being in those conditions in Fiji.
You can look at it and go, oh, they're caught between two mines, but the mine's just not working at the same pace as like a cam mirror game driver. You know, like some of the passes just go into ground, even outside the 22.
They broke down the left edge and it's on, like they've compacted the drill defence and the pass goes behind Jack Taylor and bounces and then someone has to pick it up and cut back in and you've lost momentum and then you've got to resort to a kick. They just couldn't get the flow going.
And to me, it just looked like, and look, I lost to the Sunwolves in Tokyo at a midday kickoff and it was like 44 degrees. And I remember getting up from carries and you'd be reloading, you're literally dizzy. Just because of the heat and the intensity. It probably didn't help I had this thing called Percutane all over my back that heats you up like no man.
A deep heat's just a poor cousin compared to Percutane. And that's what it looked like, just everything looked laboured and it just felt like there's that brain fog through, I suppose, just exhaustion.
We've talked about it before. They're that almost team. They're always within 10 points. We're always within with seven points. And I had a look at some of the stats over the last few years. This is since Super Rugby Pacific started and the iteration it is now.
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Chapter 4: Is there a mental barrier affecting the Highlanders' gameplay?
42% of their 47 losses are by seven or less. Like, I mean, it's just so close all the time.
I can't throw stones because I was part of a Blues team obviously in the old iteration. When you try so hard for that victory and it comes close you start stuttering a little bit I think when the game's in the balance and there's some confidence issues particularly in game drivers and being able to put a team in the right parts of the field. And it's, yeah, I mean that stat is heavily revealing.
Obviously when the pressure comes on, having the ability to get across the line, but it's also, you've got to understand the opposition think they should win, and when they get put in a position where, okay, it's game on. I think the Blues was a good example last night against Moana Pacifica.
Like Moana Pacifica played way better than the Blues in that first 40, but the Blues just struck back straight away. You know, like there's that intent. They just go, okay, we're going to lift the intensity and we're going to score. You know, they weren't mentally in there. They weren't in the same zone to meet the physicality of Moana Pacifica. Their discipline was disgusting.
But when they wanted to ratchet it up, and you saw it even more so in the second half, they could. And that's where the psyche of the opposition going, okay, we can ratchet it up against the Highlanders because of a history like that. And I speak from experience, it's like you deal with the elephant in the room, you can't avoid it. Guys, we're losing within seven by so much.
What have we got to change? And then you're almost out on the field and you're going, okay, what have we got to do? What rocks have we got to put in place? Let's go, we can do it. But there's probably eight or so nine guys in the huddle going, can we? Can we? You know, like we've seen this movie before. So, I mean, I'm forever half full, but not every personality is like that.
So that's what it looks like. And I think that's why I sympathize with them, because there'll be no shortage of wanting to solve that problem.
um just at the moment they're trying to solve it as as probably iou groups or individual operating groups you know like the type five are over here going we've got to do this and the lucys are doing this then the insides rather than you know that synergy or that unspoken connection as a collective yeah it's so crucial when the game's on the line you know when a game could have been lost by a lot it was only lost by a little or is that
they shouldn't be losing those games. I was kind of torn over that.
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Chapter 5: What statistics reveal about the Highlanders' close losses?
I think there's a lot of games they shouldn't be losing. Yeah.
It's a mixture of both.
And I think it's not in the last ten, Bryn. You can actually go back to the moments around 45 to 60 minutes is where they normally just have that button-off period where it gets the tails up of the opposition and then the opposition just sort of look like they come home strong
towards the 80 but it's actually the damage and the psychological damage was actually done in that 45 to 60 and so I think that's where I think the opportunity for the bench and I sort of alluded to this about the Blues pre-game last night around the bench and how important the bench is and when you enter guys into the bench if you look at the Blues they conceded 115 points prior to last night's game
over three games. Before that, they averaged 19 points, best in the competition. Prior to the Moana game, 38 points they were averaging. So it's a hell of a discrepancy in terms of points conceded. But what was happening is one, it was their one-on-one tackles in the initial part were allowing teams to get in behind and then obviously getting to the edge because they can't get set.
That's an easy fix and that's for the starters. But they conceded the most of those 38 points in the last 20. And guys coming on, it was like what I explained last night, Brandon, I was using Kirsty as an example, which didn't probably make it that easy for her, but... The difference between I've come on the field and I know in my head I'm going to get Ross.
And then I fly out, but I haven't communicated. I'm trying to make an imprint on the game. I'm trying to bring the energy. The difference between me coming around the corner and go, let's go get him. Let's go, Brenna, let's go get him. We're going to go get Ross. We're going to go, let's go. And then they don't get that caught behind. And another example is, was the Crusaders' try with Reihana.
Even Billy Proctor, you know, like no one's perfect, as Geordie Barrett flies out at that main, and Billy Proctor and Finianganufa just missed the jump. So Billy couldn't shut on the front door to get off to the back door of Reihana, because Finianganufa didn't see him move in, so he didn't move in, and that's what created the space.
And I'm not saying that they're obviously bench players, but that connection defensively, when the game's on the line, last 20, the ability to communicate, like defense is all communication. Like everyone can make one-on-one tackles, but you can't, if you isolate yourself, one-on-one tackling is really hard. You know, like you're just too easy to pick off.
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Chapter 6: How does the bench impact the Highlanders' performance?
You're not actually worried about you stepping me because you don't need to. Because I've left two chinks in the armour for you to just catch and pass. And I think that's the big growth for the bench of the Hollanders and maybe how they select the squad.
You know, like it's, you look at AJ Lamb and Bowden Barrett, recency bias here, but I'm just trying to give live examples of how they can maybe reshape their team to make sure they had that ability to come home hot.
don't appear to be picking on the highlands here because it's not what it is but i feel like over a long period of time they're just not quite there to the point where in the history of super rugby pacific they've lost 47 games only moana pacifica have lost more 49 so they've lost a lot of games a lot of games the question is brunner here's my quiz for you which two teams have the record for the fewest losses in super rugby pacific history
One's got 15 and one's got 17. They're the top two.
Chiefs have been in the final, so it must be them ones.
Yep. And then is it the Blues? That's me. Brumbies. Brumbies. Yeah, I was surprised by that. The second fewest losses and they are relatively consistent. They don't have a, well, they don't really have a really bad year consistently. No, not until this year.
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